ASB MAGAZINE: Earlier this week it was announced that DHD had partnered with crowd funding experts Equitise in order to raise capital for manufacturing, expansion in foreign markets and marketing firepower. Today, the company announced it has signed current World Championship Tour #9 Owen Wright to the DHD family. According to a statement, Owen was looking for something different in his boards and after a couple of months of testing with Darren Handley he took the next step and competed on DHD equipment in the WSL Championship Tour events at Uluwatu and Keramas.
Owen Wright grew up in Culburra, New South Wales, Australia, as the second of five kids who all surf. His sister Tyler is a two-time World Champion, while little brother Mikey is making noise on the Qualifying Series and as a wildcard on the WSL 2018 Championship Tour.
In 2015, Wright suffered a traumatic brain injury during a warm-up session at Pipeline where he was still mathematically in contention for the world title that year. The incident proved life threatening, and for a time it looked like Wright’s career was over. He sat out the entire 2016 season, learning how to surf all over again. His eventual return to competition in 2017 is now the stuff of legend, as Wright won the season opener at Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks during one of the most emotionally charged comebacks in history. He finished the season No. 6 on the Jeep Leaderboard.
Commenting on the addition Darren Handley said, “I have always had a huge amount of respect for Owen, he is an absolute professional and great guy to work with. I feel that my experience can assist him climb the CT rankings, on top of that the crew at DHD are psyched to have Owen join us, so smiles all round”.
Current World Number #9 Owen Wright said, “I started working with Darren on some boards leading up to the CT events in Bali and straight away I felt my surfing lift. I am stoked to announce that I am now part of the DHD team and I am looking forward to working with the people at DHD. Of course, a World Title is what I am surfing for, you never know these boards may be what I need to get me over the line”.
Owen is the first new athlete signed by DHD since Jack Perry assumed the role of DHD and Modom Team Manager. Jack has brought fresh ideas to DHD and has challenged our previous thought process. We look forward to further athletes joining DHD and Modom as Jack identifies emerging and existing talent.
ENDS
