Melbourne skate brand founded 1994 by brothers Stephen, Peter and Matt Hill, who grew it out of their 1970s-80s skate-promotion outfit Hardcore Enterprises; listed on the ASX in 2002.
Best for Circle skate surf polos
Globe grew out of Melbourne's underground skate scene of the late 1970s, where brothers Stephen, Peter and Matt Hill first ran Hardcore Enterprises, promoting skateboarding around Australia through local demos and national tours through the 1980s. The brothers formally rebranded the business as Globe in 1994, moving into skate shoes and apparel as the sport's popularity grew through the decade.
The company, now Globe International Limited, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2002 and expanded beyond footwear into complete skateboards, snow and surf gear. It operates from headquarters in Melbourne, Los Angeles and Hossegor, France, reflecting its spread across the skate, surf and snowboard markets it grew alongside.
The brand's roots in a family-run promotional outfit, rather than a corporate sportswear division, are part of what distinguishes it from larger action-sports labels — Globe's early growth tracked the Hill brothers' own tours and demos rather than a top-down marketing campaign.
Deus Ex Machina is Sydney’s custom-moto temple — café racers, surfboards and the god-from-the-machine lifestyle. The range centers on moto-surf polos, vintage, with production associated with Australia / Portugal.
Banks Journal focuses on Australian surf minimalism, organic coastal wear of quiet-lineup ethos. Production is associated with Australia / Japan, while the range centers on west California surf polos.
Founded in 1973 by surfboard shaper Gordon Merchant and wife Rena in Burleigh Heads, Queensland; the triple-stitch seam they developed for handmade boardshorts became a surf-industry standard.
Best for Billabong surf polos
Billabong was founded in 1973 on Australia's Gold Coast by Gordon Merchant, a surfboard shaper, and his wife Rena. Merchant began sewing knee-length boardshorts by hand for local surfers and sold them on consignment to Gold Coast surf shops for A$4.50 a pair, generating about A$5,000 in sales in the first year. The boardshorts stood out for their triple-stitch seams, a reinforced construction the Merchants developed to withstand the mechanical stress surfing puts on garments, and which became a standard technique across the surf-apparel industry. The brand's name comes from the Wiradjuri word 'bilabaŋ,' meaning a creek that runs only in the rainy season — a reference contemporaries connected to Merchant's habit of chasing waves and conditions. As demand grew, production moved out of the Merchants' home into a dedicated factory and warehouse in West Burleigh, near where the company started. Billabong grew from that single Burleigh Heads product line into a global surf-apparel company, though its origin remains tied to that first batch of hand-cut, hand-sewn boardshorts sold directly to Gold Coast surf shops rather than through any retail chain.
Australian surf brand founded March 1969 in Torquay by Doug 'Claw' Warbrick and Brian Singer, who shaped boards from a Great Ocean Road garage before adding wetsuit production in 1970.
Best for Rip Curl surf polos
Rip Curl was founded in March 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, by Doug 'Claw' Warbrick, fresh off a summer shaping surfboards, and Brian Singer, a science teacher who resigned days after the two agreed to start making boards together. They began work from Singer's garage at 35 Great Ocean Road; by November 1969 they had outgrown the garage and moved into the old Torquay Bakery. In 1970 the company expanded into wetsuits, adapting diving-suit technology for surfing use. Rip Curl built its identity around 'The Search,' an ongoing quest for the perfect wave, and around Bells Beach. The company remains headquartered in Torquay.
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