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Billabong is one of the original and greatest surf brands to have graced the
waves with their presence. Like all the greats their humble beginnings arose
from the back of a Kombi van, cruising breaks across Australia’s
South and East Coast’s. From Maroubra, Queensland
to the mighty Bells Beach, Victoria,
Billabong led the revolution and evolution of surfing from right inside the
“green room”.
Gordon Merchant was the surf doctor and had that unique knack of being able
to pick just the right break to suit the conditions. Remember, there was a time
before the internet and webcams. On one such safari Gordon was stoked when he
stumbled across the surfing utopia they call the Gold Coast. A place where the
surf goes off 300 days a year and there is 20 miles to share with all the
others on the eternal search.
With the Gold Coast surf industry still in its infancy; Gordon introduced tucked-under
edges to surfboard shaping and Rabbit Bartholomew and Michael Petersen suddenly
found themselves propelled to the top of the local surf rankings. With a hand
in the development of leg ropes, Billabong were about to become a surfers best
friend.
From a garage in Burleigh Beach, Queensland,
Rena Merchant and Gordon produced their first handmade boardshorts in 1973.
Built for double overhead conditions, Billabong board shorts were tough enough
for future surf legends Guy Omerod and Rabbit who tested these first
prototypes. Billabong Clothing blew with the sea winds across the globe and
were the choice of brand for living legends like on the Billabong Surf Team
like Mark Occhilupo, Munga Barry, Share Dorian, Taj Burrows, Sunny Garcia and
the A list of surfers goes on.
Since those beginnings Billabong Clothes has expanded its product range to
include Billabong snowboard outerwear, watches, accessories and skateboard apparel.
Billabong clothes are an articulation of youth culture and are best known as a
core board sports and lifestyle brand that appeal to people both young and mature,
male and female. The Billabong Girls range is also very comprehensive and
covers just about every possible clothing item in a fashion range. Highlights
from their surf fashion collection always include their Billabong Bikinis.
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