Surf Bugle News Exclusive: Redundant Surf Company Exec Faces Tough Decisions

"My first surf without the logo, the very symbol of my status and success, that showcased who I was and what I stood for, was heartbreaking.”

A recently redundant Surf Company Executive has been faced with a series of incredibly difficult decisions since losing his job as part of a company restructuring earlier in the year. 

“I had given my heart and soul to the company for 20 years,” said Scott McMahon, 43 from California. “I thought it was a job for life, and now the rug has been pulled from under my feet.” 

Speaking from his three-story beach holiday house where he has been forced to spend most of his time since the layoff, McMahon said it was the little things that had been the most difficult.

“I mean initially, even clothes shopping was really hard. I hadn’t bought clothes in two decades, and then was faced with this array of different brands and clothes. It really confused me.”

That was just the start though as his life has unravelled. “I had to get my own phone. Do you know how much they cost?” Asked McMahon, clearly shocked. “And the paperwork was incredible. It took me a whole week to sort that out, and even now, I’m worried about my data limit.”

And while both his houses are mortgage-free, and the redundancy package was considerable, he says its more loss of self-worth that is the most worrying.

“You know I had a pretty emotional day yesterday. I had to go and peel off all the sponsor stickers off my 17 boards in the beachhouse quiver. To me, that was more emotionally draining than letting go of my stock options. My first surf without the logo, the very symbol of my status and success, that showcased who I was and what I stood for, was heartbreaking.”

McMahon though said he was trying to look for the positives. “Look I had a good run and made a lot of friends, hung with Kelly Slater and took loads and loads of drugs. And during the late 1990s, some of the budgets I blew were out of this world. I remember once booking the Indies Trader IV, just for a weekend! Another time we had a two-week sales meeting in Tavarua,” he laughed.

“But with my experience and contacts, I’m sure I’ll land another job in the industry. In the meantime, I've been active on LinkedIn, signed up to ELO’s substack blog, have my new girlfriend teaching me Snapchat, and am going surfing in Bali for all of July. It’s only been six months out of work, something will come up, right?”