Pierre-Louis Costes has resigned a sponsorship contract deal with Rip Curl, for two years. The 2011 IBA world bodyboard champion has been working with the surfing brand, one the "Big Four", for quite a while.
The partnership between Rip Curl and Pierre Louis Costes is running since 2002, with only one goal: claiming the world title. But Pierre-Louis Costes had to work hard and to win other contests until the golden moment.
The Frenchman living in Portugal won six national U18 French bodyboarding titles, two national Open French titles and one European Junior Championship gold medal. The 2011 year was impressive. Pierre-Louis Costes conquered the ISA World Bodyboarding Championship and the 2011 IBA World Tour.
The relationship between a major surf brand and bodyboarding is extremely rare.
Recently, the world bodyboarding community protested with Nike's ad "The Chosen", where surfing, BMX, skateboarding and snowboarding are presented as the future priorities of the brand in the extreme action sports field.
The best bodyboarders in the world defended that the International Surfing Association (ISA) should promote their sport more than it actually does.