Quiksilver founder and surfing icon Alan Green has died from cancer at his Torquay home, aged 77.
Green started the business in 1970 as a 22-year-old, stitching board shorts together in a cheaply rented house in Torquay, a town 80 kilometres south-west of Melbourne famous for its surfing culture.
He began selling the clothes from the back of his van, gradually nurturing the company into a billion-dollar colossus.
Quiksilver founders Alan Green (left) and John Law at Torquay beach in 2006. Credit: Drew Ryan
The news of his death was announced in a tribute written by Surfing Hall of Fame inductee and Surf World Gold Coast chairman Rod Brooks.
“The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around a lot in the surfing scene, but yesterday … a true legend … passed away,” Brooks said.
“It was a life well lived and one that will be remembered.”
Eleven-time surfing world champion Kelly Slater said on Instagram that Green was a mentor to many.
“Love you Greeny. You were one of a kind and a great friend and mentor for so many. I’ll miss you forever,” Slater said.
Green grew up in Pascoe Vale, in Melbourne’s north, sometimes wagging school and sneaking off to Torquay to surf. In 1971, a year after he created the Quiksilver brand, John Law joined as a co-founder, and by 1974 the company was incorporated.
By 1976 it had moved production out of the house and into a factory. Green designed what is now the famous breaking wave and mountain logo.
Green (far right) with wife Barbara, and Law (left) with wife Geraldine.
He also used snaps and velcro instead of zips and created unique board shorts at the time, using yoke waistbands.
The Mountain and the Wave: The Quiksilver Story, a 2006 book documenting the surfwear brand’s success, describes Green’s early clothes as “not perfect, but they were the best yet, and they quickly captured the attention of many of the world’s best surfers”.
These included world champions Mark Richards, Peter Townsend and Jeff Hakman. In the mid-1970s, Hakman convinced Green to allow him to trade rights to the name in America, where it experienced great success.
Quiksilver is currently owned by Authentic Brands Group, as part of Boardriders Inc, after it was acquired in 2023.
Brooks said Green always stayed interested in his other passions: horse racing, heli-skiing and red wine. Green was a partner in three Melbourne Cup-winning horses, including 2016 victor Almandin.
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