Is Gabriel Medina Going To Start His Own Brand?

As the split between Brazilian three-time World Champion, Gabriel Medina, and longtime sponsor Rip Curl settles in, the question becomes what next? We recently ran a poll alongside the announcement asking readers if they thought he would be scooped up by another legacy surf brand or by a non-endemic mainstream juggernaut, the results were clear: not many think that any surf brand could afford to pick up the champ, who will return to the Championship Tour this April.

With a following of 13.2 million on Instagram and best friends that include soccer star Neymar, it ain’t really in the realm of possibilities for someone like Billabong or Quik to grab Gabby and slap a big ‘ol sticker on the nose. And Vissla just spent their money on reigning world champ Yago Dora, so that's out of the question. The one option we didn’t include in the poll was whether Gabriel Medina is going to start his own brand. Seeing what other competitive legends like Kelly Slater and John John Florence have done, it would seem like a strong possibility.

It's not exactly a stretch, especially considering a certain brand, one of the few we could see him going with, already signed another Brazilian superstar earlier this year (more on that below). In starting his own brand, Gabby would join the likes of Kelly, John John, Dane Reynolds, Kolohe Andino, and Julian Wilson, who have all channeled their fame and career success into a signature enterprise catering to surf fans with original gear. As of time of writing, a source close to his team says there's nothing official happening just yet so let's explore the possibilities.

Is Nike In Play?

Of all the brands, the only one that could likely afford Gabriel Medina and be a proper partner for continued success is the almighty Swoosh. Given that Nike signed Italo earlier this year, it’s highly unlikely that either side would want to go that route. It's worth noting they've also added female phenoms Erin Brooks and Sierra Kerr to their roster as well. For Gabby, why share the limelight? For Nike, unless they have plans for a much larger team, having two Brazilian heavyweights on a roster of only a handful of athletes would essentially make them a Brazilian surf brand and thus hamper enthusiasm from other corners of the world. 

Maybe Nike backs a Gabby brand, much like Jordan? But again, would they try and do that now? What about Adidas? Ever since ending their relationship with Yé they could be in the market for some crazy star power, but I don’t know if surfing is likely to be on their bingo card for 2026.

Historically, Nike and Adidas have awarded the largest deals of all time--Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo all with Nike, and Lionel Messi with Adidas--to the tune of $1 billion plus but we don't think that's about to happen.

Follow The Florence Model?

The success of Florence, the brainchild of Gabby’s biggest (friendly) rival, John John, makes the most compelling case for him to start his own line. The ubiquitous red flag that dots lineups from Hawaii to Australia to Brazil has certainly caught Gabby’s eye and, likely, made him think—why not me too?

Florence gear isn’t widely common in Brazil, at least not yet, and rest assured that a Gabby-backed line would spread like wildfire down south. I would wager that Gabby would take it in a slightly different direction; sure, he would have boardshorts, rashguards, wetsuits, and maybe even surf gear like leashes, pads, and bags, but I reckon it would have some extra splash too. Gabby seems like he’s much more the type to hop on a private jet to some exclusive party than sail across the ocean to a remote archipelago and so I think his brand would be light on technical jackets, surf leggings, and explorer gear, and heavy on a much more stylized, urban streetwear vibe.

Hell, he could even go the TENORE route and just put his name on a bunch of gear and call it a day. He would probably sell out the first few releases, but how long could something based on hype rather than function last?

That’s the real question, not if Gabby starts a brand, but what will it look like? What will he sell? And how long will we (both he and us) care?

Someone else?

Given that Gabriel has more than a dozen stickers on his board, it's not impossible that someone else could step up to be his title sponsor for surf gear, but who? Vuori has the money but they currently have a team of two--Rob Machado and Taylor Knox--that seems more like a nod to the core lords of North County than a real ambition to have a surf team.

Could JBL rise to the occasion and make custom wetsuits with their orange block logo? What about Gillette? Or Jeep? It's not impossible that we could see some random corporate logo work its way onto his chest and nose of his board but, then again, unless they pay buku bucks its not happening.

I'd expect to see a full line of Gabby gear by the time the LA Olympics roll around in 2028. My guess is that he'll use a silhouetted version of his famous photo as the logo and that we'll see the first hints of the new line in the next ~6 months. Vai Medina