RVCA is a Costa Mesa, California–based clothing company owned by Boardriders.

Etymology

The logotype for RVCA portrays the letter A without a crossbar, resembling an uppercase

lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave ri ...

(Λ). The 'V' character is really a "U". Occasionally "RVCA" is written in a different script or appears in art where it is clear that the true name is 'Ruca'. The name resembles the Greek ''ρούχα'' (uppercase: ''ΡΟὙΧΑ''), pronounced , which means 'clothes' in English. The RVCA logo is based on the two chevrons, the V & the A, representing the brand's ethos "The Balance of Opposites" as stated by RVCA founder PM Tenore.

History

RVCA was founded in 1999 by Pat Tenore and Conan Hayes, a professional surfer from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Billabong International Limited Billabong International Limited is an Australian company focused on surfing, primarily a clothing retailer that also produces accessories, such as watches and backpacks, and skateboard and snowboard products under other brand names. Founded ...

purchased RVCA in July 2010. In 2018 Boardriders acquired

, gaining the Billabong, Element, Von Zipper, RVCA and XCEL brands.

Culture

RVCA is closely associated with skateboard,

surf culture Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish ...

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ), and

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

. The company sponsors a skateboard and surf team. They also sponsor prominent BJJ competitors and prominent MMA fighters. RVCA clothing is found in skateboard/surf shops and numerous other shops. Because of its art focus, RVCA is also associated with the street

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

subculture. RVCA is involved with various contemporary art galleries such as KNOWN Gallery.

RVCA Training Center

Because of its Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA focus, RVCA founder Pat Tenore (who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) built a BJJ/MMA gym known as ''The RVCA Training Center''. The training facility is located in Costa Mesa, California. The Head Coach is currently Jason Parillo.

Affiliated people

MMA

B.J. Penn Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American Go ...

Michael Bisping Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA ...

Rafael dos Anjos Rafael Souza dos Anjos (; born October 26, 1984) is a Brazilian American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Welterweight and Lightweight divisions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former UFC Lig ...

Rose Namajunas Rose Gertrude Namajunas (born June 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist. She is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's strawweight division and is the former two-time UFC Women's Strawwe ...

* Tito Ortiz * Luke Rockhold * Vitor Belfort * Marlon Vera * Mackenzie Dern * Gilbert Burns *

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

* Lucas Leite *

Marcus Almeida Marcus Vinícius Oliveira de Almeida, also known as Buchecha (born January 8, 1990 in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca, who ...

* Guilherme Mendes * Rafael Mendes * Keenan Cornelius * Jackson Sousa dos Santos

Boxing

* Seniesa Estrada

Notable sponsored artists and sportspeople

Among the artists sponsored by RVCA as part of the Artist Network Program (ANP) are Mark OBlow, Mark Mothersbaugh, Barry McGee, C. R. Stecyk, III, David Choe, Kelsey Brookes, KRK Ryden, Matt Gordon, Marlon Vera, and Tommy Guerrero.

Surf team

Kala Alexander Kala Alexander (born March 20, 1969) is an American surfer, surf gang co-founder and actor. He founded the Wolfpak surf gang on the North Shore of Oahu. In addition, Alexander is an actor, playing roles in projects such as ''Blue Crush'', ''Forg ...

* Makua Rothman

Skate team

* Greyson Fletcher * Andrew Reynolds *

Curren Caples Curren Caples (born January 10, 1996) is an American professional skateboarder. He turned pro in March 2013, and his first professional contest was the Tampa Pro, where he placed 69th. At X Games Barcelona 2013 he won a silver medal in skateboa ...

* Kevin "Spanky" Long * Christian Hosoi *

Mark Suciu Mark Suciu (pronounced Soo-Choo) (Born August 3, 1992) is an American professional skateboarder from Saratoga, CA, based out of New York City. In 2021, Suciu was named ''Thrashers Skater of the Year. Early life and education Mark Suciu ...

* Chase Walker * Evan Mock

MMA fighters

* Mackenzie Dern *

* Fedor Emelianenko * Aaron Pico * Luke Rockhold *

BJ Penn Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was th ...

* Gilbert Burns * Marlon Vera

E-Sports

* Summit1g

Chefs

Matty Matheson Matthew James Matheson (born February 7, 1982) is a Canadian chef, restaurateur, and internet personality. He was the executive chef of Parts & Labour, a restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, which permanently closed on January 1, 2019. Mathe ...

References

External links

RVCA.comBoardriders Inc.
{{MMA Team List Clothing companies of the United States Companies based in Costa Mesa, California Swimwear manufacturers Surfwear brands Clothing companies based in Los Angeles Mixed martial arts training facilities