“Your vision will come under attack. Your vision
will be questioned.”
Four months ago, Erik Logan was disappeared by the WSL mid-event
at the Vivo Rio Pro, no reason given, only a curtly worded press release
that neither thanked nor exalted their high-profile CEO.
“Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced that CEO Erik
Logan has departed the company, effective immediately.”
Silence ensued as per the WSL’s policy regarding transparency,
ie none, despite Logan’s almost five-year reign as head of pro
surfing, which took in the pivot to a one-day
world champ playoff, a mid-year tour cut, as well as failed
ventures including The Ultimate Surfer and WSL
Studios.
As Chas Smith reported following the
disappearance,
The lack of any information, whatsoever, from the World Surf
League in the aftermath, alongside the “flabbergasting” lack of
knowledge by those close to the levers of power, suggested an
absolutely ruthless NDA.
A championship tour surfer had told me, directly, that Logan
had made certain surfers “feel uncomfortable” with his behavior and
by asking them to one-on-one dinners or drinks. He also, it was
said, became “erratic” when he drank. The assertion of both
troublesome requests and over-indulgent drinking was corroborated
by at least two others, both with direct experience.
“He was getting away with it for a while,” another with
first hand experience told me. “Lots of reports the last few events
that he’s been drunk and making inappropriate comments to the
women.”
Putting pieces together, it suggests the sort of firing that
would deliver no praise and require an ironclad NDA. One almost
certainly concerning personal conduct and needing the head of human
resources and the head of legal to take over at a moment’s
notice.
One that forced him to “fly home immediately,” according to
one source, directly following his ouster.
Erik Logan has been apprised of the accusations, that the
aforementioned is my understanding of what led to his extreme
ouster. I gave him much time to correct the record, via phone
calls, voice messages left plus text, to provide any
insight.
Many tears, you’d imagine, for a man
who adored the sport’s stars so much he had a t-shirt made with a
replica of Filipe Toledo’s chest tattoo and ordered the world champ
to take off his shirt to compare.
Erik Logan, who is fifty-two, ain’t a man to stay on the canvas,
of course.
Logan has risen from the ashes of his sacking and has
transmogrified to inspirational speaker, advising CEO’s, mangers
and so on, how to best run a company.
On his LinkedIn page, we find Logan, represented by The Harry Walker Agency,
delivering an inspirational speech to the Pipeline Entrepreneurial
Fellowship in Nebraska.
“I have a saying when I walk into a
company that companies turn around inside out not outside in. You
have to establish the culture immediately. I think as a founder/CEO
what gives you that alchemy in your community, which is your
company, is you have to get the trust of your people.
“You have to have the highest regard of integrity. Also, and
this is the part I’d add to the third leg of this stool is the
vision. And you are the one who sets the vision. And the vision
will come under attack. The vision will be questioned. People will
doubt you and they will test your resolve.
“And that’s where the trust comes in. The culture allows you as
the leader to hear the criticism and to embrace that criticism. For
me, I think what makes that alchemy work is all three of those
legs. But never forget the moment that if your’e the founder, the
CEO, your job is to keep establishing, reinforcing the north star
of where you’re going.”
A personal attack on surf fans, yes? The naysayers who didn’t
buy his treacly brand of surfing? You’ll remember, or not, when
Logan debuted Transformed, “stories of
surf ambassadors whose lives were transformed through surfing, and
who are now transforming their communities through the power of
surfing.”
The first series “sparked an emotional response from surf fans
and resonated with a broader audience,” Logan said at the
time.
It also led to accusations that Erik
Logan’s version of the WSL was festishising people of colour and it
was this patronising approach masquerading as progressive values
that had its potential audience staying away in droves.
If you wanna get Logan to
speak at your Christmas party, Bar Mitzvah, decoupling event, Free
Palestine protest, whatever, you can select from three
topics.
-Riding the Waves of Passion and Profession: An unforeseen
journey through Discovery, Loss, and Rediscovery
-Beyond the Degree: Life’s Unexpected Teaching on Success
and Leadership
-The Art of the Turnaround: Lessons in Resurrecting
Businesses and Cultures
What do you choose?
Or is the temptation too great to hear it all and would you book
three times?
