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.
