Coleborn, one of the few redheads to cut through the surf industry's inherent, systemic and often brutal racism, retired at thirty-three.
Australian surfer Mitch Coleborn, a staple of Kai Neville’s era-defining films from 2009’s Modern Collective to Cluster in 2015, and whose frontside fin-throws became a staple of every teen, has split from his sponsor of twenty years, Juicy Couture aka Volcom.
In a plantive note to his fifty-one thousand followers, Coleborn, who turned thirty-three in January, and who was barely fourteen when his preternatural talent was discovered by the flying vee, wrote,
Happiest 14 year old kid in the world turned into 20 years of nothing but good times. Forever grateful for all the support and friendships made. Much love, Mitch
Coleborn’s ten-year career on the world qualifying series, 2011 to the abbreviated season of 2020, yielded no wins but three seconds, two thirds and a fifth. His highest rating was in 2015 when he finished twenty-sixth.
Remember Coleborn, here.
He also beat Medina in Sumatra Ujung Bcr
Salt Life has a spot. He could move to Jacksonville Beach and get on the team.
Still rips, the off the top, Finner Boardslide things he is doing in this clip are some of the best turns I’ve seen in ages.
https://vimeo.com/369443392
Where careers go to die….. he signed with misfit shapes aka a bodyboarder that shapes terrible boards and ripped off computer designs with a co-founder who can’t surf to save his life with terrible taste in fashion and ripped denim. Poor Mitch. I hope his contract doesn’t stipulate that he has to hang out with those guys.
Youth Against the Establishment – LMFAO
Wonder how much he pulled in from the stone over that 20 years? Had a good couple years of being one of their main show ponies.
Shared a financial advisor with him him for a second there and, confidentiality notwithstanding, he was on 6 figures in 2002 (but paying for all his own travel), well before his peak.
May the surf industry burn in hell and all the principles souls be bottled together and thrown in Hell again.
The avarice is dead, but the collateral damage of the greed suffocates the art daily and getting worse.
So you didn’t get sponsored when you were 14 or you did but they wouldn’t pay you when you turned 18?
got free stuff, never sniffed money.
Expect more to follow. Volcom just shitcanned another round of lifetime vets who built the brand and did it without blinking and many without a severance. Looks like they’re going straight 100% mall swap meet brand instead of 50% mall swap meet brand they already were. Makes you think about the future of the Hawaii program not to mention guys like Noa and Jack.
If your concerned about the surfers buy the boardies
That’s exactly the whole point of the sponsorship right?
The surfers didn’t invest their hard earned,.
People ain’t got no sense no mo!!
Took a bit longer for the decline to be completed than we expected.
Was just looking at an old article about Coleborn and came across your comment
this article is wrong. Mitch won in 2013 the prime event in Saquarema – Rio before Saquarema became a WSL event… I couldn’t understand why he didn’t qualified in 2013 after this Prime Victory.
https://vimeo.com/67056081
No mention of him streaking through Tofino and getting arrested….that’s the Mitch I’ll remember
Always a classy move to thank your sponsor when the arrangement comes to an end
i remember when he said that he was surfing in Morocco and a guy paddled up to him and told him he was going to kill him, that was cool
Wow, and I thought he already force retired like five years ago!
pretty sure he hasn’t surfed in at least 5 years!
Sick as ay, but how many litres?
Mitch won the Saquarema prime in 2013 and was qualifying through to Hawaii before the dream slowly slipped away over the course of the Triple Crown. Best QS warrior to never qualify, still surfed in a handful of CTs and looked more than comfortable.
What are these pro’s going to do for the next 30 years ? The pro surfer dream is dead
isnt it beautiful
Become YouTubers or drug addicts.
Still rips. He and Candsell before him shoulda coulda woulda. I wonder where to now
Lawn mowing?
mid-length pro
I’d be happy to watch an edit of Mitch at Cloudbreak on a mid.
cloud break is pretty much a great watch no matter what….
How the WSL could lose such a venue is criminal.
Very very sad
Surf camp instructor.
Faaaaark. Candsell was easiest one of the best juniors I saw surf. Better than lots of guys who made and stayed on tour
One of the most jaw-dropping performances I’ve ever witnessed in my life standing on the beach watching was of Shaun Candsell back around 2006 (or ’05? ’04?) in legit ground swell during the Belmar Pro here in New Jersey. Will never forget his surfing that day…
was there too….always said the same!
I usually only watch Stranger Than Fiction from Cansdell’s section on.
I surfed Narrabeen Beach Park in like ’86…. guy named Stuart Cadden was absolutely fucking killing it, most beautiful round house cutties gorgeous finish off the bush… perfect surfing.
Anyone ever heard of the guy?
Stuart “Daff” Cadden, goofy foot ripper of the 80’s
Gary Green was another who ripped but never quite put it together in the big leagues.
Of course
Pro junior winner turned shaper
Yeah nice video, a full 40seconds of Ozzie inspired ‘art’ followed by the sort of 360 I mastered when I was 15.
You coulda had 20 years of Nutin but good times?
Nuttin, and having good times
How long will Ozzie suck at their sweet teat?
The see ya emails probly in his spam folder