Michael Schwab On Action Sports Investing

by The Editors on November 20, 2020

Michael Schwab (son of investment firm founder Charles Schwab) and managing director (and only partner) of Big Sky Partners says he began investing in what he loves at the age of 36, according to an essay posted on CSQ.com. He calls it “adventure capitalism.”

So far his adventure capital investments have included a couple surf resorts, Kelly Slater Wave Co., Travis Rice’s Natural Selection Tour, and Meriwether Companies, the company that is planning a “wellness resort community” around Kelly’s La Quinta, California wave pool called Coral Mountain. This is his explanation:

The shift to investing in sports-related startups is unique because not a lot of large funds have touched it to date. It’s been kind of a fringe idea that has been looked at as dangerous or unapproachable, and I want to make it more mainstream. If you asked most people if they are into action/adventure sports, they would say no. I want to change that. I call what I am doing adventure capitalism. But, like any business, the risk is failure and loss of capital. I am investing alongside friends and family, and we are all passionate about the work and believe in the future of surfing, wellness, and adventure sports.

People who invest using other people’s money always seem to figure out a way to come out ahead on the deal, but seriously, we can’t imagine any of these “investments” returning much more than a few good, fake waves and some heli time. Then again, if Charles Schwab is your dad what kind of return on “adventure” investing do you really need?

[Link: CSQ.com]

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