NOTE: Even if you’ve never touched a surfboard, this story will resonate. And if you’re a creative entrepreneur or content creator—it’s a perfect example of how seizing the right opportunity can change the game.
I just witnessed a professional surfer not only save the day for the global surfing community but also create what could be a monumental shift in how we experience the sport.
For those who don’t know, the Pipe Masters is held every year on the North Shore of Oahu at the famous Pipeline break and is one of the most prestigious surfing competitions in the world. The current sponsor is Vans, and for whatever reason, they did not stream the event this year like they have in previous years. No memo, no press release, nothing. Just silence from their camp.
Why didn’t they stream the event? Was it a technical failure? Did they forget to pay the internet bill? Did they run out of cash? Nobody knows. But considering they were handing out bags of cash aside from the prize money, I don’t think their bottom line is the problem.
This decision, or lack thereof, left surfers not only scratching their heads, but frustrated and upset. Personally, I was shocked. As a big fan of professional surfing, living 3,000 miles away, I couldn’t understand how a sponsor of one of the most prestigious surfing events would fail to stream it.
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