Gabriel Medina’s name hit the mainstream this week, reaching far beyond the surf community during the surf competition at the Paris Olympics in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.

A photo of the Brazilian surfer after a Round 3 performance earning him an Olympic record-breaking score of 9.90 went viral on Monday. In the image, by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, Medina looks as if he’s levitating as he’s propelled out of the wave, his surfboard perfectly upright trailing behind him. He’s holding up his pointer finger, entirely confident that he’s No.1.

(Editor’s note: SES is not publishing the Medina photo because we don’t have rights to do so.)

“That is exactly what the sport needs right now,” said Eric Stanton, senior director at market research company ActionWatch, referring to the viral photo. Big moments on the world’s stage may not boost sales in the surf industry, but they may impact participation, Stanton said.

Surfing debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed to 2021. From 2020 to 2021, participation decreased by 8%, according to data collected by ActionWatch. From 2021 to 2022, participation in surfing increased by 6%, potentially boosted in part by its first appearance at the Olympic Games. In 2023, participation rose by 5%.

It may not drive the sales needle up, but moments like Medina’s viral photo could inspire some of the newer and more casual surfers who joined the sport in recent years to dust off their boards.

“I believe viral moments at the Olympics will get pandemic surfers to revisit the equipment they bought back in 2020 and get back to the beach,” Stanton said.

World Surf League Teams Up with Official Olympic Partner Samsung

Images like Medina’s resonate the most with new and young surfers, said Stefani Chinn, World Surf League’s senior vice president of talent and marketing.

“Viral moments like this one engage a broad audience, especially at a time when the whole world is watching sport. We are thrilled for the world to see Gabriel and this unique aspect of surfing – his physical skill and the beauty of the setting it was captured in undoubtedly appeal to a wide demographic.”

Google searches for “surfing” peaked in 2021, when the sport first debuted at the Olympics at Tokyo’s Tsurigasaki Beach. This year’s location in Teahupo’o, with the sheer power and size of its wave, and the rough, sharp reef below the surface of the water, has generated a ton of media attention in mainstream outlets such as the New York Times, Reuters, and the BBC.

Samsung, an official Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, partnered with World Surf League (WSL), Street League Skateboarding, and Pro Breaking Tour for its Olympic campaign focused on the value of openness. As part of the partnership, they produced the short documentary The Next Wave, which is part history lesson and part athlete biography, following some of the world’s biggest surfers on their way to Paris 2024.

“When it comes to surfing, the connection to fans and communities is through the athletes – they are the stars, and those stars shine bright well before and well after the Olympic Games,” Chinn said.

Official Olympic partners enjoy more marketing benefits than other brands, which are tightly restricted due to the Olympics’ highly protected intellectual property. But endorsements outside of the Olympics – Medina has deals with Rip Curl and many more – are also valuable.

“Athlete partnerships, content, and products can have strong connections to fans and consumers outside of the Olympic window,” Chinn said.

“Harnessing the Power of the Post-Olympics Buzz”

The WSL will host some Olympians at its upcoming Lexus US Open of Surfing and the Corona Fiji Pro. Their new fans may follow them and check out the competitions.

“For surfing, tapping into the power of the post-Olympic buzz is a great way to harness the audience interest and engagement that the Olympics generate,” Chinn said. “For brands within surf, riding that wave of post-Olympic excitement is a strong strategy to continue that momentum and to keep fans engaged on what their new favorite athletes are doing next.”

Skateboarding may not see the same boost from its Olympic moment, Stanton said, because the young age of its competitors makes it less relatable, and participation in skateboarding has declined since the pandemic.

As for surfing, Josh Hansen of Hansen Surfboards, said the image of Medina is “iconic,” but it’s too soon to tell how much the Olympics will impact the industry and participation in the sport.

“I think it can only help because there are so many eyeballs on these games, but it is hard to tell exactly.”

Kate Robertson can be reached at [email protected].