Rip Curl
Rip Curl is a company for, and about, the crew on The Search. The products we make, the events we run, the riders we support and the people we reach globally, are all part of the Search that Rip Curl is on.
The Search is the driving force behind our progress and vision. When crew are chasing uncharted reefs, untracked powder or unridden rails, we want to arm them with the best equipment they’ll need. No matter where your travels lead you, we'll have you covered. We've been the market leaders in surfing wetsuits for over 30 years, and our ultimate stretch neoprene and zip-free entry technologies have set the standard for wetsuits of the future. The Curl's watch technology is more advanced than one ever thought possible. With a quick glance at your wrist our tide watches let you know what the tide is doing and our revolutionary SearchGPS watch let's you track every surf and every ride. Our mountainwear is designed to give the rider ultimate amounts of freedom, while keeping them warm, comfortable and stylish on the snow.
Rip Curl will continue to stick by the grass roots that helped make us the market leader in surfing, but we'll also charge on into the future and push riding to a new level. We know what we are doing and we will be around for a long time
In March of 1969 two surfing friends Doug "Claw" Warbrick and Brian "Sing Ding" Singer bumped into each other in Gilbert Street, Torquay. Claw had just finished a summer shaping stint with Fred Pyke and Brian was a science teacher. As the conversation progressed, and no doubt thinking about how they could stay surfing Bells in the pumping months ahead, Claw posed the question that started something great...
Pretty soon Rip Curl was firing and the Old Bakery was a hive of activity. The pair took over the adjoining house and that became the wetsuit factory. A new machine, a "1910 Singer Up The Arm Zig Zag", which had been used to sew flying boots for airmen in World War II, was found. This was used to sew the legs of the new “long John” style the boys were developing using the comfortable Rubatex neoprene from the US.
At the Old Bakery Claw and Brian had created a headquarters of sorts - with surfers naturally gravitating to the scene.