Where did the name 'Rip Curl' come from?

A couple of odd figures arguing in a garage...

Two young men, and hardy souls at that, because it is the dead of winter in a cold part of the country, but they are both wearing thongs – good old Aussie flip flops – although one of them has made a concession to the climate by wearing thick football

They call themselves “Sing Ding” and “Claw”, and surrounding them are foam surfboard blanks and tins of nasty chemicals. It is not a safe environment and if tempers flare any more the whole lot might go up in flames.

In The Beginning...

The year: 1969. A man called Armstrong is about to walk on the moon.

(In fact, the day he does so, Bells Beach is ten foot and near perfect. Two Torquay locals, Charlie Bartlett and Brian Singer, surf their brains out before going home to watch the other momentous event on black and white TV.)

In Australia, surfing is at a curious stage of its development. The “short board revolution” of 1967 has created a frenzy of experimentation in surfboard design and surfing technique. 

Brian & Doug: "That's us..."

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.

Over the 28 years since it began, Rip Curl has grown to be an international manufacturer of surfboards, wetsuits, surfwear, watches, surf accessories and mountainwear – a source of truly functional products for anybody on The Search for the perfect wave or the perfect powder snow covered terrain.

The Ultimate Surfing Company