Liam, along with the rest of One Direction, took a day at the beach to chill out before the big show tonight.

When in LA, right? VMA nominees and first-time performers One Direction understandably woke up needing to blow off some steam before the big show. And what better place is there to do that than the beach? I mean, hey, if it was your first time performing at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, you'd be pretty nervous too, right? Yeah, that's what we thought. You'd be TERRIFIED! Though they've already chatted with us about their first time, starred in some amazing slo-mo promos, caught them behind the scenes; all there is left to do is get on stage and perform. Oh, and apparently ride some waves, too.

The boys posted the pics of their morning surf session on Instagram along with the caption: "Liam waxing his board." We know what you're thinking: What must we do TO HAVE A BEACH GETAWAY WITH 1D?! And in case you were wondering, Directioners: voting is STILL OPEN for Best New Artist and Most Shareworthy Video, so don't stare at Liam TOO long.

Don't miss the 2012 MTV VMAs live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Photo credit: @1Dagram