Rip Curl History
“Started by two surfer mates, Brian “Sing Ding” Singer and Doug “Claw” Warbrick, in a quiet Victorian coastal town in 1969, Rip Curl was originally created as the vehicle for a great lifestyle – Brian and Claw making surfboards to pay for their passion for adventure in the oceans and mountains of the world.”
Since Rip Curl began it has grown to be an international manufacturer of surfboards, wetsuits, surfwear, watches, surf accessories, mountainwear and snow gear.
Created to support Singer and Warbricks’s active lifestyle, Rip Curl now does the exact same thing forhundreds of employees who are actively encouraged to mix work with play.
Brian “Sing Ding” Singer and Doug “Claw” Warbrick joined forces shortly after the “short board” frenzy of 1967 and came up with Rip Curl. They took over a house in Torquay and began making there (primitive for today’s standards) prototype wetsuits.
The name Rip Curl was essentially Doug “Claw” Warbrick’s idea, “You rip the curl! Get it?” Even though “Sing Ding Singer didn’t first of go for it, the name stuck.
In 1973 the first Rip Curl Pro was held with prizes being small cash amounts that hardly covered competitors petrol and living money. However this was a huge step in the professionalising of the sport of surfing. Before this, there had been a few feeble attempts but Rip Curl led the way.
Even as Rip Curl grew, they took pains to ensure that they weren’t dragged kicking and screaming from the surf to oversee the business. They had their priorities right, and they made sure that Rip Curl did too. By 1977 Rip Curl was producing wetsuits for water skiers, windsurfers, sailors as well as surfers, however by the end of the 1970’s Rip Curl had become the surfer’s company.
Instead of producing wetsuits in Australia and exporting it to the world, which is costly, Rip Curl sold licences to create Rip Curl wetsuits. Firstly to a company named Frogs in Hossegor. Today 9 licensee’s make and sell Rip Curl.
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