Stab Magazine | Craig Anderson Parts Ways With Quiksilver

Live Now: Chapter 11 Mini-Documentary With Dane Reynolds

1697 Views

Craig Anderson Parts Ways With Quiksilver

Clink your glasses of bubbly as the sun sets on a long and fruitful partnership: Craig Anderson is clocking off at Quiksilver. Kelly Slater parted ways with the brand back in April 2014 to start OuterKnown, and Dane Reynolds ended his partnership with Quik on October 31 this year. Now, as of December 31, Craig […]

news // Mar 8, 2016
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Clink your glasses of bubbly as the sun sets on a long and fruitful partnership: Craig Anderson is clocking off at Quiksilver.

Kelly Slater parted ways with the brand back in April 2014 to start OuterKnown, and Dane Reynolds ended his partnership with Quik on October 31 this year. Now, as of December 31, Craig will no longer ride for the company. The lack of these three contracts opens a multi million dollar gap for Quik. Just who’ll fill this void is yet to be seen, but the potential sure excites.

Ando was adopted into the Quik family as a 10-year old living in South Africa with a dreamlike contract. It was a partnership that’d allow him to do what he does best: Surf, and inspire. The relationship has been symbiotic: Quik have offered Craig the chance to breeze the globe and make wave faces look good, and Mr Anderson has helped shaped the company’s current existence. Gifted this kind of freedom, Craig sliced out a surf identity around self expression (with that kinked back knee!). And, it helps that he looks fabulous in whatever clothing lands on his front door.

ando_ff

An analog man in a digital world. Oil on canvas. John Respondek. 2015.

“He’s got such an incredible style and is one of those surfers you could sit there watch all day,” said Quiksilver’s Greg Healy at the time of Craig’s last contract renewal. “Craig is clearly one of the world’s most inspirational freesurfers.”

These days you don’t have to be a top gun heat surfer to enjoy a lucrative deal. The surf audience wants personality to go with double spreads and you’d be hard pressed to attend an event that isn’t swarming with Ando-emulators. That’s the kind of brand equity money can’t buy.

So, what can we expect next from Craig? Stab’s guess would be that Craig will join Dane’s new brand, credible murmurs of which emerged late in November involving a clothing label and skaters Austin Gillette and Dylan Reider. Some of the best skate brands (HUF, Girl, etc) are run by pro skaters, and you’d like to think that surf brands run by surfers will resonate in the market the same way. These guys know how to engage an audience and have a clear connection with their aesthetics. With the rollercoaster surf industry the way it is, there’s every chance this new venture could slingshot to become the next big thing.

A99Q0182

Craig, photographed from the iron butterfly by John Respondek, on Australia’s eastern coast.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Full Frame: Scandinavia Is Surfing’s Next Frontier

A 30-hour drive, bathymetric maps, and 10 years of searching yield surfing's newest discovery.

Mar 29, 2024

Watch: João Chianca Had A Remarkable Hawaii Season Before His Injury

Plus an update on his condition.

Mar 28, 2024

Pittar’d And Feathered

Do the WSL judges deserve the internet's wrath? We asked the man of the hour.

Mar 28, 2024

Robbo, Pickles, And Tyler Wright Become The Underdogs Breakfast At Uninspiring Winkipop

The foreboding blade sharpens and inconsistent judging prevails on Day Two in Torquay.

Mar 27, 2024

“I Don’t Always Win Heats, But When I Do, I Try To Beat John John”

Slater shines and the axe begins its descent on Day 01 at Bells.

Mar 26, 2024

Back Against The Wall: The Ramzi Boukhiam Redemption

Morocco's first CT surfer on speaking six languages, having no coach, and snatching Fil Toledo's…

Mar 25, 2024

Will Kirra, Babies or JJF Stop a GOAT Winning at Bells?

Bluesky BOAG advice from a Superman specialist and former Trials winner.

Mar 25, 2024

Bells Preview: The WSL’s Victorian Sword Dancing Equinox Ritual

Will a Brazilian crack the Top 10 at Bells?

Mar 25, 2024

69 Shin Bones Later + the Anticlimactic State of Big Wave Record-Breaking

Lucas Chumbo might have surfed the biggest wave ever this year. But how will we…

Mar 23, 2024

Watch: ‘Fresh and Fried’ Ft the Quik Kids

How taxing is it to tackle the Gold Coast’s Triple Crown in a single day,…

Mar 23, 2024

The Popular Vote: The People’s Stab In The Dark With Kolohe Andino Champion

Which board looked best — to you —under Kolohe's talons?

Mar 22, 2024

Six Key Learnings From Portugal

Three CT events in, what do we know? 

Mar 21, 2024

‘Zipper’ Is Going On Tour, Here’s Where You Can Watch It  

Dates, times + locations for the Venice, Encinitas, Sydney + Byron premieres.  

Mar 20, 2024

Dane Reynolds On His Future, His Past, And Chapter 11’s Raison D’être

Our 9-minute plunge into the collective psyche of Ventura's pillar(s).

Mar 20, 2024

From ‘Blue Ribbon Cross Country Runner’ to Vogue – How Steph Again Is Back With A Rip Curl Remix

Everything we know about the she-GOATs sponsorship boomerang.

Mar 18, 2024

Stab Interview: Darren Handley Explains Why You Can’t Buy The Winning Stab In The Dark Model

And his decades-long standoff with Slater.

Mar 17, 2024

Griff Embraces Portugal’s Eternal Time Loop To Vanquish Medina + Ewing, Defay Delays The Inevitable

A redeeming closing act at Supertubos.

Mar 16, 2024

The Secret Behind Lungi Slabb’s Inconceivable Greenmount Funnel

Six broken boards, one leaking forehead, and five days of Superbank mysticism.

Mar 16, 2024
Advertisement