Australian surf shop Ozmosis is facing major backlash over a campaign called “Pay with Pain” critics say encourages reckless behavior.
Here’s how it works: if you’ve recently slammed and have the scars or photos to prove it, you can upload documentation to Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #paywithpain for a discount code, or walk into the store and show off your damaged bod for a discount if you spend $80 or more. “Come in. Show us your scars. Get deals,” reads the company’s website.
Presumably, the damage was done before a potential customer decided they were gonna buy a new t-shirt, and the discount consoles a bit. But critics argue it’s not only insensitive, it glorifies recklessness, and may encourage young children to intentionally hurt themselves for discounts.
Chief executive of Australian organization Kidsafe WA, Scott Phillips, told Perth Now that 27 children die per year in Western Australia from accidents and 8,000 per year are hospitalized.
“This type of campaign is glorifying these types of injuries as a badge of honor,” he said. “Children are not mature enough or always able to understand the risks of injury or the consequences of their actions. This campaign seems to accept that injuries are just a given. Kidsafe WA believes all unintended injuries are avoidable.”
Ozmosis has said it does not condone customers take unnecessary risks and has responded to the criticism saying, “Pay With Pain brings to life a philosophy that when pursuing anything with passion you get hit, you fail and you get up & try again.”
Participants in the campaign have uploaded some pretty gruesome images and video to Facebook and Instagram including one guy who posted a photo asking, “Does brain surgery count?” Ozmosis replied to the photo with a resounding “Yes!”
The campaign concludes October 5 with the selection of one grand prize winner going home with a $5000 Ozmosis kit.
