Loud music and bright lights filled the room. A timer ticked down on the jumbotron as a crowd gathered around the barricade, buzzing with anticipation to see who would win—I’m describing Tinter Battles, the annual international competition where the trade of window tinting has been transformed into a competitive sport. In January, professional tinters faced off in timed challenges across automotive, residential, and commercial glass categories, where they were judged on speed, precision, and technique. The event serves as a platform for cutting-edge tools and installation methods shaping the future of the global window tinting industry.
Within the flat glass division, six teams of two were given thirty minutes to install film on three windows: security film on one, and solar film on one residential and one commercial window. People filed in from the automotive side of the venue to line up at the rail of the flat glass competition area, filling up the bleachers behind. The tinters prepped their tools and calmed their nerves until the countdown. The “Tint Viking,” Cedro Rodriguez’s tinting persona complete with a long beard and hammer, roared at the crowd, “This is Tinter Battles! I summon your energy! Are you ready?!” and the room erupted with cheers.
Once the initial countdown ended and the timer commenced, a silence fell over the room—marked by the competitors’ intense focus and the crowd’s anticipation. The stakes were high, the margins for error small as the judges would take into account even miniscule mistakes. For an entire half hour, the audience was fully engaged, observant as each team demonstrated the techniques used to flatten air bubbles out of the film, how tasks were split within each team, and how different materials demanded different approaches.
Tinter Battles was founded by Carlos Olazaba, also known as the “Texas Squeegee”—a persona that comes to life across his robust social media accounts and in person when he hosts the event. At 12 years old, Olazaba found tinting while watching a tinter lay black film on glass and squeegee it perfectly smooth. After a week of watching what he described as magic, the tinter put tools in his hands, setting him on the path to start his own tinting business at 18. His Houston-based company, Texas Tint Masters, began with automotive tinting in a parking space of a flea market garage and later expanded into residential and commercial window tinting. The event’s other competitors and attendees all told similar stories of becoming immersed in the tinting world early on in life, which grew into a lasting commitment to the craft.
Inspired by WWE and other sports events Olazaba watched growing up, Tinter Battles was born in 2021 with the hope of bringing awareness to and educating others about the skill and talent that goes into the trade. Alongside his co-host David Karle, owner of David Tint in Pasadena, Texas, Olazaba describes Tinter Battles as an event with “a sports production feel, but [with] a technical breakdown.” Karle added, “We found that window tinters would do this on a really high level if given the spotlight or the stage to do so. It’s about elevating people who have dedicated themselves to a skill.” The result is a tight knit, family-friendly community that emphasizes mentorship, visibility, and shared knowledge.
For many tinters, including Olazaba, social media became the vehicle to promote their businesses and raise awareness for the craft. Tinting rapidly reached unexpected corners of the internet. With media content and video, teaching this niche trade became easier and more accessible. Ricky Miller, part of the winning duo of this year’s flat glass division, pointed out how the competition functions as both an educational and professional opportunity, “I’ll leverage all the content that we end up capturing here, and I’ll make connections with other companies that I can use for subcontractors to work.” Miller owns Green Valley Window Tint in Las Vegas, where they host a training academy that helps auto shop companies expand to residential and commercial tinting.
The window film industry has been evolving with new techniques and the material landscape itself has expanded dramatically. “We went from having solar film, just a couple different varieties, to over 100 different companies out there,” said Marcus Quintana, also known as “Tint Slayer.” Quintana won the Tinter Battles world champion title with Joe Guzman in 2024 and is instantly recognizable for his signature mohawk. “There’s radio frequency film, safety film, bomb blast film, anti-graffiti, film where you can view lasers.” The field has also seen specific growing demands, with the rise of applications like security film, a thicker film designed to strengthen glass for weather protection and theft deterrence—especially in Texas, where a mandate requires school entry points to have security film installed.
“My answer to a real-world market need, which is education, was through entertainment,” Olazaba told AN. “I said I’m going to add security films to these competitions… [As] a window tinter myself, I understand the demands and evolutions of what’s currently happening in the world.” With shootings and heightened safety concerns, he stressed that improper installation can compromise safety, making education critical to protecting the inhabitants on the other side of the glass.
As Tinter Battles makes clear, window tinting is not a peripheral trade but a rapidly evolving material practice with architectural, social, and safety implications. Here, a form of expertise that is often embedded quietly within buildings and vehicles is given a platform for awareness and education. The competition and its organizers celebrate the technical skill as well as the passion and community that keep the craft alive.
Pooja Desai is a Houston-based architectural designer and writer.
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