Doug Warbrick is an Australian businessman, founder of the

Rip Curl Rip Curl is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of surfing sportswear (also known as ''boardwear'') and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing companies in Australia, Europe, Sou ...

brand. and notable figure in the sport of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

. Warbrick is credited for bringing the longest running surf event in history, the

Bells Beach Surf Classic The Rip Curl Pro, formerly the Bells Beach Surf Classic, is a World Surf League, WSL (formerly Association of Surfing Professionals, ASP) World Tour surfing competition held in and around Torquay, Victoria and sponsored by surf company Rip Curl ...

, to the professional surfing circuit. He is a founding member of the

ASP World Tour The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional ...

, surf aficionado and athlete mentor.

Early life

Warbrick was born on the Sunshine Coast in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia. Warbrick began surfing as a child in

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

. Warbrick's family moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Victoria and Warbrick attended

Brighton Grammar School , motto_translation = Let us keep pursuing better things , city = Brighton , state = Victoria , zipcode = 3186 , country = Australia , coordinates ...

Career

In 1967 Warbrick opened the

Bells Beach Bells Beach is a coastal locality of Victoria, Australia in Surf Coast Shire and a renowned surf beach, located 100 km south-west of Melbourne, on the Great Ocean Road near the towns of Torquay and Jan Juc. It is named after William Bell ...

surf shop. In 1969, Warbrick founded

with Brian Singer. Warbrick shaped

surfboards A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa he'e ...

from Singer's garage. Later, Rip Curl started producing

wetsuits A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. Its p ...

and moved into the famed 'Old Bakery'. Warbrick and Singer had discovered what

Jack O'Neill Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the MGM's military science fiction franchise ''Stargate'', primarily as one of the main characters of the television series ''Stargate SG-1''. Richard Dean Anderson played O'Neill in all th ...

had discovered a few years earlier: cold water surfers need wetsuits. In 1980, Rip Curl moved to its current headquarters on the Surf Coast Highway in

Torquay, Victoria Torquay is a seaside resort in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Ze ...

Australia. Tim Baker writes: ''Claw was walking down the main street of Torquay when he bumped into his old mate Singer."He said, 'Do you want to make surfboards?' and I said, 'Yes,'" Singer explains simply.'' Warbrick was an original member of the ASA (now

Surfing Australia Surfing Australia is the governing body for the sport of surfing in Australia. History The Australian Surfriders Association was founded in 1963, and was renamed Surfing Australia in 1993. In 2013, for its 50th anniversary, Surfing Australi ...

) in 1963 and was a committee member and V.P of Surfing Victoria in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also a founding member of the

and the

Surfrider Foundation The Surfrider Foundation USA is a U.S. 501(c)(3) grassroots non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. It focuses on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservati ...

Australia. Warbrick is responsible for bringing the Bells Beach Surf Classic aka the

Rip Curl Pro The Rip Curl Pro, formerly the Bells Beach Surf Classic, is a WSL (formerly ASP) World Tour surfing competition held in and around Torquay, Victoria and sponsored by surf company Rip Curl. The event is based at Bells Beach, Victoria, Australi ...

, held during Easter each year at Bells Beach, to the professional surfing circuit. Warbrick has mentored notable athletes such as

Tom Curren Tom Curren is an American surfer. Professional career By the time Curren joined the ASP World Tour in 1983, he was competing with professionals such as Rabbit Bartholomew, Shaun Tomson, and Cheyne Horan. He was world champion in 1985, 1986 ...

, Michael Peterson and

Mick Fanning Michael Eugene Fanning (born 13 June 1981) is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark ...

Awards

In 2010, Warbrick was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame. Warbrick was inducted into the Brighton Grammar Hall of Fame in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warbrick, Doug Living people 1942 births People educated at Brighton Grammar School Australian businesspeople Australian surfers Surfboard shapers