Surfing in the third millennium: commodifying the visual argot

Australian Journal of Anthropology, The , Dec, 2002 by David Lanagan

Second, Lightning Bolt, Hang Ten and Crystal Cylinders Surf Wear, was originally produced in the late 1960s, and during the late 1970s and 1980s the company was 'off the scene'. However, when these labels re-emerged in Australia on the crest of the wave of the Surf Wear boom, in the early 1990s, they were distributed through non-boutique retailers, such as 'K-Mart' and 'Big W'. This distribution strategy has contributed to their marginal status, as a similar strategy has not been taken up by the Surf Wear manufacturers that Safe terms, the 'big three'--Rip Curl, Billabong and Quiksilver. As Rip Curl's Brian Singer maintains '... our customers, who basically remain surfers, wouldn't like that' (Safe 1997:43). Furthermore, as Safe (1997:43) points out, 'Specialist surf shops are still where [Rip Curl's products are] found, never mass market shops or retail chains'. Although it must be pointed out that some of the 'specialist surf shops' that Safe (1997) mentions are nothing more than specialty clothing shops and it is possible to argue that, due to the number of outlets that some of these surf shops have, they are retail chains. This means that authenticity, from the point of view of the core of surfing capital, is two-fold; it is related to point of sale, or distribution, and to a continuing link to the popularisation of surfing in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (4) This, in part, is borne out by comments from surfers: 'Genuine Surf Wear has a function directly related to surfing. However, name clothing that identifies the individual from the group "surfers" may be classed genuine but has very little functionality' (male surfer, WA 1999), and, 'Surf Wear depicts a lifestyle rather than a brand name and as such, it is the attitude of the wearer, and the perception of his [sic] attitude by those around him that truly decides what Surf Wear is' (male, Surf Wear consumer, non-surfer WA 1999).

Yet when these notions were tested in the survey, it was found that consumers did not subscribe to this belief, as only 48% of respondents to the survey listed 'place of purchase' in their top five indicators of genuine Surf Wear. When this is combined with comments from surfers, such as '... as far as I'm concerned, it's only Surf Wear if a surfer wears them on the beach. If you are not a surfer, then it isn't Surf Wear' (male surfer, QLD 1999), then the point of sale is of little consequence, as Surf Wear is the lifestyle association and not the label attached to it.

The notion of authenticity, among surfers and consumers alike, is a contentious one and as one surfer pointed out, it is '... [t]he area in which the product was born, and by whom the product has been worn and promoted' (male surfer, WA 1999) that determines genuine Surf Wear, so when the manufacturers begin to move away from this base, and the 'roots' of surfing, authenticity begins to be questioned.

Although Surf Wear businesses such as Billabong (personal communication: February 2nd 1999) maintain that their distribution strategies are targeted at the coastal fringe of Australia, it is possible to find shops that retail Surf Wear, and sometimes only Surf Wear, in locations throughout Australia that are far removed from the beach and, more importantly, rideable waves. These areas range from Alice Springs and Mt Isa, to country areas throughout Australia. Resulting from this, I would argue that it would be extremely difficult not to be able to purchase an item of Surf Wear from the 'big three' producers in any town of a reasonable size in Australia, regardless of its isolation from the beach. When this availability is juxtaposed with, for instance, Rip Curl's claim that they support their main consumer group, 'who are largely surfers' (Safe 1997:43), it is hard to maintain the assumption that Surf Wear is part of the surfing lifestyle and not merely fashion. In support of this, when inland consumers were asked why they consumed Surf Wear, their priorities were more often about the quality of the commodity, its availability, or its price, rather than a link with surfing. Consumers express this in comments, for example: 'I like the design and its easy to find. I Used to like wearing the label, but now its not important' (male, non-surfer, NSW 1999), and; 'I used to surf and live in a "surfy town". I felt good about wearing the labels. It means less to me now as I am further away from the ocean' (female ex-surfer, WA 1998).