While The Rest Of The World Burns, How Does Snapt4’s Prize Purse Keep Growing?

One of the things that’s perplexed me most about this covid-19 business is where exactly all the world’s money is going. That sounds really stupid, and I’m sure it is, but hear me out.  The global unemployment rate is currently skyrocketing as more and more businesses are forced to eliminate staff to keep their doors (figuratively) open. This means that brands are losing money, as consumers are no longer purchasing their goods/services, and workers are losing money because they no longer have jobs. So if on average, both people and businesses are losing money in our current economic climate, then where the hell is all the money going? It’s not as if dollars and cents physically disintegrate when exposed to the ‘rona, yet somehow, the balances of both corporate entities and individuals are falling by the wayside. I understand that money is not a finite resource and therefore this is not a zero-sum game, but it’s still hard for me to grasp how the amount of physical cash in the world can be regularly increasing (see: inflation), yet everyone’s stocks seem to be plummeting.  Well, almost everyone.  Just recently, Snapt4 director/producer/magical gypsy Logan Dulien secured another hefty bag of cash for his fourth-generation surf film, which has now officially been pushed back to 2021.  Snapt4‘s prize purse just got a 50% increase, jumping from $40k to $60k overnight thanks to an unusual but lucrative partnership with Fuser—a soon-to-be-released video game that is essentially the DJ-version of Rock Band (both games share the same parent-company, Harmonix/NC Soft).   And instantly, it made perfect sense where all the world’s money is disappearing to. More than non-perishable foods, mountains of toilet paper, and fountains of Purell, people are chucking their hard-earned at video games.  Because what the fuck else is there to do right now? With airlines collapsing, beaches (still) closed in many places around the world, and no clear end to this madness in sight, we’re all mostly stuck indoors, twiddling our thumbs, wondering how we’ll survive the banality of such a detached and sterile existence.  When given no ability to leave our isolated chambers, video games are a reasonable outlet through which to channel our boredom and frustration. And while the number of online gaming options borders on infinite, DJing is melting-ice-caps-hot right now. Just ask surfing’s wealthiest ex-C-grade pro surfer, Paul Fisher.  …So of course Fuser has a marketing budget that allows for major spends on cult surf films. While the rest of the world burns, they’re living through their industry’s golden age. It’s champagne and caviar every damn day…for brunch! Oh, and two other developments on the Snapt4 front. First, in addition to their recent financial windfall, Logan just revealed that Mick Fanning, Taj Burrow, and Bobby Martinez will be the official judges of the film. That means if you want to win the cash prize—which is currently bigger than most pros’ annual salary ($40k for 1st, $10k for 2nd and 3rd)—you’ll have to impress three principals of the game and former Snapt stars.  Second, there’s an off-chance that you could star in Snapt4. Fuser is putting forth a wildcard competition to get the 15th and final slot in the film, joining surfers like: 1. Mason Ho 2. Jack Robinson 3. Seth Moniz 4. Clay Marzo 5. Asher Pacey 6. Ian Crane 7. Parker Coffin 8. Benji Brand 9. Eithan Aton Osborne 10. Josh Moniz11 Carlos Munoz 12 Sheldon Paishon 13 Zeke Lau14. Dakota Walters The window to submit wildcard submissions is July 1st -31. Surfers need to post a video featuring 60 seconds of surfing and tag @snapt4 and @fusergame. Voting will take place in early August, more details to follow.