Riding the Surfwear Wave : In the ‘60’s, O.C. got on the surfing map. These days, it’s where the dudes get their duds
Although it’s had more ups and downs than a killer set of waves, the surfwear industry in Orange County still rules.
No other place in the world has such a high concentration of surf apparel companies. Almost all of the big names are here -- Quiksilver, Ocean Pacific, Billabong, Rusty Apparel and Gotcha -- as well as dozens of smaller companies such as Counter Culture and World Jungle.
Add to the list manufacturers of any products related to the beach life style, like sunglass giant Oakley, and the number of local companies with ties to surfing swells into the hundreds.
“I know of no other industry other than the computer techies in Silicon Valley that is as concentrated in one area,” says Bonnie Crail, executive vice president of marketing for Ocean Pacific in Irvine.
Orange County is also home to the world’s two largest surf publications, Surfing magazine in San Clemente and Surfer magazine in San Juan Capistrano, as well as the industry’s leading trade publication and trade show producer, Action Sports Retailer in Laguna Beach, and SIMA, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Assn. in Corona del Mar.
With the U.S. Open of Surfing underway in Huntington Beach through Sunday, the county is virtually hogging the surfing spotlight.
All of these factors help make Orange County a magnet for surfwear companies and a launching pad for many hot beach apparel trends, including the ubiquitous O.P. corduroy shorts of the ‘70s and Mossimo’s neon volley shorts of the ‘80s.
“We all joke that if you drop a bomb at rush hour where the 405 and 5 meet, you’ll wipe out 80% of the surfwear industry,” said Randy Hild, vice president of Costa Mesa-based Roxy, Quiksilver’s junior women’s sportswear division. “The industry is very compact. We tend to be people who live here and love the beach. Most of us surf. We enjoy the lifestyle.”
One obvious reason the surfwear industry settled here is that the waves are here. Orange County’s 42 miles of coastline boasts some of the world’s best surfing spots, from the Seal Beach Pier to Trestles on the San Diego County border.
When surf’s up, a surfwear company’s staffers sometimes desert the office to ride the waves; it’s not uncommon to see wet suits drying outside of company headquarters.
“Your day-to-day routine is dictated by what’s going on in the ocean,” said Mark Price, vice president of SIMA and president of Tavarua Island Surf Co. in Laguna Beach. “It’s not that you cancel all of your appointments, but if you know a serious swell is on the way, you keep things a little loose. You can play tennis or golf any time, but the ocean isn’t like that.”
That passion for surfing, combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, is what turned the county into a boom town for surfwear companies.
“The quality of surf lured a lot of people here who later turned the surf lifestyle into an industry. Orange County became the center of commerce for the world of surfing,” said Dave Gilovich, vice president of marketing for Gotcha Sportswear in Irvine and former editor of Surfing magazine.
Hobie Alter is widely regarded as the godfather of the industry. In 1958, while living in Dana Point, Alter devised a method for mass-producing surfboards using foam cores instead of carved balsa wood. The cheaper boards made surfing more accessible.
“There was a core group in the ‘60s who put Orange County on the map in the world of surfing,” Gilovich said.
Alter was one member; Walter Hoffman was another.
The owner of Hoffman California Fabrics in Mission Viejo, Hoffman supplied Hawaiian-print fabrics to the industry and helped many companies get their start.
Soon surf shops began popping up all over the county, and a slew of surfwear companies followed. Along came people like Duke Boyd of San Clemente with his Hang Ten T-shirts. They proved that even people who’d never seen the ocean wanted to dress like surfers.
In the ‘80s, the industry exploded with the sweeping popularity of neon surfwear. Suddenly guys in Ohio were walking around in electric-green volley shorts, often with a large M--the Mossimo logo--stamped on their seats.
“The first time I saw them, I thought the M was the size, but then I never saw any Ls,” said surf historian Allan Seymour of Capistrano Beach.
Thanks in part to its cord shorts, Ocean Pacific saw its fortunes rise to $300 million in annual sales. Imitators or so-called “poser” companies, seeing the wild ride Ocean Pacific, Quiksilver and others were enjoying, tried to harness surfwear’s roaring popularity.
