New Non Surfing Sponsorship

money + surfing = always a good thing. Every young american has an interest in surfing, even kids in Kansas. It is intriguing to everyone, but fear not, they can buy boardies and flipflops from target, but there will never be waves in Kansas. And even if people in Baltimore start rocking surf gear, they will still never touch the water...

Its a style for most people, a lifestyle for us. They can market all they want, its great for the surfers. I have taken every random dollar ans sponsor i could get my hands over the years. I wish Target was sponoring 5 years ago when I was competetive.

I know most soul surfers will disagree, but honestly, money is good for surfing.

 

How do you know Kolohe left Billabong?

 

Yeah, I just look at it is a huge, faceless corporation, with really deep pockets that are willing to help kids travel and sponsor equipment and other expenses for surfers trying to make it. I think its great if they fund travel, and contests and equipment... And if they attempt to market BS to the surf community, its not like we will listen to them. It is just a technicality. They will be paying a few kids bills, which to me is good. Billabong are super localized and have very slim resources in the big picture. They rely on surf products and surf only marketing. Target has endless ammounts of funding. I mean, its not like Target can buy reefs or beachs... They can just slap stickers under kids feet, and every other sport in the world does it, why not us?

I understand 95% of surfers are all about soul surfing and secret spots and preserving their lifestyle, but when I was younger and competed, I wish there a target sponsorship out there. That would have been siock. So, for all the kids who want to make a career out of this, and move to where all the action is, and get to travel etc, then its great.

My only point is that I can't come up with any really negative side affects from this.

 

why do you care?? if you have sponsors like that youve obv. forgotten why you love surfing. i dont surf bc i wanna get sponsored and make money. i surf because i enjoy it. yes these sponsors are making it mainstream but you even quesitoning it is what makes it mainstreaml. stop questioning it.

 

no disrespect to "soul surfing", and surfing for the fun aspect of it. but if someone would pay me to do something i love whether it is surfing, photography, eating or sleeping i would gladly do it. just becuase your getting paid doesnt take away any aspect of it at all unless you allow it too

 

its a free country, who cares, if ur worried about people stealing UR style who cares, come up with something new. let these guys make thier money and live thier and prob most of ours dream.

 

You can be a soul surfer and still get sponsered or paid to surf . Its when one starts to demand more money or take money from anyone to rep there company or product.

When making money surfing becomes your priority compared to having fun surfing and you lose the stoke that surfing gives you then its time to hang the board up .

Its my perosnal opinion that Nike 6.0, Target, and any other non surifng companies have that are trying to get there peice of the money pot with surfing have no buisness in the sport. The same thing happend to the X-Games once main stream companies to there hands on it .

 

i agree Matt completely, but another way you have to look at it is those "big companies" like target and nike give plenty more money than most sponsors do which in theory should provide the necessary funding for the athletes to learn new things, get better gear, and progress. but like you said a lot of them just end up hoarding it instead of putting it back into the sport to make it better.

example- bucky lasek- he has some very large sponsors and recently he just built a new massive bowl in his backyard which he keeps open to pretty much anyone who wants to skate it, and he has his backyard jam fest contest.

or the big MTV star Rob Dyrdek has his own charity which he started himself through a lot of his sponsors which builds skateparks for kids all over the country.

 

get that money kid! while the gettin is good...

 

What could Nike 6.0 do to progress the Surfing industry???? They are the biggest corrupt company in the work. They pay there help 35 cent per pair of shoe they make. What wil there get for bordies and rash guards a woping 15 cents .

I surf dosent need big money from major companies to progress them selves . You only get better with water time.

Look at Liard Hamilton he has take surfing to a level that nobody could ever imagine. I didnt see Nike there. Target didnt get a memo on it and neither did Redbull. All those companies are looking for is to make money . Those companies fall into the same list and Hollister and American Eagle Outfitters. Making money on a image and pushing a product to people they know nothing about.

