Its a nice story, glad to see one of the underdogs get up, also its rare seeing a new age kid focusing on rail to rail surfing while still having a new bag of tricks as well

My advice is that you do a lot of research into companies with money for example nike marketing budget is bigger than most major surf brands total equity also focus on your management chasing and following up deals…. Winning ASP pro juniors back to back MATE you should already be hooked up, unless you already have been knocking back deals cause your chasing massive $$$$.

I seen wade surf he does flare up…. keep working hard champ

Something else keep in touch with as many contacts and networks as you can ( bust down the door buddy) remember sometimes its not what ya know but who you know

Good luck

If you are a Major label and have read this story come on! Pull ya sox up!

Hurley – you sponsor Barton, why not take on his protege???

Definitely not stabbing at Wade, he’s the nicest kid I’ve ever met. Like I said previously the kid is amazing and I hope he does get picked up by a sponsor who will take him all the way.

As far as being involved personally in one of the smaller companies is concerned thats also off the table, but the Central Coast is a small place. You see things, hear things and have that information confirmed by others you know within the surfing industry. My concern lays with Wade climbing the ladder.

Being in my line of work, I am constantly studying the financial market, and anyone who has been paying attention lately knows that all of the large brands are in a major cost cutting phase. Even the ones who aren’t publicly admitting it are going through cost cutting procedures to ensure that their best interests are served. Unfortunately this process requires the companies to cut team numbers to ensure they can keep their marquee members, theres a lot of surfers (and notable ones) out there at the moment who have all of a sudden found themselves without a ride, or been handed the ultimatum of going back onto a product sponsorship. Due to the economic downturn in the retail sector, the sad fact is that if you aren’t currently on a Major Label and earning the big bucks, your chances of stepping onto a major paying ride and extremely diminished.

My comments with regards to sourcing cash from a couple of smaller labels are simply that of someone who can see the advantages of if you take a few smaller deals to get you to the places that you need to be, you will eventually climb that ladder and land a Major deal. If you have a look back at some of the surfers noted in the above named story and their sponsorship history your will see that they also took the path that I am referring to.

Interestingly though, the sponsorship problem is still looming for him. Knowing some inside information would be interesting. Given the current financial climate for the industry it’s no surprise that companies are skint on funds to support a great talent such as Wade. With already dwindling team numbers due to budget cuts ect. It’s a great shame. He has some great support though from his shaper which is fantastic. Support has reared it’s head in the past though. He did have the backing of a small apparel company who were offering to begin paying the youngsters way for trips and contest entries. And a company affiliated with his current traction supplier had also offered a small amount of financial support. Which leads the question, why has this help been declined?

If I am honest it appears a ploy by “management” to receive a slice of the pie. Don’t get me wrong, the kid is worthy of a great deal and everyone wants that for him. But the failings of the retail industry are causing the kitty to run dry.

So the question remains, why did his manager advise him to not take on contracts that would see him traveling more and not having outgoing expenses for contests and travel?