Nine-year-old surfer Maverick Wilson has been shredding waves (and the competition) across the state over the past year and has earned himself a sponsorship deal from Ripcurl after plenty of impressive results.
The major brand decided to get behind the grommet after he carved out a string of high finishes at recent events.
Maverick caught the eye of Ripcurl’s sponsorship team when he was named the best overall performer at the Hurley BL’s Blast Off competition in Sydney last October.
Following on he was able to make the semi finals of the under 12s at the WA Ripcurl GromSearch, finish second in the under 12s grommet event at Gracetown, win the Taj Small Fries under 10s competition, win the Wahu Surfing Groms Comp and win the under 10s Mandurah Board Riders category.
His latest event, round two of the WA junior surfing titles at Trigg Beach, saw Maverick finish second in the micro groms division, behind fellow Mandurah lad Macklin Flynn.
Maverick’s batch of strong performances saw Ripcurl offer him a sponsorship, which his father Matt said was a great opportunity for the youngster.
“We put together a bit of a CV for Mav and all of a sudden he’s on a contracted deal – it’s brilliant,” he said.
“He always has a red-hot crack when he’s in the water and you can tell he’s a real competitor.”
But Maverick faces stiff competition on a regular basis, going up against his older brother, Phoenix.
“It’s a bit of a rivalry in the house but PK (Phoenix) is probably the more chilled out of the two, so he’s just really happy for Mav,” Matt said.
“The good thing about it is that Mav still has two years of under 12s left before he has to move up in competition so hopefully he can get a few more wins under his belt.”
Both Maverick and Phoenix are already sponsored by Triton, who provide underwater apnea training.
The training is crucial for the pair, as their surfing ability has surpassed their swimming ability and they look to conquer bigger waves.
Creatures of Leisure and Otis Eyewere also sponsor the boys, while Destination Surf helped to hammer out the Ripcurl deal.