"Many investors view sports as a largely uncorrelated asset class, making it a good hedge when markets are down."
The men and the women are in El Salvador, currently, slogging through elimination rounds at stop number seven on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour and it sure does feel doggy. Not Punta Roca, per se, or any of the competitors, necessarily, just the vibe. Like, no one really cares. After the intense rush of Teahupo’o, it makes sense, I suppose. Still, surfing as sport is weird and only appeals to degenerates who will put up with anything, from Joe Turpel to the spelling of Deivid Silva, and come back for more.
Rumors, anyhow, have been intensifying this year that WSL owner Dirk Ziff is actively looking to unload the Pastime of Kings, quite possibly to a Middle Eastern interest. Well, his quest just got easier as the august investment firm Goldman Sachs includes surfing amidst the list of women’s sports and ultimate fighting that “emerging sports family offices want to own.”
The story, which appears in Fortune, shares that Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and his partner Rob McElhenney’s purchase and subsequent marketing of the small market soccer team Wrexham has spiked interest in being in the sports’ game. Owning an NBA franchise or MLB or NFL of course nets billionaires more billons but Anushka Gupta, head of Goldman Sachs Apex in the Americas, is bullish on smaller fries like surfing.
Family offices are mostly in the early stages of considering sports investments, evaluating factors such as whether leagues are open to expansion and how they handle media rights. “There’s been a lot of focus on the rapid rise in media contract values,” said Gupta, “which has allowed engagement with a much broader audience.” Many investors view sports as a largely uncorrelated asset class, making it a good hedge when markets are down.
Very cool.
Back to Reynolds and McElhenny, though. Would you like to see a power couple like that atop competitive professional surfing?
Welcome to Woozle?
Exciting times.
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Fuck soccer investors. We’d have even more Chianca and Medina related professional fouls, no doubt learned from the latter’s best buddy Neymar.
Beachgrit welcome to the killzone of surfing
No power couples.
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My dad would have laughed like a maniac, “You want to invest in Surfing? Son, don’t be a fuckwit all your life.”
Hahahahahar well, I didn’t but the fuckwit bit hasn’t diminished ….
I still think Natasha’s pulling the strings here.
https://media1.giphy.com/me…
Punta Roca Summary translation: and last but not least…and definitely drug free…or not? re: local slang, we grew up with in our limited clique? tooks years to overcome dat and learn not to corp speak! dude & gnarly does not equate to technical knowledge and a real career… Dealer response: Tim, they are essentially hash oil with a flameless electric heater. What’s inside the cartridge can really vary; Best to buy the ones that are full spectrum (the unseparated direct extract of a certain strain) and low or no additives.
All self-contained, usb rechargeable, not smelly, no smoke. It’s like pretty fucking nifty cannabis nowadays.
i hate ‘like…’ and told my kids that in several different versions. they don’t like me…
Ziff is allllll they sugar daddy mmmmmm hhhhmmmm.
xox
Ziff wrecks em professional surfing sport
Hard to imagine surfing as a good hedge in bad times.
It’s a luxury activity for people with a lot of extra cash and a 2 million dollar house by the beach.
Sad, how much that’s changed.
I can’t see the money in surfing flowing when money is tight. When holding companies like Authentic Brands take down a lot of former big names the way EVERY such company always has, who will pay for the media contracts?
Unlike Ziff using the WSL to generate loss carry forwards from his toy investment, family offices MAY try to copy what the big Middle East players, like the crown prince of Dubai, do with a laser focus on actually generating returns for their investments. YES, not all family offices allow toy investments to keep members happy. So we shall see if anyone is willing to take away Ziff’s toy from him. But should it happen, look for more wave pool events to occur so as to ensure a consistent product for viewers.
Natasha’s not gonna be happy.
They should totally buy it if they love flushing money down the toilet.
Well, they might need a tax write off.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
I think Kelly Slater’s association with the Abu Dhabi wave pool in recent years tells you where the ultimate destination and future owners of the sport of Kings lies.
That region has huge ambitions and is grabbing varied sports like a ravenous crocodile. Boxing, tennis, soccer, golf. Lots more in the pipeline so to speak.
the devil you know, etc. The Ziffster has had some missteps, no doubt, but there is an alternate universe that is much, much bleaker from a ‘core’ surf fan’s perspective.
p.s. Tucker Carlson just released a video/podcast interview of Bukele that is more fascinating, in a quasi dictator / Joel Osteen sort of way, than the contest (Bukele’s part at least – not a Tucker fan).
All I read then was Bukkake Bukkake 💦