Surfers have a reputation for being chill and accepting.
That, however, may not entirely be true. KMD Brands, the parent of Rip Curl, has lost money for the year and has blamed some of its woes on blowback from its decision to use a transgender surfer in a digital promotion.
Rip Curl, much like what happened with Bud Light before it, probably did not think that using a transgender surfer in a social media post would rattle its customer base.
But it did, according to a report from TheIntertia.com.
The controversy started when Sasha Jane Lowerson, a transgender surfer, was featured in an Instagram post on the Rip Curl Women Instagram account as part of its Meet The Local Heroes of Western Australia campaign. Almost immediately, the post was flooded with negative comments and replies. Many fans and several activists even called for a Bud Light-esque boycott of the brand. Soon after, the post featuring Lowerson was quietly removed.
Rip Curl, as with Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch, angered both its intended audience and right-wing activists by first making the post, then removing it and not standing by its transgender marketing partner.
“Our recent post has landed us in the divisive space around transgender participation in competitive sport,” a Rip Curl spokesperson shared with Surfer.com.
“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.”
KMD Group numbers dropped
KMD Brands has not publicly attributed its 2025 financial challenges directly to the transgender surfer controversy involving Rip Curl. In fact, new CEO Brent Scrimshaw has been very careful to not address it at all.
He has, however, been harsh in his assessment of the company.
“Since joining KMD Brands what I’ve seen is clear; the potential of our brands is far greater than what we are delivering today. We are investing in product innovation that continues to ground our brands in technical performance whilst delivering improved speed-to-market, design, and style," Scrimshaw said in the fiscal 2025 earnings report.
KMD Group fiscal year 2025
- Group sales up 1.0% to $989 million
- Gross margin down 1.9% of sales to 56.5%
- Underlying operating expenses up 3.9% to $541.6 million
Underlying EBITDA $17.7 million, down 64.7% YoY
Statutory NPAT loss of $93.6 million; underlying NPAT loss of $28.3 million
Net working capital $157.7 million, $40.6 million lower YoY
Net debt $52.8 million, with significant funding headroom of approximately $235 million
No final dividend declared as a result of FY25 operating performance
Source: KMD Brands
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