When you think about the perfect marriage of surfer and sponsor, a lot of possibilities come to mind. Boards, wax, sunscreen, rashguards, airlines, cars, shorts, hats. The list goes on. Honestly, it’s almost harder to come up with a company that wouldn’t work.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way. And professional surfers have that will. With that, here are five products created, sponsored and endorsed by surfers that are now permanently part of the pursuit’s history, for better or worse. (Mostly worse.)
Purps
Kelly Slater has developed or slapped his name on quite a few products over the years. Some have worked (Outerknown), some not so much (see above). Yes, one project stands out above them all: Purps. Founded in 2014 by Slater and RVCA creator Pat Tenore, Purps was an energy drink with a head-scratching name and a lot of questionable branding as a healthy choice for… surfers, I guess. If you’re interested in checking it out, that might be tough. The site has been shut down and the last Instagram post for the brand was in 2023.
The Fanning
Mick Fanning has made a lot of contributions to surfing: three-time world champion, Surfer’s Hall of Fame inductee, WSL rookie of the year, that time he fought off a shark in the middle of a competition. But somehow, of all those things, his greatest mark on the world might be a sandal.
The Fanning was a piece of footwear released by Reef in 2003. It had the dubious distinction of being maybe the first sandal to have a built-in bottle opener. The only problem was that it was in the sole. Meaning that anything you stepped on would promptly end up right on top of your drink.
And yet, it sold like gangbusters. The Fanning was a massive success, becoming a banner product for Reef and earning a small fortune for its namesake in the process. As Mick himself once told Wavelength, “I reckon more people know my name for that sandal than they do for anything I’ve ever done in surfing, And that’s even after I almost got eaten by a shark live on TV.”
Rythmia
It’s a rare opportunity in life to be able to marry one’s personal interests with your professional pursuits. With Rythmia, Kelly Slater managed to do just that: combine his burgeoning business empire with his love of wellness treatments.
Rythmia is a luxury resort located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The facility provides a bevy of treatments ranging from useful to an array of unproven remedies. Those include metaphysics classes, volcanic mud baths, life coaching, hydrocolonic cleanses, rhythmic breath work, massage, plant medicine and ayahuasca ceremonies.
Of course, Slater isn’t exactly the architect of the whole thing. He merely sits on Rythmia’s board of directors. It’s still enough to make the list, though.
Laird Superfood Creamer
However, Kelly Slater doesn’t have the market cornered on supplements. Big wave surfer Laird Hamilton has also made major inroads into the world of nutrition with his company Laird Superfoods. There’s a lot to unpack here, like an AG1 knockoff, “functional” mushroom supplements and a “superfood” bar. At the top of this entire unnecessary food pyramid, though, is Laird Superfood Creamer (which we’ve heard isn’t half bad, but relates to surfing how?). Because of course the thing that coffee was missing is a bunch of supplements crammed into it via powdered milk.
Sharkbanz
If you don’t think about it at all, Bethany Hamilton seems like someone who would be knowledgeable about preventing shark attacks. Upon further reflection, that’s more of a mental association between her and sharks, caused by her tragic loss of a limb to one as a child. And her backing a product like Sharkbanz makes sense.
Unfortunately, while there are in fact some types of electronic shark deterrent devices that do work, there is no indication that Sharkbanz is one of them. Scientific studies have shown no correlation between the magnetic bracelets and reduced shark bites. When you think about it, that makes sense. Because why the hell would you trust your life to a couple rare Earth magnets glued into a rubber strap?
It bears mentioning that, unlike many of the other products on this list, Hamilton didn’t have any actual hand in the production of this product. On the other hand, she happily had her name slapped on her own special edition of the product, so on the list she goes.
