Updated: Photos from Surf Expo September 2023 Edition

Matt Keenan of BN3TH during a showing - Photo by SES

By Tiffany Montgomery and Kari Hamanaka | Published Sep 8, 2023

Updated Oct. 4, 2023 with related stories: Retailers and Brands Raise Money for Maui

Surf Expo Shows Demand For Watersports, Beach Lifestyle Products

Meetings, networking, and buying for 2024 were in in full swing in Orlando, Florida at Surf Expo’s September edition.

If there had to be a single theme from the floor of the show, it would have to be change.

After the sale of Boardriders to Authentic Brands Group finally closed last week, there was a palpable sense of seismic changes in the industry on the verge of getting underway. For example, several new licensees for Boardriders brands are exhibiting at the show to meet with retailers and reassure them about the new operating model. Many of the brands jockeying to take marketshare from behemoths like Quiksilver and Billabong in light of the sale sense a golden opportunity and are pitching retailers hard to get more real estate in stores. And several retailers we talked to at the show are on the hunt for new brands like never before in a quest to diversify their brand mix because of the Boardriders sale.

Liberated Brands brought Captain Fin, Volcom, Billabong and RVCA to the show, even though its deal to take on a chunk of the Boardriders portfolio in the Americas is a few days away from closing. Liberated executives and members of its new executive team, such as former Billabong GMs Mark Weber and Katie Singer, met throughout the day with retailers in a tent at the back of the brand booths.

Executives from Florence Marine X, IPD, and Firewire walked the show floor even though they weren’t officially exhibiting because there is a sense that you have to make an appearance at Surf Expo given all the changes going on in the marketplace. And the aisle that had the next wave of brands that seems poised to move up, including Salty Crew, Roark, Katin, Rhythm and Vissla, was one of the most vibrant areas of the show – Salty Crew in particular was packed much of the day.

The other element that led to a sense of change in the air – seeing industry executives in new jobs at different brands, including longtime Rip Curl women’s product leader Mary Miller in the Salty Crew booth; Paul Harvey, also formerly of Rip Curl and Xcel, now at O’Neill; longtime Roxy and Quiksilver sales leaders Sasha Hartloff and Jeff Brusven at the Levy Group, which won the license for Roxy swim and technical outerwear; and veteran Billabong marketing exec Mike Wallace now in the Roark booth.

We have photos from the show below and will have more stories and photos to come.

All photos by SES.

Stephen Tsukayama of HIC, Shawn Peterson and Justin Bernier of Rip Curl, Leigh Tonai and Bert Ishimaru of HIC
Brooke Farris and Nichol Wylie of Rip Curl
The expanded team Liberated: Kelly Normandin, Brent Lantz, Mark Weber, Ryan Immegart, Katie Singer, Kate Zeppenfeld, Todd Hymel
New and veteran faces at Salty Crew: CJ Hobgood, Courtney Kincaid, Jared Lane, Mary Miller, Jason Shelton. SES file photo from Surf Expo September 2023.
Travis, Jeff and Melissa Martinez Booth of Distant Local, Paul Naude of Vissla, Sean Smith of Outdoor Retailer, Bob Hurley of Florence Marine X at the Distant Local booth
Celey Rodriguez and Miriam Siefken of Salty Cali - a high-volume retailer told us the brand sells well.
Salty Cali jewelry
Roxy's Sasha Hartloff and Jeff Brusven are still representing the brand and now work for the Levy Group
The Levy Group, the new licensee for Roxy swim and technical outerwear: Michael Fernandez, Gary Levy, Nick Levy, Louis Levy
Karly and Linsey Cottrell of Island Water Sports
Roark's Ryan Hitzel, Mike Wallace, Drew Dolkas, Ryan Sirianni
Ciara Orrell of 17th Street and Jon Taylor of Thread Wallets
Sean Fleuriau of Rhythm, Andrew Traa and Kevin Morris of Heritage Surf & Sport, and Rhythm's Christine Warren
Kaylee Fisher and Dayna Cottee of Roark
Erin Bouchard of I-SEA and Billabong, Jaci Schroeder of Quiet Storm, Don Dyer and Erin Watson of I-SEA
Team O'Neill: Mark Tinkess, Michael Pratt, Carrie Piccolini, Jaimie Foote, Matt Sims, Paul Harvey
Michelle Lynn and Samantha Pettinaroli of ReelSkipper
Nick Meistrell of Body Gove and Salty Crew advisor Tom Ruiz
Bill Dreibelbis of Quiet Storm, Kim Ball of Hi-Tech in Maui and Dave Nash of Sun Diego. Quiet Storm and Sun Diego are selling shirts to raise money for a Maui Sports foundation in light of the fires.
BN3TH's new swimshorts
A Distant Local shirt
Mac Beu, Nick Chalmers, Dale Rhodes of Katin
Vissla CEO Paul Naude and Rip Curl CEO Brooke Farris
Roark sponsored the show attire for the men of Surf Expo.
Matt Davis, right, is now at bag company Aloha Collection
Skullcandy's McKenna Taylor, Jonathan Downer, Brian Garofalow and Justin Regan
Matt Christie, Sam Coombes, and Brooks Riley of The Critical Slide Society
Dawn Reise-Ward and Boyd Reise-Ward of Valentine's Dive Center in the Bahamas writing orders with Patricia Thornton of Psycho Tuna
Mike Milliken of Firewire, Mary Miller of Salty Crew, Dylan Slater of Firewire
Electric's Snowy Lonsway with Volcom sunglasses
Andrew Mercier, Chris Broders, and Nick Lhotsky of Dark Seas
Shane Wallace of Dakine Equipment
Jared Mehr and John Gothard of Pura Vida
Renee Armenia and Austin Allison of Groove Life
Cheyne Cottrell of Island Water Sports and Ryan Mangan who has a new job running the Quiksilver apparel wholesale business in North America under a new licensee
Team Ron Jon: Karen Collins, Emma White Pryor, Michele Goodwin, Tiffany McCauley
Dave Rosenberger of Global Sales Guys, which brings brands to the U.S. market and has recently added Lightening Bolt.
Lightening Bolt is hitting the market.
Eric and Millie Okada-Miura of Deja Vu on Kaui with Jason Shelton of Salty Crew
The line to get into the show Thursday morning.