“Why would Rusty be willing to pay $15,750 to paint the wall of a liquor store in Carlsbad, CA?”
Last week’s story of relative note was the news that Rusty Surfboards had been accused of stiffing a queer artist fifteen gees after a dispute over an unpaid invoice went viral.
She says she waited two years for the cash and then posted a reel of her taking the Rusty logo out of the mural. The reel was viewed 27 million times, liked 104,000 times with three thousand comments and 315 shares.
Then, and out of nowhere it seemed, the Licensee of Rusty Apparel, which is based in Australia and had nothing to do with the mural or knew who Hanna Daly was, paid the bill to end the PR nightmare.
Well, twist time!
After a little back and forthing with Rusty Surfboard Inc’s attorney Gary Sirota, who was rightly contemptuous of BeachGrit’s lack of curiosity surrounding the matter, he came back with,
“Who commissioned Ms. Daly to paint the wall? We knew it wasn’t Rusty. How do we know this? Well, ask yourself, as a business manager, would you commit to a $15,750 job without any contract? Without any approval, or bid, or budget, or in the case of a mural, a design? We could find nothing of the sort, in emails, or otherwise.
“When we asked Ms. Daly to provide anything showing even the barest approval she failed and refused. Keep in mind Rusty Surfboards Inc., is a corporation. There are shareholders other than Rusty Preisendorfer. To handshake a deal for $15,750 by a CEO or MD would be grounds for termination. Next, we had to ask, why would Rusty be willing to pay $15,750 to paint the wall of a liquor store in Carlsbad, CA. Rusty grew up and lives in La Jolla. His factory is in Kerney Mesa. He has a shop in Del Mar. Why would he paint a mural on a liquor store wall in Carlsbad . . . for $15,750? It would make more sense to paint it on the Rusty Del Mar Surf Shop. Then, why would Rusty pay $15,750 for a mural on a liquor store wall and not say “Rusty” on the mural? And why would Rusty approve the incorporation of a logo on the mural to be placed in lower left hand corner. And, more importantly, use a logo that Rusty has NEVER used in commerce.”
Sirota says that in the end,
“Ms. Daly was only successful in damaging the brand to the extent that the Licensee of Rusty Apparel… paid her to shut her up. It wasn’t about doing what was right, or paying for a commitment by Rusty that Rusty simply wouldn’t pay. It was to shut her up. To stop the damage to the Brand. That’s the victory that this story represents. That’s the victory that she is celebrating. She caused damage to an innocent party and then took their money. She had no interest in the truth. Yay Hanna!”
Twist, yes?
Hanna’s got the questions, expect a fired up response soon!