(LifeSiteNews) — Just two years after the unprecedented success of the Bud Light boycott that saw Anheuser-Busch hemorrhage millions of dollars in the wake of their decision to hire trans-identifying influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the slogan “go woke, go broke” is still holding strong.
The latest company to run afoul of consumers is KMD Brands, the parent company of Kathmandu and Rip Curl, which just reported an $82.9 million loss—its worst in a decade—after facing a massive boycott last year in response to their decision to feature a trans-identifying male as the face of female surfing.
Last year, Rip Curl cut ties with brand ambassador Bethany Hamilton, the famous surfer who lost an arm in a shark attack, reportedly due to her opposition to trans-identifying men in women’s sports. KMD then hired trans-identifying male surfer Sasha Lowerson instead. Many Aussie surfers were furious; one famously burned his KMD products, and the boycott appears to have done serious damage. KMD announced earlier in September that it is closing down 21 stores.
“The huge annual loss by KMD Brands included a $40.3 million write-down in the value of its struggling Oboz hiking boot business and other items, but on an operational level it sell made a $25 million trading loss for the year to July 31,” the Daily Mail reported. “KMD said it was once again not paying shareholders a dividend, as it has not since 2023, and was taking steps to carefully manage capital.”
KMD, predictably, is carefully couching this loss as a result of factors other than the sweeping consumer boycott, with executive chairwoman Olivia Wirth unironically insisting that the 2024-25 fiscal period was a “transition year” and citing “challenging macroeconomic conditions and tough retail markets.” One of those challenges, of course, was the consumer boycott in response to what can only be described as an act of corporate self-harm.
“So we’re clear, Rip Curl dropped the inspiring Bethany Hamilton, a survivor of a shark attack, after she voiced opposition to men in women’s sports—and replaced her with this guy, Sasha Jane Lowerson, or Ryan Egan, as their ‘female ambassador,” gender-critical Genevieve Gluck noted on X.
Many athletes spoke out against the move at the time. “You mean to tell me that Rip Curl dropped Bethany Hamilton for opposing men surfing in the women’s league then picked up male surfer who surfs in the women’s league as a women’s ambassador?” wrote Riley Gaines. She then noted, with admirable succinctness, that Rip Curl was “crazzyyy.”
Skateboarder Taylor Silverman concurred. “According to Rip Curl this man is a ‘waterwoman’…reality is he’s just a mentally ill man making a complete mockery of actual women and ‘the community’ is so supportive Rip Curl had to disable the comments!” she wrote. In the aftermath of backlash and the boycott, one pro-trans outlet noted, “Markets were suddenly rocked when Rip Curl CEO Brooke Farris, who led the controversial pivot, suddenly quit.”
Meanwhile, instead of the wholesome and inspiring shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, Rip Curl is represented by a trans-identifying male who not only poses as a woman, but moonlights as a porn star. As the same pro-trans outlet solemnly reported: “Sasha Jane Lowerson, meanwhile, has pivoted into adult content, an astute and, likely, lucrative move. For as little as $12.44 per month, Sasha’s fans can access twenty-six racy photos and twelve videos.”
The consumer boycott of Rip Curl and other major corporations reveals, once again, that people who ignored the corporate world’s massive “Pride pivot” for years have hit their breaking point. The corporate world’s embrace of the LGBT movement was generally seen as companies following the culture—but when the transgender movement exploded onto the scene overnight and dissenters from gender ideology were canceled, fired, and silenced, consumers decided they’d had enough.
Now all that remains to be seen is if the corporate world will follow the cultural pendulum swing back, or if their commitment to LGBT ideology trumps their responsibility to their shareholders.
