Rip Curl
‘live the search’ is the motto for this company that started from humble beginnings in Torquay, Australia in 1969. The two men behind Rip Curl are Doug ‘Claw’ Warbrick and Brian ‘Sing Ding’ Singer. The company began by producing surf boards and in 1970 moved into making wetsuits. Doug and Brian could see that there was a niche for wetsuits in Australia, especially in the cold water areas like Torquay. Only two other companies were making wetsuits for surfers at the time, and one of these companies was more focussed on divers. Doug and Brian set about re-designing the wetsuit to suit surfers, and their innovative designs quickly gained a strong following. By 1973 Rip Curl led the Australian market in manufacturing surf wetsuits. The name Rip Curl was ideal for the company because it reflected the Australian term of that era called ‘ripping’ to describe surfing on the edge of waves and doing lots of power turns closer to the curl and in the pockets of the waves- this style had become popular due to the emergence of shorter surf boards.
In 1973, Rip Curl proved themselves trailblazers for other companies to follow when they took the chance of sponsoring the first Pro contest in Australia, the event became known as the Rip Curl Pro. In recent years Rip Curl has continued to foster its strong links with surfers throughout Australia, and now throughout the rest of the world. Rip Curl now works with nine licensees who make and sell Rip Curl products in Australia, Aregentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Indonesia, Mauritius, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and in the USA. Rip Curl is now one of the top three board wear brands.
Team & events
Today Rip Curl sponsors 15 pro surfers as well as groms. The pro surfers are worldwide male and female, including Taylor Knox, Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore and Tom Curren.
Rip Curl has continued its tradition of sponsoring events on the worldwide surfing calendar:
WCT (Men’s Tour)Apr 3-13: Rip Curl Pro, Victoria, Australia
Jun20-Jul1: Rip Curl Pro Search, Africa, Chile
WCT (Women’s Tour)Sep 4-9: Rip Curl Girl’s Festival, Liencres, Spain
Men’s WQSApr 6-8: Rip Curl Pro, Peniche, Portugal
Aug 7-12: Rip Curl Boardmasters, Newquay, UK
Aug 20-26: Rip Curl Pro, Hossegor, France
Women’s WQSAug 6-11: Rip Curl Boardmasters Women, Newquay, UK
Rip Curl
Rip Curl is so successful because it gives the surfer what they need to perform and fulfil The Search. The future for Rip Curl is bright with the emergence of new technologies like Elastomax and Slickskin for wetsuits, that continually improve the experience for the surfer.