The TENŌRE Crew Are Rocking Fresh Stickers At The Vans Pipe Masters

Watch the 2023 Vans Pipe Masters here. Read our contest preview and get the heat draw here.

At the heat draw ahead of the 2023 Vans Pipe Masters, some invitees formerly sponsored by RVCA — Billy Kemper, Noah Beschen, Makai McNamara, Kala Grace — attended wearing black “TENŌRE” shirts and hats. 

According to Makai, this is the first merch released from RVCA founder Pat Tenore’s new brand. In Mikey C’s interview with Billy about the state of the surf industry and switching sponsors, Billy said Pat is using his authenticity and well-rounded network of surfers, artists and fighters to create a company “that’s really going to shock the world.” 

It appears that Pat and these select team riders are preparing to be the latest renegades of risk, continuing the trend we’ve seen emerge in the past few years of grassroots brands looking to usurp the industry status quo.

On a bluebird morning for the opening day of the Vans Pipe Masters, Kala was the first of the contingent to paddle out, flexing the Tenore sticker on the nose of his Bret Marumoto-shaped blade. Billy soon followed suit in the fourth heat of the day, pig-dogging into a Pipeline gem to get a 24-point ride (three judges all gave 8’s), the highest single-wave score of the event so far (all while recovering from a broken foot busted in three places.)

“No Apple watch on my hand,” Billy said in the post-heat interview. “Just all vibes and being present in the moment.”