Rip Curl
Australian surf and board-sports brand known for technical wetsuits, surfwear, accessories, athlete sponsorship, and surf-culture media.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Rip Curl is an Australian designer, manufacturer, retailer, and sponsor focused on surfing and related board sports. Founded in Torquay, Victoria, in 1969 by Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer, the business began with surfboards before moving into wetsuits in 1970. Its early wetsuit work adapted ideas from diving equipment to the more flexible, active requirements of surfers, establishing a product-development orientation that remains central to the brand. The company’s name came from a vee-bottom surfboard purchased by Warbrick in 1968 and marked with the words “Rip Curl Hot Dog.” The phrase was chosen for its association with surfing rather than as a technical or geographic description. Torquay, located near Bells Beach and the Great Ocean Road, provided a natural base for a brand whose identity developed alongside Australia’s surf culture. Rip Curl’s principal categories include wetsuits, boardshorts, swimwear, surf clothing, outerwear, footwear, watches, bags, and other accessories. The brand has also extended its activity beyond surfing into skateboarding and surfskating, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Technical products such as the FlashBomb wetsuit range have helped position Rip Curl around performance, warmth, flexibility, and innovation, while its apparel and swim lines connect the business to broader youth, beach, and outdoor markets. Marketing and sponsorship are important parts of Rip Curl’s business model. The Search, a long-running surf-travel and film initiative, presented surfing as exploration and helped associate the brand with remote locations, professional surfers, and adventure. Rip Curl has also sponsored major surf events, including the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, Rip Curl Pro Portugal, and Rip Curl Cup Padang Padang. Its athlete relationships have included world champions and prominent surfers such as Tom Curren, Mick Fanning, Stephanie Gilmore, Tyler Wright, Gabriel Medina, Bethany Hamilton, and Grant Baker. Rip Curl is commonly grouped with Quiksilver and Billabong as one of the major global surf brands. Its retail and distribution presence has expanded across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, with some international stores operated by licensees. The brand has also used awards and product launches to reinforce its technical credentials: the FlashBomb wetsuit received consecutive Surf Industry Manufacturers Association wetsuit awards in 2011, 2012, and 2013, while the My Bikini campaign won repeated recognition in women’s marketing. After an attempted sale process was abandoned in 2013, Rip Curl was acquired by outdoor specialist Kathmandu in 2019. Kathmandu later became part of the KMD Brands group, under which Rip Curl operates alongside other outdoor and travel-oriented brands. Brooke Farris was appointed chief executive officer in August 2021. Rip Curl remains an active international surf brand with a business spanning product design, wholesale, retail, licensing, event sponsorship, athlete marketing, and branded media.
History
Rip Curl emerged from Torquay, Victoria, a coastal community closely associated with Australian surfing and the Bells Beach surf region. Doug Warbrick purchased a vee-bottom surfboard in 1968 and wrote “Rip Curl Hot Dog” on it. The expression became the source of the future brand name, reflecting the founders’ informal surf vocabulary and the company’s cultural rather than corporate origins. Warbrick and Brian Singer established Rip Curl in 1969. The company initially made surfboards, but its direction changed quickly as the founders identified an opportunity in wetsuits. In 1970 they began developing wetsuits intended specifically for surfers, drawing on diving-equipment concepts while seeking greater flexibility and suitability for paddling, movement, and changing water conditions. This early emphasis on solving practical problems became a recurring feature of Rip Curl’s product identity. The Torquay factory also played a small but notable role in surf-industry history. Alan Green, later associated with Quiksilver, worked at Rip Curl in 1969 and developed the first Quiksilver boardshorts at the Rip Curl factory in April 1970. Although Quiksilver later became a major competitor, the episode illustrates the close personal and manufacturing networks that shaped the early Australian surf industry. Over subsequent decades Rip Curl expanded from a local surf manufacturer