Revealed: WeWork co-founder and ex-CEO Adam Neumann surfed the Maldives while company burned!

Better than Nero!

Maybe the best person to purchase professional surfing, after we bring the World Surf League low, is WeWork’s co-founder and ex-CEO Adam Neumann and I know what you’re thinking. I know you you scratching your head and mumbling, “Adam Neumann? Nothing but bad press surrounding that man. A horrible choice for anything at all…”

…Except maybe professional surfing and we must head straight to Business Insider for the reason why. Shall we?

While executives were preparing paperwork for a public offering that would enrich the WeWork cofounder and CEO Adam Neumann, he was on a surfing trip in the Maldives.

And much of the preparation and drafting of WeWork’s IPO paperwork, or S-1, took place at Neumann’s Hamptons home, The Wall Street Journal’s Maureen Farrell, Liz Hoffman, Eliot Brown, and David Benoit reported on Thursday.

It was there that Neumann invited the heads of the two stock exchanges competing for the WeWork listing — the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq — and asked them to pledge their support to environmental causes, such as eliminating meat and banning single-use plastics in their offices, The Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

But at one point in the drawn-out S-1 preparation process, Neumann was thousands of miles from the Hamptons, surfing in the small Indian Ocean island republic of the Maldives. To avoid cutting the trip short and missing out on the swell, Neumann had a WeWork employee fly out to brief him, according to the report.

The surf trip came as WeWork seemed to be barreling toward a giant public offering that would value the company at as much as $100 billion and make its thousands of employees rich. But the S-1 prospectus that was eventually released revealed a company that was losing billions of dollars and let Neumann run things in questionable ways.

Tell me you aren’t won over.

Tell me you don’t love the man’s Hardened Purist spirit.

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nyc surfing golden boy
nyc surfing golden boy
6 years ago

is he buddies with Ethan Osborne and will he be pulling for the Israeli national team at the Olympics??

Huli Opu
Huli Opu
6 years ago

I agree. Anything wrapped in bacon is good

Dogsnuts
Dogsnuts
6 years ago

I’m guessing no. Especially if it was barreling.

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  Dogsnuts

Put him in a Barrel and send him over the falls ….. Victoria or Niagara ?

Magnum
Magnum
6 years ago

Surfers are the worst.

SSD
SSD
6 years ago

Waterman of the Year.

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Let’s hope he ends up trying to sell ICE to the Eskimos and they use him as bait to catch …. whatever they like …. Polar Bear ?

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago

You do, of course, understand what happened the last time that a bunch of chucklefucks from the Internet decided to push for the leadership of an unsuitable person?

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Julia Gillard?
We really dodged a bullet there.
She didn’t want gay marriage
And made sure that lots of refugees drowned
What a neanderthalette!

Shore pound
Shore pound
6 years ago

I’d love to lose billions of dollars and go surf to commiserate.

Lemon Next to the Pie
Lemon Next to the Pie
6 years ago
Reply to  Shore pound

He got paid 1 billion to fuck off. That’s pretty good fuck off money in any language.

mike m
mike m
6 years ago

If Miki Dora was a natural grifter who liked to surf, Adam Neumann is the ubermensch-grifter who likes to surf. Noone will ever touch him, as far as being a successful clown who played the bankers, he can buy the Maldives now.

Chas Smith
Chas Smith
6 years ago

My 1988 Ford Bronco that got 8 miles to the gallon then caught on fire and almost burned Southern California down was sustainable.

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

No matter was destroyed , the atoms and molecules just changed position and partners on the dance floor we know as the universe …….

Sustainable;

1)able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

“sustainable economic growth”

2)conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.

“our fundamental commitment to sustainable development”

I think our man, though promising definition 2 ,had definition 1 in mind and failed both brilliantly ….

Lemon Next to the Pie
Lemon Next to the Pie
6 years ago

Can you define ‘trickle down economics’ with a working example?

Speaking of, The Dollop Podcast: Eps 300 (2 parts) is a wonderful explanation of how Trump got where he got in business. It’s not about his politics, but more about his ethics. It’s mind-blowing that he has been allowed to get where he is.

