World Surf League chief strategist outed!
Another World Surf League season is drawing to a close, this one mostly memorable for CEO Erik Logan getting ruthlessly fired and disappeared in the back half. Other than that, it was marked with generally poor surf, silly booth talk, Bailey Ladders, Kelly Slater’s make-believe wildcard, Make or Break getting canceled, Jessi Miley-Dyer promoting herself to Chief of Sport, greenwashing, sportwashing, Cup Noodles.
Who is to blame?
According no The Animal Chin, the buck stops with Dave Prodan.
In a scintillating expose from one month ago, Chin argued:
Recently, Surfer and Stab recommended that Dave Prodan, current Chief Marketing Officer, be groomed as successor to the ELo throne. While his pedigree and involvement may be what Dirk and others view as logical and prudent, he is absolutely the wrong man for the job.
To begin, Dave has sat idly by while the WSL turned into the “bullshit wannabe tennis tour” that Bobby foresaw. Along each step of the way, Dave was fully responsible for the hype and positioning of the company in this pivot.
Well, it appears as if others agree.
A few short weeks away from the Rip Curl WSL Finals at Lower Trestles, another bungled idea, stickers are turning up down that iconic trail reading “Dave Prodan killed surfing” next to a photograph of Prodan’s face once described by the great Derek Rielly as having enchanting “big eyes, delicate hands, never dirty, and silky hair that he smooths vigorously each morning in the hope of flattening a cow-lick which rears from the top of his skull.
The stickers are on street signs, on guard rails, on light posts and trash cans.
Who placed them?
How did they arrive?
Is the statement true?
David Lee Scales and I discussed on our weekly chat. It is his inclination that the last man standing will have to take the blame and he is certainly right about Prodan’s tenure. He has weathered more regimes than I can even count, stretching back decades into the mists of Association of Surfing Professionals. He has slowly risen to a place of power, hosting the World Surf League’s popular podcast and exemplifying newspeak in its most pure form.
But killing surfing?
What are your thoughts.
David Lee and I also talked about Committees for Equity in Women’s Surfing and other such important things. I think you will enjoy.
for easing out the strands of bro fro…and/or huge shoreline crabs!
Amen
used metal detector 4 sale…
I disagree, Jack Oneil killed surfing, Laird Hamilton drove the last nail in the coffin.
my 1st wetsuit was self-stitched with 30# fishing test from scratch neopreme recycled from Dive N’ Surf trash dumpster. but hey, there was a short period of time when I felt the same…Jack good. Laird lame. then again, I used to be a waterman too.
The leash did far more damage than both
If your pay stub says WSL or ZoSea, you are either the one arm or eye left over on a sad little doll. You may have survived, but your existence was a contributing factor to the brokenness or is barely hanging on by a few threads.
Prodan should be proud of that, he’s reached full villain status to all the people who feel professional competitive surfing is a holy part of the sport. But for Dave to kill surfing…Isn’t that what we want? Dave to kill surfing and clear the line ups of blasphemes… Does this make Dave a savior? In the Bible, is Dave actually Abraham and surfing his sacrificial son Isaac? Can Kolohe speak to this? Since he too was sacrificed to the mid season cut.
So i take it stickers are cheaper than a roadside billboard? Well done anyway, its a good change from the tiresome industry-backed ‘surf brand stickered roadsign’ thing
Both poses the same survivalist spirit
free stickers?
come back next week and we’ll pull the oher one~
Glowing review.
See you next season then.
Plot twist, this is E.lo’s next project.
Such petty stuff!! Like a bunch of little boys fighting over their marbles
If you are a pro competitive surfer, yes. Otherwise just do you.
Less wiser?
Meanwhile the Gold Coast air show is underway ( this the event local and state governments put the funding into that normally pays for the snapper pro) to full crowds paying $45 each for a spot on the sand.
And some wonder why surfing is fucked
Saw it livestreamed, woulds been awesome live
Perfect weather, Big “ paying “ crowd. I watched what I could see while having a swim at greenmount. The smoke trials look spectacular.
It’s a much better match for the Gold Coast than the wasted $$$ to bring the wsl to the city.
Imo
BJJ or Pickleball! Trying to get a couple of surf buddies start rollerblading. Hard sell..
Just tell them it will ruin all relationships, and they will most likely only get to do it 30% of the time if they really like it. Surfers are used to that
evvolution of a beach sport: horseshoes > toilet seats> cornholing…
If you’ll allow me to don the tin foil hat for a sec… looks like a selfie… just sayin…
Air reverses killed it.
that
Social Media 100%
No doubt.