into a multinational surfwear company. Its range grew to include wetsuits, boardshorts, swimwear, clothing, watches, bags, footwear, and accessories. The brand’s global presence developed across Australia and New Zealand, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Some markets used licensees and local operating partners, particularly outside the company’s core Australian and European businesses. Rip Curl’s growth was supported by a combination of technical product development, athlete sponsorship, event association, and media. The company became one of the major participants in the international surf industry, often described alongside Quiksilver and Billabong as part of the sector’s “Big Three.” Its sponsorship portfolio included major professional surf events and athletes who won world titles. Through this activity, Rip Curl positioned itself not simply as an apparel seller but as a participant in competitive surfing and surf travel. The Search became one of the brand’s most recognizable marketing properties. Beginning in the early 1990s, a series of surf films produced with filmmaker Sonny Miller followed surfers and crews to distinctive or remote locations. The films included The Search, The Search II, Beyond the Boundaries: The Search III, Feral Kingdom, Tripping the Planet, and Searching for Tom Curren. Searching for Tom Curren was recognized by Surfer magazine as Video of the Year in 1997. Rip Curl relaunched The Search in 2015, preserving the exploration theme in a later media and marketing environment. The company explored a possible ownership transition in the early 2010s. Warbrick and Singer engaged Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2012 to pursue a sale, but the process was abandoned in March 2013. Rip Curl was eventually sold in October 2019 to Kathmandu, an outdoor specialist. Kathmandu subsequently operated within KMD Brands, giving Rip Curl a place in a larger group focused on outdoor, travel, and lifestyle products. Product innovation continued to be central to the brand. The FlashBomb wetsuit won three consecutive SIMA Wetsuit of the Year awards from 2011 through 2013. Rip Curl also received recognition for boardshorts, swimwear, accessories, customer service, and marketing campaigns. In August 2021, Brooke Farris was appointed chief executive officer. Rip Curl remains active as an international surf and board-sports brand, with activities spanning product design, retail, wholesale, licensing, sponsorship, and branded content.
- 2021
Brooke Farris becomes chief executive officer
[1]Rip Curl appoints Brooke Farris as chief executive officer on 16 August.
- 2019
Rip Curl is acquired by Kathmandu
[1]Kathmandu purchases Rip Curl, beginning the brand’s operation within a broader outdoor group.
- 2015
The Search is relaunched
[1]Rip Curl revives its signature exploration-oriented campaign and media platform.
- 2013
The FlashBomb wetsuit completes a three-year award run
[1]FlashBomb receives the SIMA Wetsuit of the Year award for the third consecutive year.
- 1997
Searching for Tom Curren receives video recognition
[1]Searching for Tom Curren is named Video of the Year by Surfer magazine.
- 1992
The Search film series begins
[1]Rip Curl launches its surf-film-led The Search campaign, produced with filmmaker Sonny Miller.
- 1970
Wetsuit production begins
[1]The company begins making wetsuits designed for surfing, adapting concepts from diving equipment.
- 1969
Rip Curl is founded in Torquay
[1]Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer establish Rip Curl in Torquay, Victoria, initially producing surfboards.
- 1968
The Rip Curl name appears on a surfboard
[1]Doug Warbrick writes “Rip Curl Hot Dog” on a vee-bottom surfboard, providing the words that later become the company name.
Products and positioning
A technical, athlete-led global surf and board-sports brand combining performance equipment, beach and lifestyle apparel, surf-event sponsorship, and adventure-oriented media.
Wetsuits
FlashBomb wetsuits
FlashBomb is Rip Curl’s best-known technical wetsuit family. It is associated with the company’s focus on warmth, flexibility, drying performance, and construction innovation. The range received SIMA Wetsuit of the Year recognition in 2011, 2012, and 2013, helping establish it as a flagship performance product.
Wetsuits
Flashbomb Heatseeker
Flashbomb Heatseeker is a higher-specification wetsuit offering within Rip Curl’s technical product portfolio. It extends the FlashBomb proposition toward cold-water performance and thermal protection and was recognized as a wetsuit and product innovation winner at Australian surf-industry awards in 2019.
Boardshorts
Mirage boardshorts
Mirage is a major Rip Curl boardshort family designed for surfing and beach use. The line has included athlete-associated and performance-oriented variants such as Mirage MF Driven, Mirage Connor Surge, and Mirage 3 2 1, combining stretch construction and surf-specific fit with lifestyle styling.
Swimwear
My Bikini
My Bikini is Rip Curl’s women’s swimwear and marketing platform, connecting customizable or varied bikini styles with the brand’s broader beach and surf identity. The associated campaign received repeated SIMA Women’s Campaign of the Year recognition in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019.
Surf watches and accessories
SearchGPS Watch
SearchGPS is a surf-oriented watch and tracking product associated with Rip Curl’s Search identity. It extends the brand into digital and equipment-assisted surfing by combining timekeeping and surf-session functionality with the visual language of exploration.
Media and branded content · 1992
The Search
The Search is a long-running Rip Curl surf-travel media property rather than a conventional physical product. Through films, athlete trips, and location-based storytelling, it presents surfing as exploration and has served as one of the brand’s central global marketing platforms.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015The Search relaunch
International
Rip Curl relaunched The Search, updating its exploration and surf-travel platform for a contemporary global audience while retaining its focus on athletes, locations, and discovery.
Outcome. The Search remained a core branded-content property.
- 2013My Bikini
International
My Bikini promoted Rip Curl’s women’s swimwear through a campaign centered on bikini styles, beach lifestyle, and women’s participation in the surf category.
Outcome. It won SIMA Women’s Campaign of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019.
- 1992The Search
International
Rip Curl’s signature campaign uses surf films and travel narratives to follow professional surfers and crews in distinctive or remote locations. Early films produced with Sonny Miller included The Search, The Search II, Beyond the Boundaries: The Search III, Feral Kingdom, Tripping the Planet, and Searching for Tom Curren.
Outcome. The campaign became a defining part of Rip Curl’s adventure-oriented brand identity and was later relaunched.
Brand decisions
2021
Appointment of Brooke Farris as CEOStrategyBackground
Following the brand’s integration into the Kathmandu-led group, Rip Curl changed its top executive leadership.
Action taken
Brooke Farris was appointed chief executive officer on 16 August 2021.
Aftermath
Farris became the publicly identified chief executive responsible for the active Rip Curl brand.
2019
Sale to KathmanduM&ABackground
After the earlier sale attempt did not proceed, Rip Curl entered another ownership transaction with outdoor specialist Kathmandu.
Action taken
Kathmandu acquired Rip Curl in October 2019.
Aftermath
Rip Curl became part of the wider KMD Brands outdoor and travel portfolio.
2012
Exploration of a company saleM&ABackground
Founders Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer considered a change in ownership and engaged Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Action taken
The company entered a sale process, which was later abandoned in March 2013.
Aftermath
Rip Curl remained independently controlled until its eventual sale to Kathmandu in 2019.
1970
Move into wetsuit manufacturingProduct launchBackground
The founders sought to create wetsuits suited to surfing rather than simply replicate diving equipment.
Action taken
Rip Curl began producing surf-specific wetsuits and made technical product development a central part of the business.
Aftermath
Wetsuits became one of the brand’s most important and recognizable product categories.
Recent events
- 2021
Brooke Farris appointed chief executive officer[1]
Leadership change
Rip Curl appointed Brooke Farris as chief executive officer on 16 August 2021.
- 2019
Kathmandu acquires Rip Curl[1]
M&A
Rip Curl was sold to outdoor specialist Kathmandu, linking the surf brand with a broader outdoor and travel-oriented group.
- 2013
Rip Curl sale process abandoned[1]
M&A · Other
A proposed sale process initiated by the founders in 2012 was discontinued in March 2013.
- 2013
FlashBomb wins repeated wetsuit awards[1]
Product generation · Other
The FlashBomb wetsuit range received the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Wetsuit of the Year award for a third consecutive year.
Sources2 sources
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