One of the pioneers of the surf clothing and equipment and founder of brand Quiksilver Alan Green has passed away aged 77.

Al who used to hitch rides to Torquay to surf from Melbourne, started his career making wetsuits for cold water surfers in a garage behind a Torquay pub in Victoria, Australia in 1969 with RipCurl founders Brian Singer and Doug “Claw’ Warbrick. He then went on to design boardshorts specifically for surfing with his mate John Law in 1970, sewing them on a kitchen table and driving around Australia selling them from his car. The boardies had ground breaking velcro and snap fasteners and waist which was lower at the front to increase mobility. They were a hit. At that was how Quiksilver was born. By 1976 they had their own factory and went on to be a billion dollar global surf brand.

Both brands were set up as much to provide much need surfings equipment where there was none, and to fund a lifestyle chasing waves.

The Quiksilver name came about as it evoked a sense of fluidity, elusiveness and change. Green launched womens brand Roxy named after his daughter.

As the brand grew they invested in their surf team and gave surfing talent the opportunity to go pro and make living doing what they loved. Kelly Slater, Lisa Andersen, Tom Carroll and Stephanie Gilmore amongst just a few of the thousands that were paid to live the surfing dream and chase world titles. The Quiksilver Eddie big wave event, the Young Guns film series, and the Quiksilver Crossing and Quiksilver Pro France just a few events and films that he’d huge fun impact on surf culture.

Today Quiksilver alone has around 5,700 employees, most who surfer and sponsors groms, pros, contests and environment groups across the globe.

Not bad for a company that started by a bloke making boardies in a kitchen so he could surf more, and you could surf better.

Kelly Slater said 'Love you, Greeny. You were one of a kind and a great friend and mentor for so many. I'll miss you forever,

“RIP. Thank you Greeny for your relentless vision (and mountains and waves of the rest),” Tom Carroll

RIP legend.

Organisers at Christian Surfers UK are very pleased to confirm dates for two key contests for Spring 2025 as they continue to serve the surfing community. 

First up will be the 17th Jesus Longboard Classic, always a very popular event held at its traditional venue of Polzeath, Cornwall. This year it will run over the weekend of April 12 - 13.

As usual there will be six categories Under 18’s, Open Men’s, Open Women’s, 35 +, 50+ and 60+. Registration will open in late February, and we expect to be oversubscribed as normal, so we advise contestants to enter in good time.  

This event over the years has always been a great partnership with Tubestation based in Polzeath and this year will be no exception. Whilst not part of the British Longboard Union tour, we are pleased to confirm that we continue to be endorsed by the BLU. The JLC continues to be a welcoming space for seasoned competitors and first timers alike. We’re looking forward to another brilliant weekend!  

The rescheduled Jesus Surf Classic will be held at Croyde, North Devon on May 10 and 11. At this stage, we are not opening this up for new competitors as we were oversubscribed, and any open spaces

will be offered to the reserves. Once that process has taken place will we know if we can open it up for new entries. We are working to confirm a date for the 2025 JSC in autumn.

Both of these events could not be held without the help of an incredible team of volunteers from Christian Surfers UK and other organisations for which we are always very grateful.

We look forward to seeing you at either or both Jesus Surf Series comps events in the coming few months and will update as promised when registration opens for the Longboard Classic.