Young brand bags young Grom
Tuesday 19 February 2019 It ain't half bad to bag a big brand sponsorship at the age of 14. Chuffed Durban grom James Ribbink was recently signed by Vissla, a brand even younger than him in surf industry years.
VETERAN ALREADY: He may only be 14, but he surfs beyond his years. Photo Di Parkes
Founded by South African Paul Naude in 2013, Vissla has rapidly risen through the surf industry ranks. So has WSL Longboarding World Champion Steve Sawyer from JBay, who is adept on short or longboards, and was the first big signing for Vissla books in South Africa. James reckons he's stoked about the sponsorship, and who wouldn't be.
On the Vissla website they say their brand "represents creative freedom, a forward-thinking philosophy, and a generation of creators and innovators. We embrace the modern do-it-yourself attitude within surf culture, performance surfing, and craftsmanship.“
Arno Lane from Vissla SA said: “We have known James for a long time, and his great style in the water and on land, his fun personality, and obviously the fact that he rips, make him the perfect rider to represent our brand. Last year, we saw James blowing up at Supertubes, and everyone was very impressed with his relaxed approach when it got a bit bigger, combined with his focused rail game and air moves. James has a great future ahead of him and we’re proud to be a part of his journey.”
The 14-year-old surfer has many good results in his age group, and was recently nominated as an alternate to the Cell C Goodwave contest at New Pier in Durban, the youngest surfer in SA to be considered. James has visited Indonesia many times, and recently surfed the famous Donkey Bay in Namibia with Championship Tour surfer Jordy Smith. He often surfs cranking Jeffreys Bay.