A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Cheerful but razor-sharp surfwear magnate from Huntington Beach, California; Billabong USA president from 1983 to 1998; founder and CEO of Hurley International. Hurley was born (1955) in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, the son of an air force staff sergeant, and spent his early years growing up on or near military bases in Rhode Island, Texas, and Japan. He moved with his family in 1963 to Orange County, and began surfing at age 13.

At 21, Hurley learned how to shape surfboards, and in 1978—after shaping for Infinity, Wave Tools, Lightning Bolt, and other labels—he opened Hurley Surfboards, a small factory-retail outlet in Huntington Beach. He was still making boards when, in 1983, he bought the US license for Australia-based Billabong surfwear, which at the time was unheard of in America; Hurley paid $40,000.

Hurley proved to have a first-rate business mind, with a particular talent for marketing, as he assembled a crackerjack surf team (including world tour pros Sunny Garcia and Richie Collins), sponsored a number of high-end pro surf contests (including the Billabong Pro in Hawaii, one of the premier world tour events of the '80s), and produced or coproduced a series of popular surf videos, including

In mid-1998, when Hurley suddenly announced he was leaving Billabong to form his own company, 

 magazine called it "the biggest surf industry news in two decades," while the 

 business section, in a two-column article, noted that Hurley was largely responsible for Billabong being carried in Nordstrom and other mainstream stores. Hurley took many of Billabong USA's best designers, marketers, and team riders with him when he left the company, as well as some of the Billabong USA patents. The aggressively marketed Hurley International, like Billabong, produced surfwear and wetsuits, and immediately became one of the sport's hottest lines. Footwear giant Nike bought the company in early 2002 for an estimated $120 million. As of 2013, Hurley continues to head the company's operations.

 magazine in 2002 as one of the "25 Most Powerful People in Surfing." In 2006, Hurley was induced to the Surfer's Hall of Fame. Jeff Hurley, the oldest of Bob Hurley's three children, was the national collegiate surfing champion in 1997 and 1999, as well as the 1999 Pacific Surfing Tour of America champion.

Hurley, Bob

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews