The Six Least Paid People In Surfing

Or How Surfers Don’t Get Paid

Following on from the wildly successful Eight Least Influential People in Surfing, we trawled the wider surfing world to find six people who getting paid absolutely fuck all. How do they do it? Read on.

Eco Footwear Brand Owner: Anton De Zwerk

“I want to make a difference in the world and build a better planet. All our sandals are made from other brands recycled sandals. With some added plastic. And synthetic rubber. We also give away one individual sandal to everyone who buys a pair of our recycled, recycled sandals. I've invested $20,000, and my dad has invested much, much more. I spent most of that on a two-week shoot in Bali. I think we should see some profit by 2030, if the world hasn't dissolved into a pool of caustic acid."

European QS Live webcast cameraman: Vasco Cooney

“The hours aren’t bad. We arrive around 5.30am and can sometimes finish an hour before sunset, so about 9.00 pm. All I have to do is stare into the blazing sun and stiff onshore wind and try not to miss a single wave across 32, four-man heats, or an interview with a heat winner from Denmark. We do get a free breakfast and lunch, though with both being a ham and cheese roll, it's hard to tell the difference. So it isn't a bad day rate, though I've heard the judges get 5 times our pay. It might help if I surf, but I don’t. I've been hanging around surfers for a decade. They are all bunch of cunts.”

Artistic Surf Filmmaker, Jonah LeMessurier

I’m really about the creative process and realising a vision. Trying to tell a story, through the medium of the ocean is hard to quantify. Though YouTube does a pretty good job. When you add the time filming, the cost of camera equipment, travel, editing, colour grading, music clearance and promotion, I probably earn less than a supermarket shelf packer per hour, which ironically, is what I do to fund my films. 

Challenger Series Surfer Ranked #57, Lucca Andre

“The WSL told us that the new regional qualifying and Challenger Series system would streamline the process and make it more affordable. However spending travelling to and spending weeks in Sydney, Melbourne, Ballito, Huntington, Portugal and Brazil, costs 20 grand in flights alone. Add accommodation, açai bowls, dinners, money for my friggin’ coach, drugs, beer and surfboards, and I need to earn 50 grand in prizemoney to break even. My local pizza restaurant, a start-up coconut water company and a regional car yard give me a combined 10K in sponsorship. I’ve made three heats. Maybe I shouldn't left school at 15." 

Surf Writer, Ted Bundy

"I’ve heard that back in the day that there were these things called salaries, and that not only were they able to be lived off, you also got loads of free shit, FCS fins and travel. These days you get five cents a word and are paid three months after invoicing, if at all. That's cool though, because I mainly do it for the combined passions of surfing and writing, and because I can’t do anything else. Eventually, I’ll just give it all away and hope my mates feel sorry for me and cough up some subscription money. 

Social Media Manager (Surf and SUP), Kiarraa Kelley

“I wouldn't really call it an internship, because I was given a free wetsuit and a changing robe. Plus the opportunity to learn from some of the biggest surf marketing brains in the business is invaluable. Sure, I just finished three years at University studying digital marketing, but it didn’t really cover Facebook, and my 40-year-old male bosses really know their shit when it comes to that platform. I’ve been promised a bed on the floor in Hawaii in December at one of our sponsored events, and there’s a chance of doing an Insta takeover for one of our athletes for two hours with Stab. I’ll keep going to my savings run out. I reckon I have six weeks."