
The Feeling Is Forever
“I just want surfers to feel special – to realize that we’re the luckiest people in the world.”
– Gordon Merchant
In 1973, our founder started Billabong with one vision: to share that magic feeling of waveriding with the rest of the world. Five decades later, driven by Merchant’s obsession with pushing surfing and surf culture forward, we’re more committed than ever to our founder’s original dream.
PROGRESSION IS FOREVER - EPISODE 02: Italo Ferreira
Five Decades of Progression. In the early years, Billabong founder Gordon Merchant had a golden rule for his team: ""Never look in the rearview mirror."
And while we're a bit guilty of doing that right now (just this once), we wanted to highlight the past five decades and some of the big moments that helped push the sport forward.
As Olympic gold medalist Italo Ferreira says, "I'm still just a kid full of dreams."
When this is your mindset, anything is possible.
THE FEELING IS FOREVER - EPISODE 01: ANDY IRONS
Five decades of The Feeling. As most surfers know, “The Feeling” is better shown than explained. Which is why our founder Gordon Merchant originally created the “Wave Icon” to show the brand in perpetual motion.
It’s been interpreted and reimagined many times over the years, but one thing remains constant: the feeling is forever.
Coming next week: five decades of style featuring Occy