There's still a place to get filthy rich in the surf industry!
Have you dreamed of getting rich in the surf industry only to be told that the money has dried up? Gone away? Never to return? Well then you, honey bear, haven’t been to Torquay! Apparently, and according to Forbes, the little Victorian hamlet is Australia’s Silicon Valley of Surf!
Venture capital!
Teslas!
Valleywag!
Maurice Cole!
Should we read about the very rich company Rip Curl?
From the rooftop of Rip Curl’s headquarters in Torquay on Australia’s southern coast, Steve Kay squints into the scorching Victoria sun, surveying his surfing empire. Down below are signs for various Australian brands: Quiksilver, Reef, Strapper, Gboards, plus dozens more surf-related shops in the bustling Surf City Plaza. Rip Curl began in the 1960s, helping to spark the rise of Aussie surfing at nearby Bells Beach and launching a wave of entrepreneurial energy, turning this town into the Silicon Valley of surfing startups.
Torquay certainly isn’t a town full of beach bums, at least not anymore. Michael Di Sciascio, chief executive of surfboard and accessory maker Strapper Surf, remembers arriving as a teenage dropout and hearing landlords say: “I don’t rent to surfing scum.” Today the surf business is booming along the coast around Torquay. “There’s a strong entrepreneurial culture here,” he says. “Surfing is competitive, also supportive.” We chuckle over an earlier call. When FORBES ASIA checked in by phone, he postponed our meeting, the first time I’ve had a CEO reschedule an interview “because I hear the surf is really good.”
Ummmm what are you waiting for! Book your ticket to Melbourne then drive straight south! Don’t pause in Geelong even though you’ll be tempted by that city’s charm and wonderful footy club.
Drive on and on and soon you’ll reach a gleaming village where Rip Curl’s marketing guru Neil Ridgway walks the streets with pockets so filled with Australian dollars that little North Korean boys scoot along behind him picking up the bills that fall on the sidewalks, paved with surf wax, and send them home to their families, who out of gratitude, create beautiful Rip Curl garments!
Move now!
Surf riches are yours!
Read the rest of the story here if you need more convincing.
Aussie east coasters are pussy twats. Newcastle cold? yeah right. come to mid Atlantic during January
ah the smell of dollars , gold bars , and Torquay’s silicon valleys , which could be false tits bought with the wealth that also provided the Mercs and botox , a new world order!
The darkside is that with all the riches made from surfing and the reputation of Bells beach, none of the above people helped to try and save Bells from development , or at present there is a $billion development called Spring Creek , which will take Torquays population to 40K , no new infrastructure , no new jobs , just clusterfuck Central coming soon.
The Golf course cannot be sold here as sea level rise shows Surf Coast Shire starting to under water in the next few decades , no surf or beaches , but we still rape and pillage this area, at least the millionaires/developers who have been part of the push to make Torquay bigger , can move elsewhere as Torquay becomes unlivable!
And Neil Ridgeway looks like a fucking rich little leprechaun in that pic – guess he is swimming in gold too with all the product made in Korea
I heard the streets are paved with gold!!
Where is Wiggolly’s take on this being a vicco local?
Last time I was there they were a bunch of pretentious wankers in the stores and pretty arrogant in cafes etc as well
Maybe has changed with the glut of wealth the surf industry has brought, or gotten worse!!!
Many years ago, on a winter surf trip south (from Queensland), we made it to Newcastle and surfed a spot that was so cold, even wearing a short john under my steamer, 30-40mins was all I could cope with. As I sheltered in the car with the heater going full blast, trying to regain some sort of neural connection with my frozen feet, two strapping young lads bounced around the car park in boardies exclaiming how warm the water was. Their car had Victorian number plates.
While they may have a glorious football team, and streets paved with surf wax, the climate/geography breeds a type of man and woman the likes of which are much tougher than your average human. While I have the utmost respect for them, I’ll take my cash-poor, lifestyle-rich tropical living for the foreseeable future.
Ps. If you love it so much, why don’t you just move there?
No Julian’s Postie. Do not try to live in Paradise. It’s enough for us to know it’s out there somewhere.
Months of onshore wind slop reminds us too often; this ain’t even close to paradise. We’re only here for the mild winters.