Grom surf contracts - DONE

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,644
113
Petak Island
Or at least heading that way.:)

Time to hit the books you little shits.

"In the Hot Grom end of town, numbers have similarly plummeted. Deals that pre-COVID were locked in the $75k to $85k range are washing out at $20k and $25k. “There isn’t much incentive to try to make it as a pro surfer,” said one manager. “You’re probably better off to hit the tools and get your career happening sooner than later. What do you do if you’re a guy on fire? Someone like Dakoda Walters, who won pretty much everything in Australia last year would be on $300k a year if it were 10 years ago. What does he do?"
 

afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
49,204
22,753
113
professional surfing is dead. long live professional surfing.
 

Eimeo

OTF status
Oct 18, 2005
232
92
28
Encinitas
Sure did not seem that way out at Lowers this weekend. Tons of groms and some that look as young as 10 with plenty of big name stickers all over their boards. A whole Volcom and Billbong crew out on the skis this morning at another beach break. All I see are groms with stickers all over their brand new boards, branded wetsuits, etc. Seems to me the dream is alive and well for those groms that are looking to get sponsored. Maybe the big bucks are not there like it used to be, but for any of us that were sponsored 30 years ago, you know what it was like to get that box of clothes, shoes, wetsuits, etc... that alone was enough to stoke you out big time. Ah the times must have changed :(
 

PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
4,683
5,824
113
77
Kauai's north shore ~
" Maybe the big bucks are not there like it used to be, but for any of us that were sponsored 30 years ago, you know what it was like to get that box of clothes, shoes, wetsuits, etc... that alone was enough to stoke you out big time. Ah the times must have changed " :(

Suck it up ~ T'was better than a "good one brah "and a Primo Beer hang over ~
Hush yer mouth, boy ~ :cursing:
 

GromsDad

Duke status
Jan 21, 2014
54,153
16,173
113
West of the Atlantic. East of the ICW.
Or at least heading that way.:)

Time to hit the books you little shits.

"In the Hot Grom end of town, numbers have similarly plummeted. Deals that pre-COVID were locked in the $75k to $85k range are washing out at $20k and $25k. “There isn’t much incentive to try to make it as a pro surfer,” said one manager. “You’re probably better off to hit the tools and get your career happening sooner than later. What do you do if you’re a guy on fire? Someone like Dakoda Walters, who won pretty much everything in Australia last year would be on $300k a year if it were 10 years ago. What does he do?"
I'm not buying that the numbers in that quote ever existed in the grom world.
 

casa_mugrienta

Duke status
Apr 13, 2008
43,214
17,644
113
Petak Island
Sure did not seem that way out at Lowers this weekend. Tons of groms and some that look as young as 10 with plenty of big name stickers all over their boards. A whole Volcom and Billbong crew out on the skis this morning at another beach break. All I see are groms with stickers all over their brand new boards, branded wetsuits, etc. Seems to me the dream is alive and well for those groms that are looking to get sponsored.
For now.
 

Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
38,642
27,983
113
Sure did not seem that way out at Lowers this weekend. Tons of groms and some that look as young as 10 with plenty of big name stickers all over their boards. A whole Volcom and Billbong crew out on the skis this morning at another beach break. All I see are groms with stickers all over their brand new boards, branded wetsuits, etc. Seems to me the dream is alive and well for those groms that are looking to get sponsored. Maybe the big bucks are not there like it used to be, but for any of us that were sponsored 30 years ago, you know what it was like to get that box of clothes, shoes, wetsuits, etc... that alone was enough to stoke you out big time. Ah the times must have changed :(
Free stuff isn’t the same as a paycheck.
 
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Waterlogged05

Michael Peterson status
May 14, 2005
1,923
1,822
113
take that groms!
Sent from me wearing a facemask at the front desk of a company with the doors shut because they need some chump to open the mail and wait for deliveries
 

HarryLopez

Phil Edwards status
Jan 17, 2007
6,580
544
113
Neck deep
Sure did not seem that way out at Lowers this weekend. Tons of groms and some that look as young as 10 with plenty of big name stickers all over their boards. A whole Volcom and Billbong crew out on the skis this morning at another beach break. All I see are groms with stickers all over their brand new boards, branded wetsuits, etc. Seems to me the dream is alive and well for those groms that are looking to get sponsored. Maybe the big bucks are not there like it used to be, but for any of us that were sponsored 30 years ago, you know what it was like to get that box of clothes, shoes, wetsuits, etc... that alone was enough to stoke you out big time. Ah the times must have changed :(
Rich kids gotta play to! :poop:
 

Ranga

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 31, 2008
1,682
1,422
113
IMO, there are a lot of hyper-agro little league parents deeply invested in junior getting a sponsorship/WCT slot that need to find another sport. There's nothing cringy-er than a Karen screaming at her kid from the shoreline at a meaningless contest.
 

PRCD

Tom Curren status
Feb 25, 2020
12,514
8,551
113
IMO, there are a lot of hyper-agro little league parents deeply invested in junior getting a sponsorship/WCT slot that need to find another sport. There's nothing cringy-er than a Karen screaming at her kid from the shoreline at a meaningless contest.
They call these "Lawnmower Parents" - parents who mow the lawn and all the weeds in front their little Jayden to get them into an elite university or career, like pro sports. The children become a validation of the parent's parenting and sort of a trophy. See also Amy Chua:
 
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jamesgang

Miki Dora status
Aug 9, 2006
3,979
1,062
113
Location Location
Maybe all these north shore surf parents will give it a rest. I have never pushed my kid in to surfing, and he has a habit of grabbing whatever surf craft suits his fancy. Mostly its his surfboard, but sometimes it's a soft top, or a body board, and I think bodysurfing is tied for board surfing with him as far as fun factor. And he is a REALLY good bodysurfer, better than most adults I see. But when he swims out to get waves at the sandbar he gets looks from all his friends with their filmer dads on the beach. I tell him not to worry, he'll get the last laugh when he is finishing college and they are topping out at 2K a month and free trunks, only to get dropped a year later with no school or work experience.

I helped out an old buddy of mine, my classmate's older brother, a former pro surfer who got the first ever cover shot at Teahupoo in the late 1980's. He was hitchhiking between Turtle Bay and Kahuku, yelling at no one in particular. I picked him up and got the story: his tweaker girlfriend just rode by on the back of a scooter with ANOTHER infamous tweaker and he was all freaked out. He wanted a ride to my neighborhood (so you know it's getting bad) to find her. So off we went. I had a cooler with some beers so I gave him one to calm him down, then sent him off with a couple more beers in my old beach back pack along with 20 bucks for lunch. He was stoked. Next day I saw his chick with my backpack on, he was cleaning windshields at the Sunset Texaco for tips, and they looked happy again.

If this is the life you want for your marginally surf-talented child, by all means hand them over to the Billabong/Volcom/Quik team manager to oversee their care and feeding during the impressionable years.
 

Ranga

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 31, 2008
1,682
1,422
113
Maybe all these north shore surf parents will give it a rest. I have never pushed my kid in to surfing, and he has a habit of grabbing whatever surf craft suits his fancy. Mostly its his surfboard, but sometimes it's a soft top, or a body board, and I think bodysurfing is tied for board surfing with him as far as fun factor. And he is a REALLY good bodysurfer, better than most adults I see. But when he swims out to get waves at the sandbar he gets looks from all his friends with their filmer dads on the beach. I tell him not to worry, he'll get the last laugh when he is finishing college and they are topping out at 2K a month and free trunks, only to get dropped a year later with no school or work experience.

I helped out an old buddy of mine, my classmate's older brother, a former pro surfer who got the first ever cover shot at Teahupoo in the late 1980's. He was hitchhiking between Turtle Bay and Kahuku, yelling at no one in particular. I picked him up and got the story: his tweaker girlfriend just rode by on the back of a scooter with ANOTHER infamous tweaker and he was all freaked out. He wanted a ride to my neighborhood (so you know it's getting bad) to find her. So off we went. I had a cooler with some beers so I gave him one to calm him down, then sent him off with a couple more beers in my old beach back pack along with 20 bucks for lunch. He was stoked. Next day I saw his chick with my backpack on, he was cleaning windshields at the Sunset Texaco for tips, and they looked happy again.

If this is the life you want for your marginally surf-talented child, by all means hand them over to the Billabong/Volcom/Quik team manager to oversee their care and feeding during the impressionable years.
Career options: surf camp operator, clothing rep (if you're lucky), bartender/waiter, surf shop employee, real estate agent. It's amazing to me how few of those guys think about plan B and/or a life outside of surfing.
 

_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
6,910
3,176
113
I know a few people who are totally set on their really young kids "training for olympics". I was a bit shocked when they explained it to me. There's some good financial potential but seems like you gotta pretty much win gold, or be really good looking to do commercials or print ads for the bigger companies that equals money that comes with the whole olympic thing.
 

Bob Dobbalina

Miki Dora status
Feb 23, 2016
4,261
4,656
113
I know a few people who are totally set on their really young kids "training for olympics". I was a bit shocked when they explained it to me. There's some good financial potential but seems like you gotta pretty much win gold, or be really good looking to do commercials or print ads for the bigger companies that equals money that comes with the whole olympic thing.

And with the amount of second generation pros, who do you think companies are going to want to spend time with courting their next grom? Random Helicopter Dad or Helicopter Dorian and Helicopter Yadin..
 

HarryLopez

Phil Edwards status
Jan 17, 2007
6,580
544
113
Neck deep
Coaching high school sports for about 15 years gave me an all too indepth look at parents and their antics. Several times, I had to actually call a parent conference to gently explain that you can't: yell in the stands, talk negatively about players on the opposite team, please don't swear/cuss, and do not yell at referee. I coached at a private school, so the parent entitlement/live vicariously through their kid was in FULL effect. And this was for water polo, where really there is tiny chance of playing professionally. Swim parents who had this going on were some of the WORST!
 
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