Here are a few surf brands that every surfer should know about-

Quiksilver/Roxy
In 1970 Quiksilver was formed by Alan Green and John Law who shared a dream to move to Torquay, Australia, make a living and go surfing. Their first product was the highly desired boardshort. After having ripped apart some old shorts to make them more comfortable the pair hit on the idea of making their own shorts. Their newly designed trunk was made from durable lightweight fabric that dried quickly. They were essentially clean cut, with no fancy add ons, a velcro shut fly and scalloped legs but they were perfect for the job. Soon people began to notice the new innovative design and other riders would do anything to get a pair of these Quiksilver board shorts.

To further expand the division, in 1997, Quiksilver acquired Mervin, a snowboard manufacturing company that makes Gnu and Lib Tech snowboards and Bent Metal bindings. QuikSilverEdition is a line of clothing targeting the now 25-40-year-old waterman. In 1999, the Company brought legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk into the Quiksilver family by sponsoring him and purchasing his company, Hawk Clothing. Girl?s lines including Roxy, Roxy Teenie Wahine, Raisins, Radio Fiji, and Leilani swimwear are stronger than ever.

O’Neill
In 1952 Jack O’Neill opened his first surf shop in a garage across the highway from his favourite bodysurfing break in San Fransisco, California. There he sold his first wetsuits, a few vests made from bits of neoprene glued together.
By 1980, Jack O’Neill’s surf shop had morphed into a thriving international company, dominating the world’s wetsuit market and one of the leaders in beach lifestyle sportswear in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Today, O’Neill International has a network of 28 foreign distributorships. The best-selling wetsuits in the world have been joined by one of the top sportswear brands in the world.

Rip Curl
In 1967 Doug “Claw” Warbrick and Brian “Sing Ding” Singer decide to pitch their fledgling surf company, Rip Curl into the cold climate of a no frills seaside town called Torquay in Australia. They began work in a backyard garage putting out about 4 boards a week that they began shaping on the monday and finished off on Friday for the customer to pick up and surf with at the weekend.

Reef
Reef is the leader in authentic surf-inspired footwear since it started trading in 1984 as the brain child of two Argentinian brothers, Fernando and Santiago Aguerre. The two began surfing as kids and immersed themselves in the surfing scene from promoting international surf competitions to hosting radio shows about surfing then eventually opening a surf shpp in Argentina in the 1970′s.

Today Reef sandals and closed toe footwear appeal to an entire active lifestyle market from surfers, to snowboarders, to skateboarders and walkboarders and people who enjoy an active lifestyle the world over.

Da Kine>
Da Kine?s history begins in 1979 when the Rob Kaplan began to manufacture the first surf board leash in Maiu, Hawaii. Due to the great wave conditions in this location the Da Kine surf leash was designed to withstand rigorous conditions and set the standard for Da Kines innovative design and high quality.

From there Rob Kaplan went on to help design footstraps for windsurfers wave boards in 1980, which evolved into adjustable footstraps, seat and waist harnesses between 1981 and 1984, as well as Coffin bags for pros to get their gear safely to all their events. These inventions defined the company as the leasing innovator in technical windsurfing accessories.

Over the years Da Kine expanded into the Mountain Biking, kayaking, kiteboarding and hiking arenas before committing to the snow boarding market in 1989, a market in which it would become a world leader over the next 15 years.

In the next 5 years Da Kine expands further into the winter glove, technical and day back pack market which it is now know for world wide. Da Kine celebrated its 25th birthday in 2004 and continues to go from strength to strength with fresh, funky and modern designs and innovations.


Billabong
Billabong is an Australian brand established in the late 70?s. The word Billabong is the name given to a stagnant pool of water in the Australian/English language, and was adopted by the company when is was first established.

Billabong has grown over the years and has an extensive range of clothing for guys and girls and juniors. The range does extend down to toddlers although it is not nearly as large or as well known. During the summer months their ranges consist of funky boardshort and bikini?s, t-shirts, skirts, denims, and practically anything you need to look cool on the beach or in the surf. During the winter months they have an extensive snow range including fleeces, jackets and salopettes as well as the major fashion items that will have you looking good both on the slopes and in the apr?s-ski scene!!