Click Or Miss: What Is The Modern Criteria For Surf Sponsorship?
Vol. 18., the sticker edition.
Tina Cohen’s vlog is 15.5x times the size of Ian Walsh’s, over 2x the size of Cola Bros, and 6x the size of World Title contender Lakey Peterson.
If you’re now asking yourself “who is Tina Cohen”, I wouldn’t blame you. Girlfriend to the idol of all surf bloggers, Mr. J.O.B, Tina started her own production a mere 5 months ago. Twenty-five videos in and she has grown her channel at a truly astonishing rate, simply by chronicling her life on the North Shore. While Tina is a solid surfer, no one (including herself) would ever consider her a ‘pro’. With that being said, it clearly isn’t stopping the dollar drip from companies like Buell Surf, who’ve hopped on the Vlog train and extended sponsorship to Tina.
After a seismic shift in not only the contract sizes, but the actual number of sponsored ‘pros’ in March of 2020, this is the most potent evidence we’ve seen of surf companies redistributing resources in an attempt to reach a larger audience. And honestly? It’s kind of brilliant. While you can hem and haw about hyper-talented freaks like Sebastian Zietz or competitive animals like Caio Ibelli rocking blank boards while Tina is on a corporate program, no one can deny the monetary value of a channel that has 35k subscribers with an active, engaged audience. This is the world we’re living in… and the entire reason this weekly column can exist. You will see more vlogs in 2021 than you did in 2020, and with each one will come more creative sponsorship strategies from companies who want to broaden their reach. While this may be a positive for these companies, what does it ultimately mean for surfing’s elite?
Click (or miss) below.
Click- No Explanation Needed (It’s Mason)
Channel Subs: 50.3k
Video Views: 34,013 (17,006.5 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 870/3 or 290 likes per 1 dislike
The end-of-week excitement that comes with every Friday has been exponentially increased with the guarantee of a new Ho & Pringle clip. We normally post these on the site as-is, which is to say that the above is absolutely worth your attention. Mason is our novelty god, and may that never change.
Click- When Life Gives You Lemons, Grab A Left Wedge
Channel Subs: 120k
Video Views: 187,826 (31,304 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 2899/117 or 24.77 likes per 1 dislike
Hawaii experienced some incredibly unfortunate flooding recently. While Haleiwa town is in the process of rebuilding homes that were affected by this natural phenomenon, just down the road, Waimea had a rare happening of its own as a result of the rain—a surfable sandbar! This novelty spot took the form of a left wedge and got the attention of Nathan Florence, fellow Hawaiian vlogger Eli Olson, as well as K.Slates… Did Mason get in on the action? I guess well find out next week.
Miss- The House Tour One Would Give After Drinking 6 Red Bulls
Channel Subs: 2.09k
Video Views: 19,540 (4,885 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 341/5 or 68.2 likes per 1 dislike
Ian Walsh has been slowly churning out Vlogs for the past three months. While this house tour serves as a humble flex of Ian’s amazing home set-up, the electronic background music and fast cuts from one section to another make you feel like you’re on a bad Red Bull trip. While you can miss this clip, we do recommend you watch this breakdown of Ian’s Mavericks pulverization that somehow slipped through our fingers two weeks ago. His YT cooking shows are solid too, I mean look at those steaks.
Click- So This Is What Validation Feels Like
Channel Subs: 214
Video Views: 276 (46 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 33/0
Hunter Jones has come with the latest episode of his vlog. Coming from a guy who went to Los Angeles’ LMU, Hunter makes surfing El Porto look a lot easier than it actually is. Click for some entertaining tidbits from a South Bay local, although you can skip the part where Dave Prodan starts complimenting Hunter’s hands…
Click- To Watch A Pregnant Alana Blanchard Rip
Channel Subs: 2.09k
Video Views: 45,331 (15,110 views/day)
Like/Dislike Ratio: 1,623/17 or 95.4 likes per 1 dislike
Youtube has this video marked as age restricted, likely due to the fact that it features a pregnant woman engaging in physical exertion. While we could talk about that, I’d much rather focus on the fact that Alana is straight ripping for being preggers. Smartly grabbing one of Jack’s boards for some extra volume, I am thoroughly impressed and wonder whether she could theoretically enter an upcoming tandem event? Come for Alana’s slashes, stay for Jack’s backside boost at 3:50.
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