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Brand Ambassadors & Advisors

Brand Ambassadors & Advisors

Meet our growing network of talented athletes, adventurers and advisors.

  • Jonty Rhodes
    Cricketer
    Jonty Rhodes
    Cricketer

    Considered as the greatest cricket fielder of all time, he played for the South African cricket team between 1992 and 2003 and until recently was the Mumbai Indians' fielding coach.

    Born in South Africa, Jonty fell in love with cricket from a young age but was even asked to be on the South African Olympic hockey team in 1992 and 1996.

     

     

     

    Jonty interviews Samantha Gash for The Outdoor Journal

  • Tony Philp
    Windsurfing World Champion & Olympian
    Tony Philp
    Windsurfing World Champion & Olympian

    Since becoming the youngest Olympic sailor at age 15, Tony has achieved exceptional results on the world stage in water sports. A Hall of Fame inductee and distinguished member of the Order of Fiji (MF), the country of his birth, he has won 13 individual windsurfing world titles in an impressive career, which includes being ranked #1 in the world by the ISAF (International Sailing Association Federation) for Olympic windsurfing.

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    An Australian national (born in the Fiji Islands), Tony is also a marketing entrepreneur, innovator, brand builder and strategist, event manager and promoter. All in many different sectors including the sports and lifestyle industry, marinas and tourism, fashion, textile, events, photo and video productions.


    There’s more:

    • Philp is one of only two Fiji-born athletes, along with golfer Vijay Singh, to be ranked number one in their sports official world ranking list.
    • Competed in 5 consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000, where in the final year he was flag bearer for his country.
    • Vice–world champion in both the Windsurfer and Mistral Olympic Class in 1989 and 1999.
    • Conceptualized, built, owned and managed Cloud 9, which is today the premium and most popular aquatic touristic venue in the Fiji Islands.
  • Francisco Porcella
    Professional Big Wave Surfer
    Francisco Porcella
    Professional Big Wave Surfer

    A well-rounded surfer–catching anything from 2ft. to 80ft., Francisco specializes in BIG waves and receives multiple XXL Big Wave Awards nominations every year. He has been part of the paddle movement at Red Bull Jaws since its initiation in 2010 and has been paddling it ever since, not missing one good swell. Being one of the only surfers to compete in multiple sports, he was a finalist in 2011 and 2014 for the ‘biggest wave award’. Francisco also won Frozen Open Surf Competition in Sardinia 2012 and is currently competing in the WSL Big Wave World Tour, being featured on their website regularly.

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    Born in New York City from an American mom and Italian dad and moving to Hawaii at 12 years old, Francisco speaks 4 languages. He is also an avid kiteboarder, snowboarder, skydiver, cliff diver, windsurfer, skateboarder. And when he’s not doing all of that, he’s also a model – in case the above photos didn't already give it away.



    There’s more:

    • The first to ever do a "kite tow" (getting towed by his brother on a kite} letting go and riding Jaws on his 5'10 board  
    • Being one of the first to ever capture unique Go Pro footage off his board at Jaws, recieving 100 000 views on YouTube
    • Works with production companies like Go Big Project, delivering episodes on Outside television, Insight TV, starring in 6 episodes called Chasing Monsters, with outstanding performances in Hawaii, Puerto Escondido Mexico, Mavericks California and currently working on new episodes–from massive swells in Fiji to Western Australia
    • Appeared in multiple TV programs/shows internationally; The USA’s Fuel TV,  ESPN, ABC; Brazil’s Canal Off, Italy’s Italia 1, Wild, Sky Sports.
    • Spends his winter months in Hawaii, between Maui and the North Shore of Oahu, but is always tracking swells and ready to shoot over if Mavericks California turns on or Europe delivers big winter swells
    • Currently working on a documentary film about his life and the stories and adventures that have come with it, his environmental and social work, surfing and sharing the stoke, the healing power of waves ocean, and the great outdoors. The film looks to be release it in different film festivals in the US and around the world in summer 2017.
  • Sébastien de Saint Marie
    Extreme Steep Skier
    Sébastien de Saint Marie
    Extreme Steep Skier

    sebWith well over 100 first ascents under his belt, Sébastien de Sainte Marie finds the steepest slopes and all the adrenaline that comes with it.

