Stroke, heart surgery, divorce, losing his WSL job
and surprise pivot from surfing and into tennis!
To know the former WSL boss Erik Logan, as they say, was to
love him. Sparkling eyes that milked your essence, a body that
made any man or woman’s cheeks flame and all wrapped in the calming
assurance of a man who knew how to set limits.
Thoroughly intoxicating.
It came as a terrific surprise, nine months ago, therefore, when
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.
There was excitement today when Erik Logan posted a lengthy
screed on his Substack detailing his cataclysmic descent from
42-year-old beginner surfer, loving everything surf, to architect
of the entire sport with all its ensuring baggage.
Erik Logan writes,
We’ve all been told, “Do what you love, and you’ll never
work a day in your life.” Or maybe, “Follow your passion; the money
will follow you.” There are countless variations on this
theme. Throughout my career, I let this idea guide my
professional choices, and tried to make my job my
passion. The reality was that I was passionate about my work,
but it was never my burning passion. Four years ago, I
took a passion that I had discovered and made it my job and I can
now say I’m not 100% sure this cliche is the best advice, at least
for me.
There was an eroding and flattening of my love for surfing.
It wasn’t sudden; bits and pieces of joy chipped away here and
there until the love was broken and the passion was gone. I
would think back to those early moments of feeling that this job
would be so great for me; and that being on the ‘inside of surfing’
and getting deeper into this world I loved would unlock more ways
to deepen my passion and engage my business brain. I was
wrong again.
The reality is that when my passion became my job, those
lines became blurred. What once was a sanctuary, where
anonymity was nearly assured with many of us wearing identical
black wetsuits on our boards, not caring at all what anyone
did outside of the ocean, suddenly became a place I didn’t want to
be. People constantly approached me, wanting to talk about surfing
and the WSL and give their unsolicited opinions of the sport or the
company (good and bad). I would always take the time to talk
with them and listen, thank them for the conversation, and try to
be as present and thoughtful as possible. To be honest, there
were many times that it felt good; my ego loved it, and even when
the conversations got heated, I still loved the debate. So,
on the one hand, I was feeling good on the ego level; on the other,
my love for surfing and passion were eroding – catching fewer and
fewer waves.
The erosion continued.
I used to have fun and get up at 4:30 and get to the water
at first light, but no longer. What was clear to me was that I was
not having fun surfing anymore. The passion was gone. I
couldn’t find it anywhere. It was gone as fast as it overcame
me. And then, in late June of 2023, I was no longer working –
passion and profession both gone.
Does confession of events that
created his downfall follow? (No!) But read
here!
