“Private equity killing core brands and philosophies…”
The swinging Gen Z tail-slinger and world #17 Liam O’Brien has been unceremoniously dumped by Billabong only three days after his greatest triumph.
Liam O’Brien barely had time to celebrate his victory at the prestigious Burleigh Heads Boardriders Single Fin Classic, or feed the women on the headland driven mad by the scent of his healthy young flesh, when he received news Billabong wouldn’t be renewing his monthly stipend.
Gracious in defeat, the twenty four year old whose heat strategy is to clench and unclench his talons into his enemy’s heart until it stops beating, wrote:
“Thanks for everything @billabong it’s been an unbelievable ride. Special thanks to @bowie_ @rainoshayes @the_other_heff and everyone at the brand for 12 years of support and some awesome opportunities. I’m very grateful for the position I’m in and for what the future holds.”
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The great surf journalist Sean Doherty wrote, “Blessing in disguise mate, onward and upward.”
Comments uniformly positive,
Private equity killing core brands and philosophies show em mate that the true art is in the water anyways.
You put a film out like Wandering and still get dropped wtf does a man gotta do to stay sponsored these days !? Smash the crap out of 2024 LOB love watching you surf and your class out of the water with it , let’s go !
Liam you will be gold for whoever is lucky enough to pick you up – style in and out of the water- no better representative for any company.
What a privilege for Billabong to have had a talent like you for the past many years. You will always be an incredible ambassador for any brand that want to be associated with a Surfer of your caliber, who is also so smart, well spoken, kind, legit and just a great soul. Keep charging LOB.
The sacking brought no surprises, of course.
Billabong fell on its sword years ago after flying too close to the sun, and is now the plaything of Authentic Brands Group, which also owns Quiksilver and RVCA .
Italo Ferreira, a world champ, is gone. Griff Colapinto, out. The famed Pipeline A-team house was sold to an industry figure for six million bucks and Billabong, once a beacon of healthy living, recently partnered up with another brand to produced plus-sized womenswear.
Liam O’Brien will now fill his wardrobe with Vissla, former Billabong head Paul Naude’s successful start-up and producer of BeachGrit’s Backward Fins range a few years back.
Beautiful and anything but stupid, Liam first came onto my radar five years ago via an edit by Billy-Lee Pope.
He sent it to me a week before anyone else but while I pondered its suitability for patrons of this website, it started popping up everywhere else. Surfer, Stab, and so on.
I said to Billy, if he could get the keys to the file and change the song to something more appropriate to our audience, I would loose on BeachGrit.
After a short consultation, I chose a Rick James classic.
James was famous for having a very acid ejaculit after a long, and mostly satisfying, $7000-a-week crack cocaine addiction. When he died, the autopsy found alprazolam, diazepam, bupropion, citalopram, hydrocodone, digoxin, chlorpheniramine, methamphetamine, and cocaine, of course, in his blood.
The song, called Give It To Me Baby, encapsulates Liam’s approach to waves.
Give it hard and give it fast.
When I came home last night
You wouldn’t make love to me
You went fast to sleep
You wouldn’t even talk to me
You said I’m so crazy
Coming home intoxicated
I said I just wanna love you
I just wanna love you baby
That is why I’m so elated
C’mon girl, give it to me baby
Give it to me baby
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby), I betcha
I’ll make you hot till you’ve had enough
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby)
Just give it to me baby
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby), I betcha
I’ll make you hot till you’ve had enough
Give it to me
Give me that stuff that funk that sweet that funky stuff (say what)
(Give it to me)
Give me that stuff that funk that sweet that funky stuff (say what)
Give it to me, give it to me
Give it to me, give it to me
Give me that stuff
That sweet, funky stuff
Yoh ho, aw
(Give to me, baby)
When I was high as the sky
Out all night just dancing
You say let’s go home (c’mon Rick, I’m tired, let’s go home)
That’s the time I start romancin’
You say “how can I love you?” (how can I love you, baby?)
“When your body keeps on moving”
I say “wait til I squeeze you” (oh)
Maybe then you’ll start to groovin’ (c’mon girl)
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby)
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby), I betcha
I’ll make you hot like you had enough
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby)
Just give it to me baby
Give it to me baby (give it to me baby), I betcha
I’ll make you hot like you had enough
Give it to me
Give me that stuff that funk that sweet that funky stuff (say what)
(Give it to me)
Give me that stuff that funk that sweet that funky stuff (say what)
Give it to me, give it to me
Give it to me, give it to me
Give me that stuff
That sweet, funky stuff
Yoh ho, aw
(Hey Girl)
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me what you say
(Give it to me) what you say
(Give it to me) what you say
(Hey girl)
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me
Give it to me (hey girl)
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me
Give it to me (hey, girl)
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me right away
Give it to me
Give it to me (hey, girl)
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me what you say
Give it to me
Sing along!
That Rick James track matches LOB’s clip so well, I can’t imagine it with any other way. Thank you Sir
This was probably one of the best articles I’ve read in all the of published columns I’ve viewed on this online surf satire journal. Thank you, Derek!
only a sufferer knows the feeling!
Only a shareholder knows the feeling.
Life is better in 5/4’s…
I didn’t know Billabong was such a shite company now. I support someone else that’s for sure. Got get em young fella.
Give to us DR, Give it to us.. What we say!
Meanwhile, happy MLK day back stateside. Surfer took a break from their AI content to post a nice story about an MLK – surf connection: https://www.surfer.com/surf…
How was the game from the stands?