SSD
SSD
6 years ago

But he’s one of the chosen few that really are changing the world. Maldives trip helps his process and we should thank him. Very least commit to not using air conditioning or heating in his honor.

Jody Highroller
Jody Highroller
6 years ago

One of my favorite things from the articles about him is that several of the conference rooms at WeWork HQ feature large pictures of him surfing. Need to find those pictures….

SSD
SSD
6 years ago

Definitely! Probably the size of a billboard. What better curators than BeachGrit?

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Scott.
How’s your dad?

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Doing better, thank you.
Luckily is in fairly good shape but a ways to go. Kind of a mind warp that Im at this stage in life.
Goes by way too fast.
Appreciate your concern, you’re a solid dude, CB

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

I’m glad to hear he’s OK.
Life’s more and more of a headfuck as we get older, ain’t it?

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Thanks, my man!
Sure is….Three kids, youngest turning 18 next month, has been a doozy. Now the parents at old age. Time is at warp speed!

SectionSB
SectionSB
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

I dunno whats up with your dad , but hoping it works out. My mom said time flows faster and faster as you get older. gotta stop and savor the good stuff. Peace to ya!

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  SectionSB

Thanks brother! Had a couple of strokes a month ago while he and I were over on the Big Island. Got him to the ER, barely had a pulse and was there for a week. They put in a pacemaker and a bunch of other procedures. He’s on the mend now and very lucky to be not totally messed up.
Time absolutely gains speed every year, crazy how that works.

Otto
Otto
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Glad to hear your Dad is on the mend Brother!

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  Otto

Thanks Otto! How’s glamis?

Otto
Otto
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Having fun Brother! Lots of VAL clowns out and about, so gotta keep my head on a swivel ya know. Luckily, they want nothing to do with the big bowls. Fear the Witch’s Eye VALs. Fucking fear it!!!!

It’s funny how VALs are such an invasive species in numerous pursuits of anti-depressive activities. Clogging line-ups on sand hwy.

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  Otto

Glamis has suffered from them since the early 90s! VALs and the mind warped party people running each other over in the big weekends. Remember the casualties reports on the news after Thanksgiving weekend? Wild times!

Otto
Otto
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Yeah. Thanksgiving weekend always has its fair share of casualties. Seen a couple head-ons this weekend. A few moto-x take diggers. All good in our camp. Good crew. Know their shit.

SectionSB
SectionSB
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Wow…glad it worked out, and that you were there for him. You only get one set of parents, politics can get ugly, but when they leave, you cant even argue anymore, let alone reconcile. Wish you and your family the best in these times.

The trick with the time thing, so I’ve heard/read, is to not become jaded, but let everything appear as new, as when you were a kid. Didnt that jesus guy say something about that? IDK
Easy to say, hard in practice.
Old grumpsters “Yeah wind is up, it probably sucks, lets watch football.” Frothing groms “Come on come on, hurry up, its gonna be great, screw that TV!!!”

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
Reply to  SectionSB

Most definitely! Thanks for the perspective and kindness!
Avoiding being jaded and deep cynicism is a good idea.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

I’ve been there too champ.
He’s lucky to have you.

SSD
SSD
6 years ago

Thank Bexy, I don’t even know what to say! That means more to me than I could even begin to put into words. In all sincerity, Im verklempt. I’m charting new territory with all this, your insight is invaluable.
How old is your dad and how is he these days? If memory serves correct, he took a bullet for country in the middle East? I have the highest level of respect for you and him.
Cheers, my esteemed friend!

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago
Reply to  SSD

Wow your very kind!
Yeah my old boy had a short brain illness , not stroke, and checked out about 12 years ago. It was of course heavy.
It’s can be very surreal.
However he got to 80 and I feel he was satisfied.
You’ll be ok.

Jody Highroller
Jody Highroller
6 years ago

Y’all notice ‘barreling towards a giant public offering’? Classic. Should have gone on to say ‘public offering that ended up dashed on the reef of over-optimistic assumptions.’ Or something.

Black Rubber
Black Rubber
6 years ago

When a CEO isn’t aware of meeting tools that allow him/her to attend meetings online from remote locations, that should be your number one sign its time for a change.

