Hurley markets John John at Agenda

Hurley jumped into marketing its new stellar surf team at Agenda, with large images of John John Florence and Julian Wilson on its booth.

Man of the hour Pat O’Connell on the North Shore in December. Photo by Shop-eat-surf.

Though Hurley has not official confirmed that it has landed Florence, the rumors are definitely true, based on Hurley’s booth at the show.

On the North Shore in December, I heard over and over again about the heated competition to sign Florence, considered to be a world title contender in the near future. I know several top brands were in the hunt.

Signing Florence is a major coup for Hurley and for Pat O’Connell, vice president of sports marketing for the brand, who led the effort.

Previously, Hurley was not particularly known for its surf team, and now it has some of the top young talent in the world on its roster.

Several marquee athletes such as Julian Wilson, Kolohe Andino and Carissa Moore just joined Hurley after Nike decided to exit surf.

Julian Wilson on the Hurley booth

Florence was previously sponsored by O’Neill for clothing and is currently sponsored by Vans for footwear.