    Born in Geneva with Swiss and French nationalities, Sébastien started skiing at 4 years old and mountaineering at 17 years old. In between, he was also a championship winning ice hockey player for both the Swiss and French national teams.

    Although all descents are different making it nearly impossible to choose any favorites, some of his highlights:

    - My first time in Himalaya in 2009, the entire trip, the first view and feeling in high altitude. Discovering Nepal, the super friendly, but poor habitants. Their smiles too. Népal takes, as India, a very very special place in my heart.

    - Shishapangma with my unfinished line in the baxter Jones- haston-mc intyre way. A huge mountain with a super line at this altitude. Easy to remember the night at 7100m with Pemba and Pasang.

    - the west face grand Muveran because of a great project we imagined there with my super friend Gilles. At the third attempt we made it. each time my friends, Olov and Wim, came with me. A shared Adventure for a mythic line.

    - Säntis Nordwand, dedicated to my love, Natalie, on the mythic mountain of her region.

    Sound of the Void Trailer
    Sébastien de Sainte Marie feels safer in the mountains than in a car or on a plane, even though the Swiss steep skier picks the lines hardly anyone else dares risk.

  • Erika Lemay
    Creator of Physical Poetry | Sky Dancer | Public Speaker
    Erika Lemay
    Creator of Physical Poetry | Sky Dancer | Public Speaker

    Canada born Erika Lemay has become a beautifully disruptive icon in the world of live performance, using her body in ways that defy both gravity and human possibilities. Her journey has taken her from her first ballet class at the age of four, to worldwide success and accolades. Erika is recognized as a world-class artist, although her lifestyle is one of an Olympic athlete, with strenuous hours of daily training and performances across all five continents with no off-season.

    Every show is literally a life defying moment – and she makes it look easy.

    As the creator of Physical Poetry, Erika claims that: ‘Poetry doesn’t have to be expressed with words’. She is also a highly-coveted brand ambassador, public speaker and cause activist. She has performed extensively as a soloist guest star with Cirque du Soleil and is an Arts Ambassador with the non-profit Pensare Oltre. Vanity Fair even nominated Erika as the New Queen of Circus in an interview featuring exclusive pictures by legendary photographer and Hollywood icon-maker Douglas Kirkland, who’s latest book ‘Physical Poetry Alphabet’ is a tribute to Erika’s work.

    In 2012, in the midst of a brilliant career and with awards from some of the most important competitions in her field, Erika embarked on a new challenge: a complete One-Woman Show, designed to create a true connection with the audience, pushing her boundaries through this 75- minute acrobatic performance.

    Erika is living proof that work ethic and daily discipline give one the freedom to live an
    extraordinary life.

  • Maury Birdwell
    Climber & Attorney, Founder at Birdwell Law
    Maury Birdwell
    Climber & Attorney, Founder at Birdwell Law

    A belief in the power of the law to shape and enable success led Maury to earn his law degree at Georgetown University Law Center. After studying under and alongside some of the greatest legal minds in the country he immediately ‘fled’ back West to establish his home in Boulder, Colorado. His passion is to help people and organizations succeed by lending his knowledge and expertise.

    As a member of the Colorado National Guard, Maury has served with the 19th Special Forces Group and is currently assigned to the Judge Advocate General’s office providing legal advisement for our state and nation’s armed forces. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Boulder Bar Association, and enjoys assisting the Georgetown Law Admissions Office every year as an alumni interviewer.

    When not helping clients navigate the legal landscape, Maury can be found running around the mountains close to home and afar. He has climbed and skied peaks from Alaska to the Alps, Patagonia, and more. His musings have been published in Climbing Magazine, Urban Climber, and more.