The Golden Breed Story
GOLDEN BREED
The story of Golden Breed crosses oceans, generations and cultural divides.
In a sense, it echoes the story of surfing itself, born out of a rebel streak, almost forgotten for a while, then emerging triumphant with an ethos that celebrates the new freedoms of the sport and culture – Surf the World and Ride em All!
This is how it began.
The Beginning - California USA Late 1960's
Francis “Duke” Boyd was one of surfings first entrepreneurs. Duke Boyd was an ex-marine, a surfer and an advertising exec and he went on to play a significant role in the 'start-ups' of several major surf brands. He first used the expression 'The Golden Breed' for a BING Surfboards promotion in 1967 featuring the sun bronzed Bing and his teamriders. The (then) textile giants the Don Rancho Corporation loved the expression and the eye catching logo (the famous male/female symbol) and the surfer with the Angel wings. They immediately registered the trademark and the brand was born!
Golden Breed took off with its 'out there imagery' and its commitment to supporting the sport’s leading athletes in a softly-softly way that typified the innovative marketing approach of Boyd and Dick Graham. As the 1960s closed, Duke signed a deal with emerging super surfer Jeff Hakman to become Golden Breed’s brand ambassador. This was a deft stroke, since not only was Hakman revered as a diminutive teenage big wave rider who had won the first Duke Classic at 16, but he had just emerged from a drugs importation trial and was considered an undesirable by most of surfing’s hierarchy. Ergo, Hakman was cool and he was cheap! And by 1971 he was the leading pro surfer in the world.
It was Hakman who came up with the concept for the Golden Breed Expression Session, but it was Duke Boyd who sold it to the media and made Golden Breed the coolest brand in surf. While cash-rich companies like Smirnoff were throwing large sums of money at the nascent pro tour, Golden Breed avoided such crass commercialism by inviting the grooviest surfers on the planet to just go surfing on the North Shore for a fee of $200. No judges, no results, just a feel-good session with the cameras rolling. To celebrate this initiative, Hakman invited all of the surfers taking part to a Good Karma Party at his North Shore house. The beer flowed and Boyd and Graham bro’d down with the surfers until a posse of uninvited Hawaiians arrived and turned the place upside down. Dick Graham copped a black eye and Hakman’s renter was trashed, but the publicity only made Golden Breed even cooler.
Golden Breed Down Under
John Arnold was a South Australian surfer who traveled widely through out the world in the ‘60s and made a lot of great surf industry contacts. In many ways John Arnold was one of Australia's first surf entrepreneurs. After a successful foree into Wetsuits, Arnold was looking for a 'killer' apparel brand and it wasn't long before he emerged with the Californian Golden Breed License. Arnold launched Golden Breed into Australia and it immediately became a HUGELY desired brand.
Whilst Duke Boyd had created the brand’s ethereal imagery, but in avant grande artist Peter Ledger; Arnold found the perfect translation for the Australian market. Vivid Ledger centerfold posters became prized tear-outs in every issue of trendy surf mag Tracks and Golden Breed is now bigger in Australia than ANY other surf brand. Arnold was also instrumental in mirroring the USA initiative of extending Golden Breed's brand influence into Motocross Skateboarding, Skiing and other extreme sports.
Golden Breed went from strength to strength. By the mid-1970s, as an Australian pro surfing tour became a reality, John Arnold had leading lights Jeff Hakman and Gerry Lopez promoting his brands at every tour stop. And, in a classic coals-to-Newcastle scenario, Golden Breed started exporting its wildly successful “silkies” and motocross shirts back to the US. As a 1975 Golden Breed ad in Surfer Magazine proclaims: “Aussies have their own way of doing things.”
Essentially after a lengthy period of legal spats Golden Breed and its famous logos re-emerged in the late 90's cleansed and rejuvenated... once more ready for action!
Golden Breed over the last decade or so has become one of Australia's most influential retro surf brands.
Golden Breed has been a prolific sponsor of numerous surf and surf related events...from grass root club days to major retro and longboard competitions that have attracted some of the world's best board riders!
Our host of teamriders have included legends like Jack Eden and World Champ Harley Ingleby and a swarm of local brand ambassadors.
Golden Breed's apparel team say "it's cool, it's great quality, it's quirky and it works"!!
When you wear Golden Breed you wear a legendary brand with a rich history that goes back to where it all began.
Golden Breed Surfwear and all of its associated logos and trademarks are registered throughout the world.
Golden Breed is a fully owned Australian Company.
The Philosophy of Golden Breed is...
As long as you tune into the STOKE it doesn't matter whether you are riding – Long, Short, Medium, Gun or SUP, Single, Double Thruster or QUAD, Fish, MAL, Retro, Repro, Balsa, Bamboo, Epoxy, Foam and Glass OR Ply…..
Or whether you’re stance is - Standing, Sitting, Lying, Kneeling or Flying...Enjoy those waves and...
Surf the World & Ride ‘Em All!
