They are not yet old enough to drive but Elliot Brown and Jack McLeod already have some of surfing's biggest labels on their side.
The King's High School pupils, both aged 15, picked up sponsors after the national surfing championships in Dunedin in January.
Elliot, a year 12 pupil who won the under-18 title at St Clair, signed with Billabong, and Jack, a year 11 pupil who finished second to the promising Kaya Horne in the under-16 division, has teamed up with Rip Curl.
King's staff member in charge of surfing Johnny Simmons said the pair were both extremely promising and the deals would help both teenagers to get to sponsored events in the North Island.
Both Elliot and Jack took up the sport at similar ages when mucking around at St Clair aged about 10 or 11.
"My dad surfed, so he got me in to it ... and it took off from there,'' Jack said.
Elliot's story was similar, with his own enthusiasm catching the attention of his father.
"I was at the beach as a kid, boogie-boarding, and eventually I tried standing up on the boogie board so Dad decided it was time to get me a surfboard and it went from there,'' Elliot said.
"The most fun bit when you get into it is when you start going along waves on the open face of the wave.''
The pair are both relative newcomers to surfing competitions, but there is plenty this year to keep them focused.
In the short term, Brown heads to a Billabong Grom Series event at Piha this week, and McLeod will travel to Taranaki for a Rip Curl event the following week.
Brown and McLeod will both be at the South Island championships at St Clair over Easter, before aiming at the New Zealand secondary schools championships in August and the New Zealand scholastic championships in September.
Both surfers got a taste of the scholastic championships in Gisborne last year, when surfers represent one of 12 regions from around the country.
Jack finished third in the under-16s, and Elliot finished fifth in the same category after winning through to the semifinals as top qualifier in his quarterfinal.
Neither spend much time on off-surf fitness, opting for 15 to 20 hours a week on the waves - come summer or winter.
And, with good wetsuits, both of them reckon the water at St Clair is worth the chill over the winter.
"It's not too bad as there are less people in the water in winter as obviously, it's pretty freezing,'' Elliot said.
Both surfers appreciate the support they get from their school and from the local South Coast Boardriders Club.