Awesome. Possibly the best live sporting event I’ve ever been to. My spouse is a KC native (and KU grad) so we’re a hardcore Chiefs/Jayhawks household (since long before TS showed up) — Arrowhead was going off all night, like everyone in a shared fuck you to the rest of the world saying it was too cold. When we left it was minus 8 with 30 below wind-chill. Inside the stadium didn’t feel the wind very much, so it was actually tolerable, although we were super prepared. Had electric heated socks, hothands galore, a hothands pullover vest thing that was really good, snow boots, snow pants, snow jacket, double scarves, double wool beanies/hoods, multiple layers underneath everything. Also brought in cardboard to stand on so weren’t directly standing on concrete and that made huge difference. Felt bad for Miami, they didn’t seem to know what hit them, other than the one nice play by Tyreek.
Get to the important shit Rocks, how was the bar b que?
Pretty damn good! Burnt ends are meat paradise. Art Bryant’s can’t be missed, but all of it fantastic. Hell of a place.
fuck yeah.
the prices are ridiculous. Wow. gotta put that in my retirement queue.
was thinking about following the entire Diners Drives and Dives itinerary.
Art B is the original, a downtown dive, pics of presidents who’ve eaten there on the walls, floor so slick with grease it’s like ice skating, just stacks of meat on bread with no production values, add your own sauce at the table, as core as it gets. Lines out door and around. It’s the place that the New Yorker guy said was the best restaurant on the planet (back in the 70s). A ton of other great ones too though, that probably actually have better bbq (especially ribs and burnt ends) than AB = Joe’s, Jack Stack, Slaps, Gates, Q39, etc. And the baked beans are off the charts too, fwiw.
Missus and I heading in … https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Rad
Got a pair of Vissla boardies. They’re not bad. Not the BG ones. 16” trunks ain’t for this keg.
I’m thinking the marketing team at Vissla have got their demographic well sorted. McGilv and LOB both surfers that pass the good bloke pub test.
SHHH, don’t tell anyone I bought a Vissla jacket and followed that a month later with a pair of their pants. I typically won’t buy clothing with a logo but their logo is low key and not in your face. To your point, they’re putting out the right messaging.
Quik and billabong are going to make abg more money by flogging off cheap crap to target. Brand destruction for sure, but it will move more product. Same shit happened to hang ten and golden breed. Only a moron sees this going any other direction.
Who cares if surfers don’t have sponsors. I mean who really GAF. Pro surfing was just a vehicle for the owners of the big 3 to see who could piss the furthest. But they’ve all cashed in their chips, leaving the hangers on in torquay and the gold coast completely bewildered.
The internet has killed pro surfing. Its boring to watch live and the waves are generally shit. So many people crying that its not the dream tour but we are back at mid 80s era where only comps with live spectators close to cities justify the cost.
If I was boss of the WSL I’d give up on the famtasy that surfers are “athletes”, surfing can’t compete against tennis or football.
Make it 4 man heats, more waves ridden. Even allow drop ins to make it exciting. And for crying out loud, get the surfers to grow their hair and have some bloody charisma. Thats what kids want to emulate and sponsors will follow.
Soo go back to the 80’s /90’s?
Shit yeah!
Some of us never left!
I think that pro surfers would get cancelled for most of their behaviour from the 80’s. The dynamics of sexual encounters, alone, is a huge difference and many surfers would be catching accusations if they partied and slept around in the same way.
Nah, all pro surfers will have to be youtubers who pretend they are friends with their audience.
Back to the days when pros had to smuggle coke to make ends meet!
The good old days 😀😃 now it just washes up on the shore and the numpties hand it over to the cops!! Idiots!!
Try to imagine the world of horror, simply finding, lest attempting to fence, the aforementioned product!
I’ve always been of the belief that if someone else can do it, why can’t I??!! 😀😃🙂🙃
Theres always “self medication”
LOB’s one of the best surfers to come out of Oz in the past decade
love the Rick James tune for the clip
years ago, did the CEO of ABG get donuts from JBG?
he sure seems to hate surfers
it’s almost like ABG and WSL have a not so secret plan to destroy pro surfing.
They cannot destroy what they did not create, they’ve just been used as crutches by the surfers anyhow
Pussies, using crutches.
Pussies
Fucking love LOB.
I loved him even more after he smoked Slater at Margies last year.
Every time Slater loses a heat an angel gets its wings.
fully aroused and open about it.
Who is L.O.B. ?
Larry O. Brian
son of LBL
Lay back Larry…
Old skool Larry…
grandson of Liam, Sr.
(acid flashback)
Colapinto just changed stickers, still sponsored by american brands.
Made in Chaiwan
When did Italo get dumped?
Come on Mate. up your game.
https://beachgrit.com/2023/…
like a million dog years ago…
I bet Spam has enough in the side hustle coffer to sponsor a surfer.
They already sponsor Spamuel Pupo and Spamy Fitzgibbons
and patented spicy ham samichs
The potential for a mass email Spam marketing campaign could yield results. Imagine Pro Surfers flooding email accounts worldwide.
His edit from late last year has some pretty bat-crazy hard charging surfing. Hats off to Liam, loved seeing him on tour last year.
https://youtu.be/DlFkFHlPDC…
Ah, that’s the one I was looking for!
He’s still on Tour.
I know… the tour this year, hasn’t started yet.
Might not either! Zero hype!
Oh, sweet, it sounded like you were talking about him in past tense.
my bad.
You fucking idiot… I’m just kidding (:
Right? starts in 2 weeks and Crickets are chirping away…
We can only hope. I pray for a complete collapse of the surf industry
Maybe break the viagra in half next time.
lol
one liners still rule!
Good on Vissla. Somehow I see them coming out of this next year as a core brand if they keep supporting guys like Lob
“Everywhere you wanna be!”
Niiiice! You are back baby!
YOU ARE BACK