Superworm
Superworm
6 years ago
Reply to  Black Rubber

WeSurf was probably taken

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago
Reply to  Black Rubber

How about Skyping from your sweet custom Samsung board with touchscreen technology, while dodging barrels in the Third World?

YEEEEEW!!!

mine.mine.mine
mine.mine.mine
6 years ago

fuck me.. I knew he was a VAL fucker.. I knew it when I read that… such a fucking stereotype

Craig
Craig
6 years ago
Reply to  mine.mine.mine

What’s a val fucker?

Chas Smith
Chas Smith
6 years ago

Everything’s sustainable if you only believe.

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

Like those dreams where I can fly by running down a hill and just not putting my feet down and leaning into it.

Superworm
Superworm
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Upvote for your random use of italics

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago
Reply to  Superworm

Random?! It was for emphasis, sir.

Beef & Beer
Beef & Beer
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

Haha classic
Different to mine, which are more like I’m walking along but can jump up and starting paddling hard and then swim in the air, swoop down to gain speed and paddle hard to gain height sorta thing hahaha

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

My whole life I’ve had this recurring dream where I can not so much fly but take a step and not need another for quite a while.
What does it mean?

channelbottom
channelbottom
6 years ago

You are a statuesque blonde?

Owen's Outgoing Tide
Owen's Outgoing Tide
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

His word is his blonde (?)

SSD
SSD
6 years ago
James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

If you were a motorcyclist your name would be Casey STONER …..

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  channelbottom

I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky

The reality was I couldn’t really fly ( ok 1m ) but surfed for Sky ….

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

Especially Lies ,untruths and inter subjective entities ?

Numbnuts
Numbnuts
6 years ago
Reply to  Chas Smith

Boom! Another t shirt is born

Poop Stance
Poop Stance
6 years ago

Unrelated but does anyone else wonder if Matt Meola gets confused about whether he’s being hooted into waves, or called off them when in Spanish speaking countries. “Mi ola, MI OLA PUTA MIERDA!!!”

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  Poop Stance

I speak Spanish like a French cow ( je parle français comme une vache espagnole ) and once got lost in conversation after the second sentence in a bar in Mundacca when I didn’t realize that the typical Spanish greeting and the word for waves was very similar ,at least to my limited brain , and was luckily saved from nodding stupidly by my mate , a French Alonzo ….. so assuming in French this translates roughly to

Ma Vague …. Ma Vague Putain de Merde ? excuse my French …..

astro
astro
6 years ago

Tbh – I preferred it when we were grumpy locals.
This whole hardened purist thing seems a bit mutually inclusive ….
Ps. fuck Neumann. He’s a jerk.

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago
Reply to  astro

If you label me you negate me.

Audit In Progress
Audit In Progress
6 years ago
James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

Repo man minus Repo man = ? A Liberal non liberal ?

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago

We just banned walking on rocks.
See ,we do helpful things

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

‘‘Tis better to give than receive . Thanks Bex !

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago

You’re welcome
We believe it can really help kids in need in the out back.
I mean who needs tourist dollars?

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

Rex Bex , they could , I suppose , repossess the whole country which was somewhat dubiously taken away …… Hey Captain can you see anyone walking around on this land …. Nah let’s just say , for the books , it’s empty ….. Terra nullius and all that jazz .

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago

Help me Rhonda!

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

The tourists could always climb the model of Uluru at the garage on the site of the old Leyland brother’s World while cruising up the Pacific Highway just north of Raymond Terrace ?

Chief Hot stuff
Chief Hot stuff
6 years ago

Now that’s sacred!!

OwenWrong
OwenWrong
6 years ago

It burnt down, maybe last year.

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago
Reply to  OwenWrong

No way !

Waterproof Polo
Waterproof Polo
6 years ago

Ahh Karuah. Where dreams go to die.

James Bickerton
James Bickerton
6 years ago

Where are we Mike ? Up shit creek without a paddle Mal .
So today folks we are going to show you Shit Creek ……

f u
f u
6 years ago
Reply to  astro

I thought being a grumpy local was all about being inclusive.
edit: i agree astro, I meant exclusive
though it could be either depeding on your perspective maybe

Shore pound
Shore pound
6 years ago
Reply to  f u

He’s ‘our’ grumpy local


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