http://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/12911/kelly-slater-announces-split-with-quiksilver-in-open-facebook-letter
confirmed over on swellnet ....funny timing!April 1st
Yep I thought it was a hoax at first.
Surely we aren't buying it till tomorrow.
Wonder if it's true does he sell back the Shiz load of Quik shares he owns?
Volcom just happen to be on the 120 companies owned by this group,any chance of a sponsor`s sticker/tshirt in Kelly`s wardrobe over the next couple of weeks in West Oz !
Stab view
When information of this nature surfaces around April Fools? Day, we can?t help sprinkling a grain of salt on it. But, this is legit?
Kelly Slater no longer rides for Quiksilver.
In a heartfelt letter on his Facebook, which you?ll read in its entirety below, Kelly announces the split and reflects on his 23-year partnership with the brand.
According to insider sources, he hasn?t been feeling the love for some time now. The fact that he?s the world?s greatest surfer to ever live, but isn?t the highest paid surfer in the world right now (John John Florence and Dane Reynolds both mint more than him), is said to be a point of contention.
Kelly first placed the mountain and the wave on his board in 1990, and since then it?s been ever-present. Until now. But, where will he go?
Where he?ll go is a space in which he?s already dabbled: His own company. Kelly?s announcement also includes info that he has partnered with the Kering Group (Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Volcom), and will develop his own line to celebrate the things he loves, being ?clean living, responsibility and style.? There?s also talk that Kelly?s been speaking with John Moore of M. Nii) about collaborating. Kelly?s previous venture, VSTR, was a casualty of the Quiksilver massacre last year (in which teams, brands and jobs were cut ? the market ain?t kind right now).
Kelly?s been the face of Quiksilver for two decades. He?s as synonymous with the brand as any surfer in our sport will ever be with a company. To imagine him with a different sticker on those Al Merricks is surreal. What, too dramatic for you? Don?t kid yourself, sponsorships are a big deal ? they are the livelihood, the thing that affords us as spectators all the content we can drink in. Sponsors allow surfers to practise, perfect, push, and to compete. They?re a fam and a support network, too. So after 23 years under the one banner, Kelly?s departure will mean more than you?d imagine. Which the man himself outlines below.
Diamonds aren?t forever.