Yeah there are those people like Buckey , Rob , and Tony Hawk who give back the to the sport which is all good.

If I ever decide to take my surfing to that level to where I wanna get a sponsored. I want people to sponsor me who belive my surfing and I repepresent them well , Not cause I have a image which is populare in today's main stream

 

no offense, but you guys sound like a bunch of guys who don't undnerstand competition. First of all, I rock nike 6.0 shoes all day. I got like 10 pairs. They are sick. Not to mention that fact that the Nike 6.0 surf team is ridiculous, and if you are seeing their travel videos and the radical sh** these guys are doing, you maybe would stop questioning Nike. They make money where there is money to make. I mean, If there is money in surfing today, they are in, if there is no money in to tomorrow, they are out...

But Laird Hamilton had no problem selling out to American Express, one of the credit companies who has KILLED our nation and destroyed our economy. He is Towing into Jaws on AMEX gold commericials..

I mean nike is no different than Voclom, a copany who got into surfing cause there is money. They put kids up on the north shore but dont care about them... Its all the same, but if target and nike want to back someone, they better take the backing, cause when you are rolling around islands in Indo on the Nike 6.0 Yacht, getting filmed from Helicopters over perfect surf, I bet you wouldnt question it...

Soul surfing is just an excuse that gusy use when there are older, no longer able to compete, or were never good enough to compete. I mean, even when I free surf, I pick out the best guy I can find and stick with him, trying to out do them... Anyone who says there is no competition in surfing probably never took it that seriously. I love finding empty waves, and surfing by myself, but what I love more, is to have a crowd and a camera on the beach. It pushes my surfing to be a ton better than sitting in an empty lineup in mexico.

Thats just my opinion... Everybody I know personally that gives me all this soul surfing sh** is always the guy saying, Ohhh its too small today, or ohhh its too crowded, then when it huge, Ohhh its too big now... Always something...

 

NIke and Volcom are like apples and oranges. Volcom is a surfing brand . Nike is Sports wear that tries to stick its nose is everything . Target is a Department store . Have you ever seen and surfing gear in Target??? I know I havent. Nike is gonna suck the surfing lifestyle dry and leave it when they are finished. I personally hate Nike they run sweatshops in China and Taiwan and treat the help like crap. If nike offered me a sponsor ship I would turn it down cause it goes agianst my morals.

Laird did end up in a AMEX comercial. It was footage of him at Jaws that he gave them and the short interview Amex shot with him . I didnt see him rocking and AMEX Gear or stickers???

If a person is really a Soul Surfer is a choice one makes early on to me . I didnt wake up 30 years old and say I am a Soul Surfer . Soul Surfer compete but its more with ones self to make them selves a better surfer. I have always considered my self a Soul Surfer but is still enter the local contest. I could care less if I win or lose its all an experience for me.

 

Dude they carry Mossimo.

 

Yeah and Walmart has OP cause they own the rights to it.

I doubt anyone has ever bought real surfing gear from Target. I know all the Rippers are getting there boards , Wax, Leashes and whatever else they need to take there shredding to the next level

 

Not me. I go out when its any size: shin to OH (unless its over 10 ft. or so cuz i dont have a board that can handle that ****).

 

nike 6.0 is a surfing company they are nike's shoe sponsor for surfing. Red bull is sort of a surfing company but targets not. I never knew target sponsored people??

 

Surfing is suffering from the tragedy of the commons . Overcrowding is a very real issue that even the dedicated surf companies ignore in order to maximize profit by getting as many people as possible into the water, buying as much gear as possible in the process. Faceless corporations out to make a buck are making it worse. This is all very sad.

All you groms hoping for sponsorship money will one day realize that it is only the lucky 0.1% that can make a living surfing and you would have been better off learning a set of marketable skills and enjoying surfing in your free time. I understand it is the world that we live in, but corporate money is dirty and it is ruining surfing.