Mingling at the SIMA Super Summit. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Listening to the presentations. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Listening to the presentations. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
PJ Connell and Somer Harris of Rip Curl. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Inherent Bummer Editor in Chief Travis Ferre, professional surfer Kirra Pinkerton and Natural Selection Tour GM of Surf Partnerships Jason Murray discuss "Beyond the Comfort Zone: Leadership When Conditions Get Heavy." Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Surf Industry Members Association Executive Director Vipe Desai speaks with surf pioneer Dick Metz during "Origins: The Story of How the Surf Industry Was Built" at the 2026 SIMA Super Summit in Laguna Beach. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Vince De La Pena of Vissla. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Ryan Hitzel and Jason Steris of Roark with Caravan Outpost Co-Founder Brad Steward. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Caravan Outpost Co-Founder Brad Steward delivers the keynote "Growing Without Losing What Makes Us Different." Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Vissla CEO Paul Naude's message was clear: The surf industry needs to come together to take advantage of the major growth that is on the horizon. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
From left, Remedy Public Relations EVP Bill Byrne moderates "Authenticity, Brand & Creators: The Evolution of Your PR Strategy" with Popfly Founder and CEO Taylor Hoekstra and creators Taylor Stankhus and Andrew Riojas at the 2026 SIMA Super Summit in Laguna Beach. Photo by Dipan Desai Photography.
Richard Sanders of Vissla, Ryan Hitzel of Roark and Paul Harvey of Jetty. Photo by SESO.
Shaun Tomson of Instinct, Ryan Dale-Johnson of NRI and John Dickinson of Flojos. Photo by SESO.
Tilly's CEO Nate Smith and Mike Reilly of Free Fly. Photo by SESO.
Jersey roots: Melissa Martinez Booth of Distant Local, Cory Higgins of Jetty, Jason Murray of Natural Selection Tour, and Bruce Beach of Capacity Brewing. Photo by SESO.
Jeff Booth of Distant Local and Travis Ferre of Inherent Bummer. Photo by SESO.
Richard Sanders of Vissla and Robert Howser of Harbour Surf Shop. Photo by SESO.
Bob Graff of Wasserman, Eric Crane of Birdwell and Eve Carter of Wasserman. Photo by SESO.
Izzy Tihanyi of Surf Diva and Graham Stapelberg o the WSL. Photo by SESO.
The Surf Industry Members Association (SIMA) brought brands, retailers and creators to The Rivian South Coast Theater in Laguna Beach for its 2026 SIMA Super Summit. The full day of sessions covered leadership, retail, AI and marketing.
Across the panels, speakers returned to authenticity, the health of brand and retailer partnerships, and how to bring younger and newer customers into surfing. Nate Smith, CEO of Tilly’s, said the retailer is seeing momentum in surf and expects it to have more staying power than the broader Y2K trend.
“I think in two to four months you’re going to see a different floor,” he said
Owners of Harbour Surfboards, Surf Diva and Spyder Surf Shop said unannounced discounting on brands’ direct channels is straining their partnerships. Leaders from Jetty, Sisstr and Rip Curl pointed to the 2028 Olympics as a chance to turn new viewers into surfers. A panel with Popfly and two creators covered how brands can work with creators without losing authenticity. Cadre AI’s session focused on how quickly companies need to move on AI.
Shop Eat Surf Outdoor will publish fuller stories from several sessions in the coming days. In the meantime, see photos from the SIMA Super Summit in our slide show above.
