Pat O'Connell named President of Florence Marine X
A month ago, the World Surf League announced that Pat O'Connell was "stepping down" from his role as SVP of Tours and Head of Competition.
The move was somewhat mysterious as O'Connell had been less than prominent in his role, and the announcement came at the tail end of an unrelated press release; shoved down the back seemingly in the hope no-one would notice.
Overnight, it was announced - and in a much more forthright way - that O'Connell is to become the first president of recently-formed company, Florence Marine X.
O'Connell has a long history with Bob Hurley, having spent the last few years of his professional career sponsored by Hurley before stepping into a marketing job at Hurley upon retirement. O'Connell spent over ten years with Hurley, including overseeing the rise of John John Florence, before joining the WSL in 2019.
“I couldn’t be more excited to work with John and the team to create a brand that will inspire people to get out and explore,” said Pat to industry website Shop Eat Surf. “We have an incredible opportunity to do things differently with Florence Marine X, and the future of this brand looks incredibly bright.”
Comments
so what are they selling...bit vague from what ive read
Another clothing company - just what we need.
Clothing AND exploration.
Just as RVCA are clothing and art.
Exploration as a marketing tool to sell clothing ?
Don't get me wrong - I love a new player in the market place and hopefully a very ethical and environmentally sound company.
Rip Curl and The Search?
Exactly - maybe something new with a little thought.
I'm sure they'll probably use JJF's sailing etc.
Would just love to see something really different.
so another Patagonia?
kind of.
Florence and the Marine.
+1
+1
+1
Bill Hicks on Advertising - pretty much well sums it up:
JS > I was at the gig; best live performance I've ever seen. I'm sure it was BH's best ever too, as it was his last live gig, he passed very soon thereafter. RIP. No-one like him, before or since. > RR
Didn’t the WSL make keiren perrow step down for this numpty a few years back?
Pretty excited about the last few unrooted surf spots left on Earth potentially being used as the stage for a few multimillionaires to make more dollars selling a logo printed on clothes.
Should be epic.
The unveiling of a new brand is always a momentous and newsworthy occasion. I wonder if they’ll break new ground in the “ photos of surfers surfing whilst wearing brand X” art form? Hopefully! With any luck they’ll be just as innovative as Hurley in the way they’d pay people to wear their clothing range so they can outclass those other companies who pay people to wear their clothes.
Some of the patterns they print on the clothes are so inspiring and really conducive to a better quality of life. Fingers crossed that this really takes off and becomes a big deal at the SIMA convention in the USA. I bet their booth will be incredible!
Exciting times.
:)))))))) perfect
10th grade education: Check
Ran last company into deep RED (only propped up buy nike money): Check
No prior Business Experience or Degree: Check
Every other company: We'll pass on this one, Thanks!
But i used to surf good and i tells funny jokes!
Bob Hurley - YOURE HIRED
I bet Pat goes to the same Hillsong Church as Bob.......?
Hawaii's version of Mad Hueys.
I paddled out next to Pat at Sandon point once. In between sandon rights and lefts there is this sucky little slab that a bodyboarder was getting pitted on. i went Yeeew and pat looks at me lie why are you hooting a sponger!.
But i guess cali waves or where ever hes from aren't slabs meant for boogers and the hatred towards them is stronger.
Myself and my lady were up QLD this one time , researching for a stretch of virgin coastline we could develop into a bunch of high rises, some canal estates, a casino and maybe a cruise ship terminal, when we stopped at a little cafe for breakfast. The only other people there was a couple of blokes sharing a table who looked like they were having a pleasant little meal. I soon recognised Pat O’Connell and by the way he kept referring to his mate and the topic of their quiet-for-Seppoes-but-loud-for-anyone-else-conversation I soon realised that mate was Bob Hurley.
I looked at the very unremarkable visage and physicality of Bob Hurley and was struck that this was the bloke whose name was plastered over 70 percent of clothing worn by South East Queenslanders . The ludicrousness of modern branding and the way it has abused the lack of community in modern society with its confected tribalism overwhelmed me.
These two blokes - Pat and Bob - seemed innocuous and nice enough but I can guarantee you that if I was to grab the nearest person wearing Hurley clothing and pointed to the quiet-but-loud Seppo pair sitting there debating whether to have a second coffee or not, the Hurley wearing person would have surely been struck by the epiphany that paying for clothes with Bob’s name on them was a pisstake of the highest order.
But I’m sure Florence Marine will be different......lol.