A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as papa he'e nalu in the Hawaiian language, and were usually made of wood from local trees, such as koa. They were often over 460 cm (15 ft) in length and extremely heavy. Major advances over the years include the addition of one or more fins (skegs) on the bottom rear of the board to improve directional stability, and numerous improvements in materials and shape.
Rip Curl is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of surfing sportswear and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing companies in Australia, Europe, South America, North America and South Africa. Globally, Rip Curl is considered a successful member of the "Big Three", of the surf industry alongside Quiksilver and Billabong.
Mambo Graphics is an Australian company designer of clothing. The company produces and commercialises surfing wetsuits, and casual wear clothing. Mambo was launched in 1984 by musician Dare Jennings and business partner, Andrew Rich in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria. On 6 January 2015, Mambo was acquired by American company Saban Brands. In July 2019 Mambo was brought back to Australian ownership when it was acquired by Caprice Australia.
Billabong International Limited is an Australian company focused on surfing, primarily a clothing retailer that also produces accessories, such as watches and backpacks, and skateboard and snowboard products under other brand names. Founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant, the company first traded on the Australian Securities Exchange in August 2000. The name "billabong" is derived from the Wiradjuri word bilabaŋ that refers to a "creek that runs only during the rainy season". As of September 2013, Von Zipper and Element were two of the prominent brands that Billabong owns. Honolua Surf Company, Kustom, Palmers Surf, Xcel, Tigerlily, Sector 9, and RVCA were the company's other brands. In 2018, Billabong International Limited was acquired by Boardriders, Inc, owner of rival brand Quiksilver.
Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. is a clothing company based in Irvine, California, United States. It produces T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, shoes and beverage mugs.
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish and evolve in the early 20th century, with its popularity peaking during the 1950s and 1960s. It has affected music, fashion, literature, film, art, and youth jargon in popular culture. The number of surfers throughout the world continues to increase as the culture spreads.
Skip Frye is an American surfer, surfboard designer and shaper, and environmental activist.
Hurley is an American company that sells clothes and accessories marketed towards surfing and swimming. Established in 1979 as a distributor for Billabong clothing in the United States, Hurley was sold to Nike, Inc. in 2002 for an undisclosed price and then to Bluestar Alliance LLC in 2019 for an undisclosed price.
Gerry Lopez, aka Mr. Pipeline, is an American surfer, shaper, journalist and film actor.
Warren Edward Bolster was an American skateboard photographer during the mid-1970s rebirth of skateboarding.
The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Undoubtedly ancient sailors learned how to ride wave energy on many styles of early boats. Archaeological evidence even suggests that ancient cultures of Peru surfed on reed watercraft for fishing and recreation up to five thousand years ago. However, standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
Hobart "Hobie" Alter was an American surf and sailing entrepreneur and pioneer, creator of the Hobie Cat catamarans, and founder of the Hobie company.
Dane Reynolds is an American professional surfer from Ventura, California. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers.
JIMMY'Z is a clothing and lifestyle company founded in 1984 by Jimmy Ganzer, known for its signature E-Z-In velcro closure shorts.
Piping Hot is an Australian surf and street clothing brand. It was established in 1975 by Fred Pyke and Rod Brooks in Torquay, Victoria.
Stüssy is an American privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and hip hop scenes.
Hang Ten is a Hong Kong-owned lifestyle and apparel company that had its origins in surf wear but now makes mass-market casual clothing and other items, selling the bulk of its products in the East Asian market, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Hang Ten's name comes from the surfing maneuver of 'hanging ten', that is, to hang all ten toes over the edge of the surfboard. Its original logo was a sewed-on pair of little feet. Today, the company licenses its logo and designs for apparel, paddle-boards, skateboards, surfboards, sun care, and other lifestyle products. Hang Ten products are sold in many countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Brazil, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Pakistan, Australia and South Africa.
NHS, Inc. is a United States sports equipment distribution company based in Santa Cruz, California. It was founded by Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman, three surfer friends from Santa Cruz, California, teamed up to start NHS. The acronym NHS comes from their surname initials. The company distributes the following brands: Santa Cruz Skateboards, Santa Cruz Snowboards, Santa Cruz Surfboards, Creature Skateboards, Independent Truck Company, Bronson Speed Co., Krux Trucks, Ricta Wheels, Mob Grip, OJ Wheels, Road Rider, Slimeballs, Bullet and Nor Cal Clothing Co. NHS formerly owned shares of Santa Cruz Bicycles, also co-founded by Richard Novak, but sold to Pon Holdings in 2015.
Donald Moke Takayama was an American professional surfer and surfboard shaper. Originally a longboard surfer, Takayama won the Master's division of the United States Surfing Champions in 1971, 1972 and 1973. Hawaiian born, Takayama learned to surf at Waikiki Beach and moved to California in the mid-1950s. Takayama died of complications from heart surgery; he is survived by his wife and four daughters.
Dog surfing is a type of surfing maneuver involving dogs that are trained to surf on surfboards, bodyboards, skimboards, windsurf boards or to bodysurf. Historically, surfing dogs have been documented as occurring as early as the 1920s in the United States. Competitions and exhibitions that feature surfing dogs have occurred in various coastal areas of the United States, such as Del Mar, California, Imperial Beach, California and Jupiter, Florida.
