Athlete makes millions, athlete goes broke. It is a story as old as time, dating all the way back to the ancient version of the Olympic Games. While surfers are not paid as handsomely as stars in mainstream sports, they are certainly not immune to becoming a cautionary tale: broke, burnt out, and without a clue what to do with the rest of their lives. Not CJ Hobgood. In 2013, after nearly two decades at the elite level, the 2001 World Champion saw the light beginning to fade on his competitive career. So when a chance to co-found Salty Crew presented itself, Hobgood jumped at the opportunity, even while he was still actively competing on the Championship Tour. “The day before my heat at The Pipeline Masters was a layday, so I was calling around and booking appointments for Salty Crew at Surf Expo in Florida the next month,” Hobgood recalls of that whirlwind era. “I had calls with the buyers at Aqua East and Sunrise.…