Where did the name 'Rip Curl' come from?

Two young men, and hardy souls at that, because it is the dead of winter in a cold part of the country, but they are both wearing thongs – good old Aussie flip flops – although one of them has made a concession to the climate by wearing thick football socks.

They call themselves “Sing Ding” and “Claw”, and surrounding them are foam surfboard blanks and tins of nasty chemicals. It is not a safe environment and if tempers flare any more the whole lot might go up in flames.

“Well,” says the young man with gingery hair and a moustache (“Sing Ding”): "I reckon it’s a bloody stupid name, but I’ll run it past my kids and see what they think."

The other man (“Claw”) jumps up and down on the spot like a demented jack-in-the-box, screaming: “It’s a great name! You rip the curl! Get it? The grommets will love it!” He stops jumping and starts fashioning a Martian’s antenna with the hair atop his head.

Surely it couldn’t have been this way... But it was, more or less.