No such thing as bad publicity.
The surf industry, as you know well, has fallen upon extraordinarily hard times. Once-proud brands like Quiksilver, Billabong, RVCA, Hurley etc. have been scooped up by large management companies, their logos slapped on everything from toilet plungers to beard oil companies and dumped into big box retailers. Professional surfers, formerly employed to surf professionally, are joining bread lines as their contracts are shredded.
Metaphorical death and real destruction everywhere.
But a bright spot?
Torquay’s Rip Curl, not previously a household name, has reached international fame even trending on Twitter.
Yes, #BoycottRipCurl has leaped past the numerical mark of roughly 7000 tweets required for “trending” with over 18,000, and counting, the wetsuit and soft good manufacturer’s name in lights.
Huzzah!
The reason for the spike is, of course, due Rip Curl’s Instagram post celebrating trans surf star Sasha Jane Lowerson that read:
Meet Sasha – a West Australian waterwoman who loves the freedom found in surfing, disconnecting from the mainstream, and the feeling of dancing on constantly changing waves. When we were adventuring through Western Australia recently, we were keen to know what The Search means to the surfers who crossed our paths. These surfers live on a wild stretch of coast where there’s always a new wave or campsite just a little further down the road or off the beaten track. It’s a state of mind, always being ready to try something new, curious to seek out knowledge and learn the rules – and break them.
Lowerson was pictured wearing a cute Rip Curl bathing suit.
Backlash to the message was instant, especially in light of Bethany Hamilton’s recent departure from the brand over her views on transgender surfers competing in the women’s division.
As the pile on continued, Rip Curl quietly disappeared the missive which is, honestly, curious. The Rip Curl marketing team certainly would have been aware of the Bud Light brouhaha alongside other “Go woke, go broke,” actions against progressive companies. The cost counted before hand?
Apparently no but now what? Will Rip Curl’s C-Suite team hunker down in the flashbomb shelter and wait for the storm to pass? Apologize publicly? Double down?
Whatever the decision, Rip Curl being on the tip of tongues from Denver to Dubuque has to be good, right? No such thing as bad publicity, yes?
Or will the weight of outrage crush the house that Mick Fanning built?
More as the story develops.