A father-son surfing journey along Africa's Wild West Coast.
Rough Diamonds (2024) · Directed by Will Bendix · Now Now Media · Running time: 31 minutes
"Nothing comes easy along this challenging stretch of waves and wilderness."
In the early 1990s, a young man named Pete Beukes finished his time in the navy and headed north along South Africa's West Coast to Lamberts Bay — not to surf, but to dive. Diamond diving along this volatile stretch of coastline is a life lived on the edge: cold Atlantic swells, treacherous currents, and the ever-present hunger for something that glitters beneath the sand.
But the ocean had a second gift waiting. Between dives, Pete discovered waves — raw, uncrowded, world-class waves that the rest of the surfing world barely knew existed. He kept them close.
Decades later, Pete shares these treasures with his son Eli. Rough Diamonds is the story of that inheritance — not of money or property, but of coastline, of instinct, and of the silent, salt-worn understanding that grows between a father and son when they paddle out together into water that humbles them both.
Featuring performances from some of South Africa's finest surfers — including Jordy Smith, Max Elkington, and Daniel Wilson — the film is a 31-minute meditation on what it means to belong to a place. Directed by Will Bendix and shot by celebrated surf cinematographer Alan van Gysen, Rough Diamonds is as visually raw as the coastline it portrays.
The West Coast of South Africa is one of surfing's great untold stories. Cold, fickle, and demanding — but for those who know it, endlessly rewarding. Check live conditions at the spots from the film:
The crown jewel of the Cape West Coast — a world-class left-hand point break that wraps around a rocky headland under the shelter of a great sandstone cliff. Pete Beukes knew these waters long before anyone called them famous.
Fetching live conditions for Elands Bay...
Where Pete first arrived as a young man after the navy, hunting diamonds beneath the cold Atlantic swells. The town's harbour and surrounding coves hold waves that most surfers never find.
Fetching live conditions for Lamberts Bay...
Featured Surfers
Eli Beukes, Pete Beukes, Max Elkington, Daniel Wilson, Jordy Smith
Director
Will Bendix
Director of Photography
Alan van Gysen
Executive Producer
Ryan Franklin
Producer
Alan van Gysen
Production
Now Now Media
Presented by
Monster Energy in association with O'Neill
The music of Rough Diamonds is as eclectic and soulful as the coastline itself — Afrobeat, ambient electronic, jazz, and dub woven into a 31-minute soundscape.
Werner Meets Egberto
Guy Buttery
Understanding Happiness
Rafi B Levy
Earthstrong
Hatamitsunami
Waghete
Rune Dale
East Coast
Molife
Ganga Sun
Omri Smadar
Simple Mystic
Cloudchord
Surfing Sufi
Cloudchord
Silver Sun
Nevin
Atlantique
A.M. Beef
Want It Now
High Potion
Take Me To Heaven
Coma Svensson
Wabba Wabba Jah Jah
Jo Blankenburg
The West Coast is full of uncrowded, world-class waves waiting to be discovered. Tide Raider tracks the swell, wind, and tide so you can be there when it fires.