“The surf industry was absorbed by the fashion industry for a while,” said Tom Holbrook, senior vice president of sales for Costa Mesa-based Quiksilver, ranked by SIMA as the largest surf apparel company in the world. “Companies not related to the beach tried to make a move, and there was an over-saturation of inauthentic products.”
When surfers got sick of neon and the trend faded, many companies that had jumped into surfwear went belly-up. Even Ocean Pacific, the onetime king of the industry, filed for bankruptcy. The company was beset by management and legal woes at the same time consumers were switching from Day-Glo styles to the dark, inner-city looks, Crail said.
Those who have prospered in the ‘90s have fought back by refocusing on authentic surf apparel such as functional board shorts. Many companies even added wet suits to their lines.
“A lot of people did wipe out, but others made it work,” Seymour said. “The industry shook out the kooks--guys who think they’re good surfers and they’re not. The guys who were hard core stayed in.”
Under new ownership since 1993, Ocean Pacific has seen its sales climb steadily, up about 20% from last year. Overall, industry sales to surf shops and specialty stores are up 10% to 15% this year, from $1.2 billion in 1994, according to SIMA.
“The whole industry learned from the recession,” Crail said.
The recession showed what can happen to surfwear companies that lose touch with their core customers. That’s why surfing is more than just a sport to industry insiders. It’s the best way to remember their roots, they said.
“The ocean, the weather, the fast pace of Orange County give us the ability to dictate beachwear, and more importantly, authentic beachwear,” said Holbrook, newly elected president of SIMA.
Gilovich said surf apparel companies draw inspiration directly from the county’s coastline: “We can go down to the beach at lunch and see people wearing Gotcha this or Quiksilver that. It’s a wonderful testing ground. We can pull energy from it and put energy back into it.”
Recently the industry has been profiting from the increased media attention paid to surfing. In April, the International Olympic Committee formally recognized surfing as a sport, the first step to someday including surfing in the Games. This year Prime Sports, the national cable-TV sports network, will broadcast more than 60 hours of surf programming, including the U.S. Open of Surfing. Big corporate backers like Coca-Cola are pumping money into the sport.
In addition, the return of retro surf looks has made surfwear a force in fashion once again. Vintage-looking Hawaiian print shirts and ‘60s-style board shorts with competitive stripes recalling the sport’s early heyday are hot.
“People are getting in touch with riding the waves and the free feeling that gives you,” Price said. “We’re going back to what surfing’s all about.”
They’re also looking out for the next big trend. Roxy, for instance, has been riding high with its board shorts for girls.
“It’s all part of the surfer mentality,” Seymour said. “You’re always looking for the next wave--if you don’t wipe out.”
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Riding the Surfwear Wave
* 1955-65
Styles: Big baggy board shorts with competition stripes and Hawaiian prints proliferate.
Surf Stars: Da Cat (Mickey Dora), Phil Edwards and Corky Carroll, Greg Noll and Mickey Munoz.
* 1966-75
Styles: Cord shorts and Hang Ten shirts with colorful stripes lesve their footprints all over the nation.
Surf Stars: Gerry Lopez. Nat Young, David Nuuhiwa and Larry Bertleman.
* 1976-85
Styles: Quiksilver’s board shorts hit in the mid-’70’s, and jams and waves of neon sweep over the growing surfwear industry in the mid-’80’s. Big money pours into the sport.
Surf Stars: Pro surfers--Mark Richards, Shaun Tomson, Wayne (Bugs) Bartholomew and the Bronze Aussies: Peter Townend and Ian Caims. Ago crown follows in th ‘80’s.
* 1986-95
Styles: Kids rebel against Day-Glo apparel. The mood is dark as the recession cuts surfwear profits. The industry minics the dark hues of street wear: baggy shorts withoversized flannel shirts. Surfwear companies branch out to make wet suits
Surf Stars: Mark Occhilupo, Tom Curren, Martin Potter, Derek Ho, Sunny Garcia and Kelly Slater.
* Future Classic
Board shorts for girls, pioneered by Quiksilver’s Roxy line, are taking off. Retro looks from the ‘60’s, when surfing first swept over the masses, revive the industry.
