The men and the women are in El Salvador, currently, slogging through elimination rounds at stop number seven on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour and it sure does feel doggy. Not Punta Roca, per se, or any of the competitors, necessarily, just the vibe. Like, no one really cares. After the intense rush of Teahupo’o, it makes sense, I suppose. Still, surfing as sport is weird and only appeals to degenerates who will put up with anything, from Joe Turpel to the spelling of Deivid Silva, and come back for more.
Rumors, anyhow, have been intensifying this year that WSL owner Dirk Ziff is actively looking to unload the Pastime of Kings, quite possibly to a Middle Eastern interest. Well, his quest just got easier as the august investment firm Goldman Sachs includes surfing amidst the list of women’s sports and ultimate fighting that “emerging sports family offices want to own.”
The story, which appears in Fortune, shares that Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and his partner Rob McElhenney’s purchase and subsequent marketing of the small market soccer team Wrexham has spiked interest in being in the sports’ game. Owning an NBA franchise or MLB or NFL of course nets billionaires more billons but Anushka Gupta, head of Goldman Sachs Apex in the Americas, is bullish on smaller fries like surfing.
Per Fortune:
Family offices are mostly in the early stages of considering sports investments, evaluating factors such as whether leagues are open to expansion and how they handle media rights. “There’s been a lot of focus on the rapid rise in media contract values,” said Gupta, “which has allowed engagement with a much broader audience.” Many investors view sports as a largely uncorrelated asset class, making it a good hedge when markets are down.
Very cool.
Back to Reynolds and McElhenny, though. Would you like to see a power couple like that atop competitive professional surfing?
Welcome to Woozle?
Exciting times.
The post Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds viewed as savior after Goldman Sachs lists surfing “sport family offices want to own” appeared first on BeachGrit.