Nolan Rapoza & Tyler Gunter Score A Goof’s Dream - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

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Nolan Rapoza & Tyler Gunter Score A Goof’s Dream

How much can @instagrom monetize his IG handle for?

elsewhere // Aug 6, 2023
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Asking for a friend.

Nolan Rapoza is currently in the semi-finals of the US Open of Surfing (thanks to a controversial interference call against Reef Heazlewood). If he wins two more heats, he’ll be cashing a $20K novelty cheque from presenting partners Wallex – ‘a digital asset service provider that allows customers to make international payments via a secure electronic platform’ – who stepped in this season to fill Vans’ vacant lot as headline sponsor.

Would be quite strange optics for a fintech biz to be handing out old-school analogue cheques but perhaps there will be some cool guerilla-marketing twist! (Think: Elon, sledgehammer, cybertruck). In 2015, Japan’s Hiroto Ohhara won $100K (five times) this year’s prize purse at HB before giving one of the most iconic podium speeches in surf history.

Money talks I s’pose – expect this year’s winners speech to be exactly 1/5 as entertaining.

Standing to make more Benjamins however, may be Newport’s Tyler Gunter – who has owned the hot IG handle @instagrom since 2012 but is now more man-than-grom and looking to relinquish the username (for the right price). The Reddit community informed me earlier that IG handles have sold for up to $50K. (Hot tip: Use an ESCROW service).

HSGP Season 3 material maybe.

Anyhows… Tyler and Nolan made this pretty cool surf film, Embers, which they played in front of a packed house this week in HB. 

Lots of left tube time to get the goofs horny, and no it ain’t Namibia.

Post note: quick props to Body Glove for putting in the time and money to re-establish itself as a legit brand in surf.

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