Kelly Slater And Steph Gilmore Have A New Sponsor

Surfing’s one percent paints a nuanced portrait of our future. A future that lies in exclusive wavepools, marble surfboards and perhaps Louis Vuitton board bags. The song remains the same. The rich get richer and the middle-class shrinks. So it goes. With the popularity of surfing at a boiling point, the biggest names continue to expand their taxable incomes. 

Breitling, a Swiss artisan watch manufacturer whose product starts at $4k and climbs to nearly $25k, has recently introduced their “Surf Squad”: Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons. Who place their names in the sea of stars sponsored by Breitling’s Squad concept. Their wrists now glisten alongside Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Adam Wo, David De Rothschild, and more.

We’ll let Breitling explain from here:
This imaginative idea involves creating three-person groups (the squads) whose members – all true masters in their respective professions – forge strong bonds and work together toward a common goal. Their shared endeavors will be presented in Breitling’s advertising campaigns. Breitling is now delighted to reveal the members of its Surfers Squad, who, like their Explorers Squad counterparts, reflect the brand’s dynamic values: action, purpose, and pioneering spirit.
Breitling’s connection to the oceans is part of its extraordinary legacy. Its diver’s watches, including the iconic Superocean, are among the world’s most highly regarded. The amazing Surfers Squad and new partners, who are completely committed to maintaining clean oceans and beaches, are perfect expressions of our passion for water, which, along with air and land, are Breitling’s thematic pillars.

We are pleased to unveil the three impressive masters of the waves who are the members of our Breitling Surfers Squad:

Stephanie Gilmore
Sally Fitzgibbons
Kelly Slater

Breitling’s addition of Mr Slater piggybacks on a new partnership with Outerknown.

Building on the environmental engagement and commitment of the Explorers Squad, we are happy to strengthen the engagement with surfing icon Kelly Slater and Outerknown, a clothing company committed to improving conditions for people and the planet. The collaboration with Outerknown was perfectly natural for Breitling, which, earlier in the year, started working with Ocean Conservancy, supporting their noble fight against the pollution of the planet’s oceans and beaches. Outerknown also worked with Ocean Conservancy on their #ITSNOTOK initiative, launched in 2017 to raise awareness of the massive environmental problem of marine trash and to inspire people to take action to clean up the oceans.

As part of its collaboration with Outerknown, Breitling will be launching shared products and designs reflecting the engagement with Kelly Slater at the end of 2018. Their straps and packaging will be jointly designed and produced by Breitling and Outerknown, respecting Fair Trade principles and using only environmentally friendly, sustainable, and recycled materials.

For three of surfing’s elite, the six-figure deal is an attractive one: no stickers on boards are required, stylized photoshoots lie ahead and, most importantly, their family members will get an upgrade from their annual tide watch as Christmas gift.