Sometimes the stories that are the most infuriating, the absolute worst for making you grind your teeth and see red explode across your eyeballs, are the ones that, in the passage of time, shake out the way they should.
This is one of those stories. About a near quarter century long relationship that was blithely sacrificed without a second thought on the altar of woke ideology, and the comeuppance everyone always hopes for, which too often never really is satisfactory.
This tale starts with a little girl who loved the water, and it loved her back.
Hawaiian native Bethany Hamilton was already making a name for herself as a natural on the waves, even though she'd just entered her teens. On Halloween in 2003, the thirteen-year-old paddled out with a girlfriend to wait for the right wave to ride back when the always possible but unthinkable happened.
A tiger shark cruising in the swells struck the young surfer's board, taking her left arm off as its massive bite tore through her surfboard.
That she didn't die was a miracle enough, but what the teenager of steel did next will always be one of the great inspirational stories of all time.
Bethany Hamilton was back on a surfboard a month later and competing in surfing competitions four months later.
She'd improvised a way to paddle out with only one arm and, at first, returned to competitions using a custom board, but eventually switched back to a standard shortboard.
Hamilton had also gotten married and proceeded to have four children while maintaining her pro-surfing competitive edge as well as juggling her tremendous charity and outreach work.
She was a professional and inspirational juggernaut.
Australian surf gear company Rip Curl recognized a true winner when they saw it, and the company sponsored Bethany for twenty-four years.
In January of 2023, however, when the young mother of four and champion surfer had the nerve to say that she would be boycotting World Surf League events, which had decided to allow transgender athletes (her video here), Rip Curl started twitching.
Surfer Bethany Hamilton says she won’t compete at future World Surf League (WSL) events if it upholds its new policy on transgender athletes, saying she wants to see a different division created for transgender people to compete in.
The WSL recently announced it would be adopting the International Surfing Association (ISA) policy on transgender participation, which requires trans-female athletes to maintain a testosterone level of less than five nmol/L for at least 12 months in order to compete in the women’s division.
In a video posted on Instagram Sunday, Hamilton asks, “Is a hormone level an honest and accurate depiction that someone indeed is a male or female? Is it as simple as this?”
“I personally won’t be competing in or supporting the World Surf League if this rule remains,” she said.
Hamilton – a devout Christian - says the new rule “concerns” her as a professional athlete who has competed in the WSL for over 15 years.
Of course, the uproar was immediate and vicious, but Hamilton was unbowed. She also felt she had to speak up for those who felt they couldn't.
...“I strive to have love for all of mankind, regardless of any differences,” she said, adding that she wants to “stand up” for others who fear being “ostracized” if they speak out.
“Have any of the current surfers in the World Surf League been asked what their thoughts and opinions are on this new rule before it was passed or announced? Should there be a conversation?”
She has previously used her platform to speak out about transgender issues in sport and, in her latest video, raised concerns about what she called “male-bodied dominance” in other women’s sports such as running and swimming.
“I think it’s really hard to imagine what the future of women’s surfing will be like in 15 to 20 years down the road if we move forward allowing this major change,” she said.
“My hope is that if I ever had a daughter who is competing in surfing or any sport, and also for all the aspiring young generation of women, to have a bright and promising opportunity in her ambition to be the best of the best women in her sport.”
In January of 2024, the over two-decade relationship with Rip Curl blew apart in the ugliest, most progressive, most vindictive ideological strike imaginable.
They dumped Hamilton and featured a transgender surfer as if to replace the irreplaceable.
Meet Ryan Egan, who goes by the name of 'Sasha Jane Lowerson.'
Ripcurl’s parent company suffers staggering $82.9million loss; closing multiple stores after facing backlash for ‘woke’ ad campaign.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 24, 2025
KMD Brands, which owns Kathmandu, Ripcurl and Oboz footwear has recorded its worst loss in a decade.
It comes after one of its brands, Ripcurl,… pic.twitter.com/UcVVJVDWU7
Really fills out that two-piece, doesn't he?
...Nine months ago, Sasha Jane Lowerson made history when she became the first transgender surfer to compete at a WSL event, the Manly Classic, a one-day longboard contest.
You’ll remember Sasha Jane Lowerson, of course.
She is a robust forty-six-year-old strawberry blonde with terrific arms who blossomed into chemical-induced womanhood in 2020.
Well, no one wanted to remember 'Sasha' either. They wanted Bethany back, and after Rip Curl had their nether regions ripped to shreds and back, they were sorry they'd ever heard of this 'Sasha' guy, too, believe you me.
By the first of February last year, less than a month after dumping Hamilton, the Sasha guy's dreamy ads were blank spots on Rip Curl's Instagram and X pages, and the company was crawling on its hands and knees begging forgiveness.
Rip Curl, the legacy surf brand born in late 1960s Australia, has found itself in the crosshairs of the controversial debate surrounding transgender athletes.
Following a post featuring transgender surfer, Sasha Jane Lowerson, a mob of angry dissenters came for the brand with harsh rhetoric on social media, threats of boycotting the company, and even reports of folks burning the Rip Curl gear.
Rip Curl removed the post, then went silent. But now, they’ve responded to the situation.
On social media, Rip Curl wrote:
“Our recent post has landed us in the divisive space around transgender participation in competitive sport. We want to promote surfing for everyone in a respectful way, but recognize we upset a lot of people with our post and for that, we are sorry. To clarify, the surfer featured has not replaced anyone on the Rip Curl team and is not a sponsored athlete.”
It's also sort of funny that Rip Curl's craven 'why can't we all just get along' disclaimer made sure to say that the 'Sasha' guy hadn't been sponsored by Rip Curl or replaced Bethany. The company had surely rolled the man out as if he were the new 'it almost-girl.'
Whatever their hamfisted, too-late mea-culping, deep air gulping, it seemed as if the maddening crowds weren't mollified in the least, and Rip Curl wasn't going to be so easily forgiven for shamelessly and rudely disrespecting not only a surfing icon but a globally beloved inspirational young woman.
Oooh. Did they ever step in it to get a woke pat on the head.
This is quite the take-down.
My daughter’s favourite movie growing up was Soul Surfer, the story of @bethanyhamilton, and she had the official movie poster on her wall for years.@ripcurl deserves the full Bud Light treatment.pic.twitter.com/1M4AQwvmfK
— Billboard Chris 🌎 (@BillboardChris) January 30, 2024
Yesterday was the time to report on corporate earnings for the year that Rip Curl and its parent company, KMD Brands, have had after mishandling the situation so badly.
I believe the public has spoken on the trans ideology issue versus the one-armed surfer who's also a wife, mother, and all-around dear girl.
Being a good person wins.
R.I.P. CURL
KMD Brands lost their collective butts last year and is closing stores.
The parent company of Kathmandu and Rip Curl has posted a shock $NZ93.6 million ($A105 million) statutory loss - its worst in at least a decade.
KMD Brands said when excluding a $45.5 million non-cash writedown of its Oboz footwear business and other items, it still lost $NZ28.3 million on an underlying basis for the year to July 31.
KMD said it was once again not paying shareholders a dividend, as it hasn't since 2023, and was taking steps to carefully manage capital.
KMD announced earlier this month it was closing 21 stores, mostly outside Australia, out of its global portfolio of 328 company-owned Kathmandu and Rip Curl shops.
Some analysts are calling it a 'staggering' $82.9M dollar loss, but to the rest of us, I don't think it's all that surprising.
Do you?
Girlpower.
What's so schweet is they never saw it coming.
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