Mateus Herdy, Now Served With Logo

Mateus Herdy has had zero major brand support since January 2024, when Quiksilver and Red Bull dropped him in close succession. This, despite a 3rd-place finish at the Mexico CT in 2021, a 5th at the Rio CT in 2022 as a wildcard, and repeated brushes with qualification (not to mention myriad appearances in marquee Stab events/series).

Didn’t matter. Brand budgets got lean. Mateus got the boot.

By the end of 2024, he was ready to throw the towel in. “It’s insane to do the CS without a sponsor,” he told Stab last September. He wasn’t being dramatic — just doing the math. And Brazilian reals, bless ’em, don’t stretch far once squashed into USD.

Then, Logan Dulien — Snapt 5 creator and patron saint of underappreciated talent — offered to float Mateus another lap around the world and give qualifying another shot. So Mateus saddled up. In the past 14 months, he’s competed in eight CS and seven QS events, starred in Stab High Japan, Stab Highway East Coast and Surf100 California, and released a couple video parts and a vlog.

The result? Well: good things come to those who rip. And hustle. And maybe eat shit for a year or two.

Mateus just inked a deal with Rivvia Projects — namesake brand of Julian Wilson, who’s cut from suspiciously similar cloth. The two first crossed paths poolside in Shizunami, where Julian watched Mateus almost stick a double in the Stab High Qualifier Round, then paddled out and nailed the thing for a breezy advancement.

I suppose you’d call this evens then.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rivvia Projects (@rivvia.projects)

Stab: Congratulations Mateus. So well deserved. Long overdue. How did it come about? 

Mateus: Thank you. It’s been a while. I don’t even know how to put a sticker on a board anymore [laughs].

How did it come about? Well we’re at the US Open in Huntington right now, and Ryan and Julian took me to In-N-Out and we just signed the deal there, which is pretty funny. We agreed to make a deal through til the Newcastle Challenger. Newcastle is Ryan’s hometown and where Julian’s been living for the past few years. For now, the deal is just until then, then we can renegotiate. 

I’ve been a big fan of Julian since I was a little kid. I feel like we have quite a few similarities: our looks, our stance, our style. So that alignment feels natural. We’re all doing the Challenger together too, so the timing is perfect. 

Prior to this, Logan [Dulien] was pretty much my main sponsor. I owe him a lot. He was super supportive through this whole process. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the future, and to help build the brand in Brazil when the time comes. 

It does feel like a perfect fit. Even at the pool you were the first one to go for the double air, and then he went and stole your trick. It was just good sport.

Yeah, the double air battle was classic. I was so stoked when I saw that. 

Why do you think you went so long without a sponsor? You’re hardworking, you do well in contests, you’re all over our site, you’re handsome. What wasn’t working?

Let’s be honest: if I was Australian, I would’ve been sponsored already. But at the end of the day, I’m Brazilian, and brands just aren’t interested in someone from that region. That was a nice thing Julian said, he was like, “You’re an international surfer. You’re a well known name well beyond just Brazil.”

I suppose the other part is: I’m not cheap. I’m not going to settle for just anything. This thing with Julian is different. It’s a new brand and I don’t know what the future holds, but it feels like something that can last beyond just my short-term competitive career.

But honestly, the whole surf world is just strange right now. So many guys are without sponsors and if you’re not doing TikToks and dancing in front of your phone, a lot of brands won’t even look at you. 

A lot of brands don’t seem to care about surf movies or doing projects with Stab. They just want viral content that gets views, even if it’s dumb and corny. But come on… it’s mostly 12-year-old kids watching that shit. They’re not even going to buy anything. 

Plus, half the time, it’s kids from Texas or China. It’s not even a surf audience. Sure, the view count looks big, but what does that actually mean? You think 100,000 people watching that translates to 100,000 buyers? No way. In fact, it might actually be 100,000 people laughing at you. Which is brand damaging. 

Think of that Bud Light commercial. Not all publicity is good publicity.

Totally. Or Sydney Sweeney’s recent American Eagle campaign — it went viral and has been seen my millions. But there’s a fine line between viral marketing campaign and permanent brand damage. Meanwhile, numbers say they’ve brained it. And it’s like… cool, but is it actually selling more jeans?

Exactly, there’s a lot of vanity metrics. They’re not meaningful. It’s like you watch a kid go and chat to Filipe, and I can totally see them, or their parents, buying something — maybe some boardshorts, a tee, a pair of fins — based off that interaction. Cos that kind of authentic stuff actually connects.

I just don’t see anyone buying what TikTokers are pushing — at least not in my world. Maybe I’m just some dumb kid hating, but it doesn’t add up to me. That said, if someone’s got a solid explanation, I’m all ears.

A few years back, you had the dream combo — Quiksilver and Red Bull. A major endemic brand and an energy drink giant. Losing that must’ve stung. What did you take away from that?

Yeah, when it happened, it rocked me. It was just so many things at once. When you’re a little kid watching all the surf movies — seeing Julian, Clay Marzo, Dane Reynolds at Quik — all you want is to be part of that world.

So when I lost those sponsors, the pain was layered. First was the financial hit. But more than that, it felt like losing the dream. The dream of being a pro surfer, of putting the sticker on your board like your idols. Surfing like them. Living like them.

But then you grow up a bit. And after a while, I had this moment where I realized: most of the surf brand logos are just waves. Rip Curl? Wave. Quiksilver? Wave. Billabong? Wave. O’Neill? Wave. These transient moments that happen — then disappear.

So I learned a lot in that period. What I actually care about. What I stand for. Who I want around me.

There was a silver lining too. On the QS, I used to feel this constant pressure with those stickers on my board — like I had to justify the investment. Once I lost them, the pressure shifted. I had to fight just to make a living. Just to keep being a surfer.

Now it feels different. I’ve got good people in my corner — Logan [Dulien], my manager; Daniel, my coach; Leandro; my close friends; you guys. And now Julian. It finally feels like things are flowing. This year’s been really good. And yeah, I’m stoked — because the last few years were rough.

I feel like Ryan Miller summed it up really well in How Surfers Get Paid. You’re either a success story or a bit of a victim of the region you grew up in. And with Brazil… you’re right. Brands have their target markets — the U.S., Australia, Europe. That’s where the bulk of the marketing dollars go. It’s not fair. But you’ve basically spent your whole life on the road. You’re in all these international projects. You’ve built this global presence. How many languages do you speak now?

Three. I’m trying to learn French too.

So Portuguese, English, and Spanish?

Yeah — fluent in all three.

Yeah, that’s wild. Also, the fact that you’re our go to guy in all these different spaces — is just a credit to how pleasant you are to work with.

Thank you. It’s been a lot, man. The last few years were a struggle. Hard. And I got a lot of hate too — especially from Brazil.

I don’t even know if my dad knows how bad it got. People actually came to my house and keyed slurs into my car. They wrote “faggot” on my truck. Took a knife to it. Messed up the whole thing. I’ll send you a photo later. It was fucked.

Jesus.

Yeah, I think after that Stab article about Brazil. People twisted it in the worst way possible. Never even read the article, just made assumptions based on the title. And honestly, I might be the only Brazilian surfer who consistently works with Stab, so that made me an easy target.

But it’s weird — it’s a love and hate thing. When I didn’t qualify, they turned on David Silva too, gave him shit like it was his fault. So it’s not just me.

But now? Things are good. I feel the love. From you guys, from my crew, from people who actually get it. That’s what matters. I’m feeling the momentum. 

Fuck yeah, go win the US Open.

Let’s fucking go.