U.S. Open of Surfing 2014: It's about surfing passion but also profits

[truth_seeker]

U.S. Open of Surfing 2014: It's about surfing passion but also profits

*Huntington Beach, California-the World Series, World Cup of Surfing

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-us-open-surfing-culture-20140801-story.html

August 2, 2014, 8:00 AM

Surfers, those guys you see with bleached-out hair, sun-kissed skin, no shoes and perhaps a little zinc slathered across the bridge of their noses, may not look like a million bucks, but their way of life is actually worth a good chunk of change..

How much is surf culture worth? About $6.3 billion, in the U.S. alone.

Within the last decade, the number of people who surf at least once a week has grown by 50% to an estimated 2.6 million, according to Fortune. A 2012 report showed that those who surf worldwide grew from 26 million in 2001 to 35 million in 2011.

Fortune estimates that by 2017 the global surf industry — including surfing gear and lifestyle clothing — could generate more than $13 billion.

The expansion of surf culture has created big profits for brands, but for people like Cathy Young surfing is priceless.

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[truth_seeker]

This first time I went to the international surfing contest at HB, was about 62-63, when SoCal was exploding with teens, taking up surfing.

We established the uniform of young surfers, simply purchased from among exuisting brands in department stores.

Jack Purcell, and Converse shoes, Pendleton shirts, white jeans, etc.

Within a few years, brands sprang up with ocean oriented styles, like Ocean Pacific (OP for short).

Today several brands and makers set trends for youth styles worldwide. Hurley, DC, Billabong, Vans, to name just a few.

And it is not limited to surfing, because the styles and youth culture encompass surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, etc.

Kids in London and Tokyo want to be cool, like kids in SoCal.

Now if we can just get through today and tomorrow without a riot, it will be good.