Cam Richards' 'Free Time' Film Puts Him in Elite Company

South Carolina has a world-class surfer who calls the Palmetto State home. It may sound far-fetched, but Cam Richards has been defying the pro surfing script long before he got that Pipeline wave in 2019. Cam may have been born and raised in a town that barely gets waves above head high, but make no mistake, the 30-year-old from Garden City Beach straight up rips world-class surf, no matter where it may be. That was my takeaway from watching Free Time, Cam’s best work compiled around the world over the past few years. While lots of surfers get tubed in all four corners of the map these days, Cam’s on the short list of guys who bring modern flair and a versatile approach to the table, over and over again.

At 39 minutes, the film has a long run time, but it showcases Cam’s skill set better than any clip of him I’ve seen before. Cam will forever be associated with his legendary second-reef Pipeline waves, but he has so much more in his arsenal, especially when the surf fires. In Free Time alone, he digs in around the North Shore, works his ass off pigdogging in Mexico, knifes the west bowl at Teahupo’o, backdoors huge HTs, tees off on Macaronis and gets slotted at thumbing Greenbush. As I said, there’s a lot to offer.

Free Time was made several years ago (we got a snippet of it in 2024), and the full-length version has just now been released online. Cam and his good friend and filmmaker Layne Stratton made the video with the intention of premiering it across numerous US East Coast surf towns. Which is exactly what they did, starting in Charleston, South Carolina, before Cam loaded a projector and screen into the bed of his truck and drove around East Coast surf towns, bringing the community into the fold. 

The drop comes at an interesting point in Cam’s professional career. He recently turned down a renewal with Vissla (who signed him when the brand first started, 13 years ago) to help grow Free Fly, a South Carolina-based fishing and outdoor apparel brand that also sponsors Hawaiians Mark Healey and Emi Erickson and Floridian surfer/foiler Evan Geiselman.

It could be a change of pace for Cam, but the move is an investment in himself, too, as he aims to guide Free Fly into the surf space. The guy's got steady hands and can clearly stick a landing. Make the time and watch Free Time.