L8night with Choccy

Our guest this week is a surfer and former pro skater turned creative marketing executive and brand builder. During his impressive 17 year skate career, earning five magazine covers. He was already mapping out his future through roles in Team Management and Skate Marketing.

In 1995, he played an huge role in the early days of Nike Skateboarding, helping assemble the team, shape go-to-market strategies, and contribute to the launch of Nike’s first skate shoe.  He also spent more than 30 years with Volcom, serving as SVP of Global Skate Marketing, where he oversaw everything skate-related. From managing global rosters and marketing budgets to producing skate tours, feature films, and building iconic franchise events and series like Damn Am, Wild in the Parks, and Mammoth Meadows. He also helped create and launch Volcom’s skate apparel segmentation, Stone Age.

As a Creative Marketing Consultant, he has directed and produced a wide range of projects and campaigns with some of the biggest names in action sports and youth culture, including Warped Tour, Thrasher, TransWorld, Anti Hero, Baker, Toy Machine, and Red Bull.  We are pumped to sit down with Mr. Remy Stratton. 

 Our guest this week is another true industry powerhouse with over 30 years of experience.  He got schooled in business of retail at one of the most Iconic and Core Shops around “Surfside Sports” under the leadership and guidance from Professor “Duke Edukas”.   He went on to spending nearly half his career at Quiksilver, as he climbed the ranks from wetsuit sales rep, to in-house sales and managing the customer service department, to Director of Sales for wetsuits and accessories, and ultimately to VP of Sales. After leaving Quiksilver in 2013, he joined rival brand Billabong as VP of Sales, where he spent the next nine years continuing to strengthen wholesale/retail relationships.  In an ironic twist, Quiksilver and Billabong eventually came together under the Boardriders umbrella, giving him a unique and highly effective perspective, having helped lead both brands.  During that time, he further expanded his role, adding VP of Latin America and ECommerce to his already impressive portfolio. We’re stoked to hear about his journey from warehouse grom to VP for 2 of the biggest surf brands and his current role as General Manager at Salty Crew.  Please welcome to the show, Mr. Jason “SHELTY” Shelton.

Our guest this week is a former Pro Snowboarder who went on to work for many great brands, building an incredible career in an industry that’s given him so much over the past 30+ years.

From Marketing and Athlete Manager at Quiksilver in the late ’90s, to roles with Dickies, DragonFly, Utopia Optics, and Alstyle Apparel. He’s been responsible for managing marketing budgets, executing campaigns, producing catalogs, athlete photo shoots, creating website and social media content, writing press releases, running trade shows, and events.

For the last 15 years, he’s been at Mountain High Ski Resort, applying all of those skills and then adding snow park building, live events production, private and commercial on-hill film shoots,  and managing partnerships with some of the biggest brands in the industry.

We’re excited to hear about his journey and the revival of one of the most iconic crossover athlete events for surfers and snowboarders, the H2O Winter Classic.

We welcome to the show Mr. Todd  Proffit.

Our guest this week is an industry powerhouse with a lengthy list of accomplishments, with titles including (SVP, CEO, EVP, CMO, GM), at some incredible companies over the last 25 years.  Getting his degree from UCI and a Masters at USC Marshall School of business, it makes total sense he has applied those skills to the corporate world which pay dividends on his success.  He has strong relationships with Bob McKnight and Danny Kwok and got straight to work at Quiksilver where he honed his skills as Director of Marketing and later as SVP Sales Marketing Operations.  He was President and Co-Founder of SALT Optics and also helped numerous companies in developing strategic planning in Sales, Marketing, and business management/finance.  We welcome to the show our friend who has the most acronyms of anyone we know, Mr. Taylor “TAY“ Whisenand.

Our guest this week is a young rising star out of Huntington Beach. A recent high school graduate, she’s been dominating the amateur ranks. She has been racking up trophies and titles along the way, including two State Championships, National Titles, and a Bronze Medal at the ISA World Championships, helping Team USA secure a 4th-place finish.

She’s been a pivotal part of the Huntington Beach BoardRiders Club success, and we’re fired up to hear her story and what she has planned next in pro surfing and in life.  Please welcome Sara Freyre to the show!

Our guest this week is a Huntington Beach OG ripper. He’s a real estate agent, social media marketing professional, and the creator of the Surf app “CITY PRO,” which connects surfers with local photographers and videographers.

But he’s best known for his hilarious surf satire content, with multiple viral posts and an impressive 155K followers across Instagram and YouTube.

We’re fired up to hear his story and dive into how he’s built a brand “Hey Bud” through content and creativity.

We welcome the one and only “CORE LORDS” John West.

Our guest this week is the most Hard-Core Surfer we know. A true throwback who lives and breathes Core Surf etiquette. He stands firmly on the values of localism and isn’t afraid to enforce them. Quick to call out the kooks and keep the lineup in check, he backs it all up with real accolades, major contest wins, and zero hesitation owning every bit of it.

His confidence is unmatched, both in the water and out. When it comes to scoring waves and winning over the ladies, he does it better than anyone.

We welcome to the show the World Champion of Scoring, 

the one and only “CORE LORD”  himself.

Conversations with Surf Industry Icons, Entrepreneurs, at Surf Expo. We catch up with Dane Reynolds of FORMER,

Evan Caples of Kelsen, Ben Gravy of Ben Gravy Surfboards, and Jamal Grey of Create and Supply.

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Conversations with Surf Industry Icons, and Entrepreneurs at SURF EXPO. We catch up with

Bruce Cromartie of BC Surf and Sport, Mark Neustadter industry veteran and East Coast Hall of Fame inductee, Evan Geiselman of Free Fly, and Lynn Shell of Outer Banks Boarding Co.

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We sat down with some amazing people doing various kinds of business that contribute to Surf Industry and Culture.

Cory Higgins co-founder of Jetty Life, Jerry Lehman of US Pro Surf Tour, and Roy Turner of Surf Expo.

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