Kaniela Stewart

How Surfers Get Paid

Finally, an update on the Boardriders sponsorship situation. A source who prefers to remain anonymous has confirmed that six RVCA surfers, whose names you certainly know, have turned down their contract renewals for an unspecified reason. Before we dig deeper into that, let’s remind ourselves of where RVCA stands post their Authentic Brands Group (ABG) absorption. RVCA is one of the Boardriders brands (alongside Billabong and ROXY) that ABG licensed out to Liberated Brands. Part of this arrangement included cutting key staff members from the brands, as they would be made redundant by Liberated’s executive team. Despite his contract ending in October, RVCA’s founder and visionary Pat Tenore was reportedly offered a seven-figure deal to stay on as a consultant, presumably to help the brand remain balanced and opposite. From all reports, Pat wanted nothing to do with ABG’s money and hasn’t set foot in RVCA HQ since he stripped it clean for his ‘Exit Through The Surf Shop’ exhibition back in July. The only high-level RVCA staffer who’s remained on the books is their longtime TM Mike Brophy, who is now serving as the global surf marketing director. Brophy presumably played a large role in which RVCA surfers were offered contract renewals around the October 31 cliff, and which were let go. According to our source, roughly 50% of RVCA’s team were offered new one-year deals for the same price as their previous contract. Most of them obliged, because why wouldn’t they? It’s not like there are any other brands offering sizable deals at the moment. Right? Well, we’ve recently learned that Noah Beschen, Billy Kemper, Asher Pacey, Kaniela Stewart, and Legend and Manu Chandler have all turned down their RVCA renewal deals. While we haven’t fully sorted out the why, here’s what we know for sure. Gen-Z supertalent and VPM dark horse Noah Beschen was offered a RVCA deal in the $80k range. Under the tutelage of his former-world-number-2-turned-business-mogul father, you’d have to think Noah has some pretty stellar guidance in the surf sponsorship space, so turning this deal down must mean there’s a better one in the works. Four-time Jaws winner and Big Wave world champ Billy Kemper was offered a similar-sized RVCA contract to Noah’s, but he reportedly said that he “didn’t want to ride for a brand without leadership” — a clear reference to Tenore’s departure. Over the course of his career, Asher Pacey has spent 14 years with RVCA across two separate seven-year stints. Despite this loyalty (and the fact that he’s knocking on 40’s door), Pacey has also walked away from his one-year, ~$50k deal. Kaniela Stewart — perhaps the most marketable male longboarder in the world today — was offered not just a RVCA deal, but also one from Rip Curl. He’s said no to both of them. Legend and Manu Chandler are Kauai’s next distinctive brotherly duo. Comparisons to Andy and Bruce may be low-hanging fruit, but with the experience these two have gained at Pipe over the last few years, the opportunity is there. Despite spending nearly half their lives with the brand, they’ve also denied RVCA’s advances. All of which leads to the burning question: why have all these surfers opted to decline their RVCA deals, in the middle of the worst surf sponsorship recession in memory? Interestingly, it’s the last pair of brothers who provide the greatest hint — or perhaps a red herring? We’re not sure, but let’s pull on the string and see where it leads. Legend and Manu are the godsons of ex-RVCA and former CT surfer Dustin Barca. Dustin introduced the young Kauaians to his then-sponsor Pat Tenore when they were just tiny little tube-hunting things. Pat has since taken on a major mentorship role in the kids’ lives, supporting them both financially and strategically as they make their way up the surf industry ranks. Pair all of this with the rumor that Pat Tenore refused to rejoin RVCA because he’s considering starting something new, and a full-blown theory is emerging. As far as we know, no high-profile surfers from Quiksilver or Billabong are turning down their re-sign offers, which are fundamentally worse than the RVCA deals (Quik and BB surfers get a 50% pay cut over 2 years vs. RVCA’s full pay over 1 year). So what is causing not one, not two, but six RVCA surfers to walk away from a guaranteed paycheck? Something’s certainly brewing beneath the surface, but for now, all we can do is try to read the tea leaves. Anybody know a good tasseographer?