Quiksilver, Billabong, Hurley, Volcom CEO surf-off hosted by Spyder Surf [VIDEO]
Volcom's Richard Woolcott acknowledged taking an unfair advantage of his fellow CEOs by practicing for the contest. Photo by Dave Gregerson (20foot.com) and Mike Purpus It’s doubtful that a Congressional subpoena could have compelled, without a fight, appearances by the CEOs of the surf industry’s four largest manufacturers. Bob McKnight’s Quiksilver, Paul Naude’s Billabong, Bob Hurley’s Hurley and Richard Woolcott’s Volcom account for nearly half of the roughly $7 billion in annual U.S. surf industry sales. But despite gray skies and small, mushy waves, the four goofyfooter oligopolists all assembled Sunday morning on the sand at Rosecrans Avenue in Manhattan Beach to compete where they got their starts – in a surf contest. Each CEO was accompanied by a trusted gunslinger from their stables of professional surfers. McKnight brought Australian Julian Wilson, the 2006 18-and-under world champion who is featured on the cover of the current Surfer magazine. Hurley brought Yadin Nicol, another hot young Australian aerialist. Naude and Woolcott bet their companies’ reputations on local talent. Naude enlisted Dane Zaun, a member of Mira Costa High School’s 2008 U.S. Championship team…
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