Silicon Valley start-ups often reference companies like Facebook and Uber to help justify their risks. As in, “Facebook didn’t have a revenue stream and now they’re worth billions, so we’ll figure out a way to make money later.” Young surfers — and their parents — do the same thing, pointing to anomalies like John Florence and Kolohe Andino to justify skipping the traditional education model in hopes of hitting the CT jackpot. Never mind the vast majority of kids that skip school to pursue professional surfing, only to end up professional serving. At Chilis.
In 2010, with sponsorship secured and an NSSA career in the rear view, Santa Cruz’s Shaun Burns was set to hit the QS and go all in on surfing. It’d be him and Nat, reppin’ SC on the big stage. Then a friend’s dad convinced him to … More