A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Shrewd and occasionally excitable surfwear industrialist from Laguna Beach, California; cofounder and CEO of Quiksilver USA; named by 

 magazine in 2004 as the sport's single most powerful figure. 

McKnight was born (1953) in Pasadena, California, began surfing at age 12, and received a B.S. in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1976 (McKnight helped finance his college education by selling tickets to self-made surf movies throughout Southern California); later that year he and Hawaiian pro surfer Jeff Hakman became the first foreign licensees for the Australian-founded Quiksilver company, and began an instantly successful business importing the company's surfing trunks—or "boardshorts," in Aussie surfspeak. 

By the early '80s, Quiksilver had become one of the surf industry's leading manufacturers, and in 1986 Quiksilver USA, under McKnight's guidance, became the first surfing company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. McKnight also helped develop most of the Quiksilver's best-known marketing ideas, including the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave contest at Waimea Bay; the Quiksilver Maverick's Men Who Ride Mountains big-wave contest; the early '90s push into female surf apparel with Roxy, a Quiksilver offshoot; and the Crossing, a 1999-launched surf-exploration boat journey.

McKnight became the president of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) in 1989. Eleven years later, he gave the keynote address at the 2000 SIMA Summit in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, introducing himself as a "non–garmento, non–Wall Street type" who was "scared shitless to get a real job," before going on to warn against "the enemy. . . Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Guess, Old Navy and Gap," who were "sucking off us [surfers], trying to take away our customers, creeping in and copying our vibe with checkbook marketing." 

McKnight helped pilot Quiksilver through the 2008 global recession in a better position than many big name surfwear companies, though by 2012 the company's losses were growing once again.

McKnight stepped down as CEO of Quiksilver in January 2013, but remained with the company as an advisor.

McKnight, Bob

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing