A Logo-Less Rider Makes Some Waves

In today’s celebrity-driven world, authentic heroes wield enormous power in the marketplace. And, as surfer Tom Curren proved recently, that can be either a dream or a nightmare for their sponsors.

Curren, arguably the most popular surfer of our time, rode to victory this month in the Wyland Surf Contest in Hawaii on a board without the logos of his longtime sponsors, Ocean Pacific and Rip Curl. The board did feature the logo of its maker, a shaper who goes only by Maurice. By downplaying his sponsors, Curren sent a jolt through the surf industry, which has spent a fortune in the past 15 years pumping up the pro tour and surfers.

Curren, a Santa Barbara native who now lives in France, and other top surfers get paid to wear logo-splashed boards, T-shirts and wet suits in competitions that generate magazine and television coverage.

The sponsors bank on such exposure to help boost sales. But some surfers believe the larger clothing companies, such as Ocean Pacific and Quiksilver, have become too powerful--at the expense of surfboard shapers.

“Initially, the magazines were supported by manufacturers, who were board shapers. Clothing was just a small part of the market,” explains Steve Barilotti, editor-at-large for Surfer magazine. “Then, because of the widespread dissemination of surf culture through movies, the clothes took on a much greater role in the marketing of the sport.” In the process, he adds, “the shaper was not so much overlooked as overwhelmed.”

While some insiders call Curren’s actions long overdue, others say he is biting the hands that feed him.

“OP pays top dollar to sponsor Curren,” says Mark Samuels, advertising art director for Surfer. “One of the top perks in their arrangement is to have him show their logo at the contests and in magazines. If he doesn’t wear the logo, there is nothing there to tie him to OP. That dramatically reduces OP’s exposure and, as a result, hurts it.”

Ocean Pacific and Rip Curl, the former known for surf and streetwear and the latter for wet suits, declined to comment.

But an Ocean Pacific vendor says Curren’s move sent the company into a “tizzy.” “They’re having a fit,” says the vendor, who asked not to be identified.

Indeed, when Curren talks, surfers take note, even if there’s nothing on his board to read.