Chapter: 7
Long Division
- Return of the Longboard
- Simon Anderson and his Mighty Thruster
- Surf and Destroy
- Terror from Below
- The Unsinkable Tom Carroll
- An Explosion of Talent
- Tom Curren's Mile of Style
- How to Turn a Circus into a Riot
- I Predict Waves in Your Future
- Cult of the Surf Photographer
- Video Killed the Surf Movie
- Waves for Sale
- Surf Boom Redux
- Terminally Hip
- Super-Sizing the World Tour
- Somebody Should Do Something
- Surfers vs Apartheid
- Make Room at the Top, Obrigado!
- The Last Big Wave
- Eddie Aikau's State of Grace
- A Beloved Rival
Terminally Hip
Quiksilver teamrider Tom Carroll
Quiksilver's Bob McKnight, 1977
Gotcha ad, 1988
Tom Curren, 1989 Op Pro. Photo: Mike Balzer
Billabong team, 1984
Gotcha shamelessly played it both ways. The surfwear company sold gear to department stores from Pittsburgh to Tulsa to Spokane, yet billed itself as the sport's most "core" brand. It worked. For awhile
What was a nouveau riche surfwear CEO supposed to do? Believe in the “grow or die” dictum and start filling those bulk orders for Macy’s and JC Penney? Or stay “core,” knowing that the surfers who made your label cool in the first place weren’t going to hang around once they knew their boardshorts were being worn by the people who shop at Macy’s and JC Penney? This was the Ocean Pacific dilemma. ...
Subscribe or Login
Plans start at $5, cancel anytimeTrouble logging-in? Contact us.