Town & Country Surf Designs
Town & Country Surf Designs (also known as T&C Surf) is a world recognized manufacturer of surfboards. T&C's origins began in 1971 with a single store founded by Craig Sugihara in Pearl City, Hawaii. The company soon expanded into a full line of surfwear and surfing accessories and now has retail shops throughout the world in countries such as Japan, Australia, and Brazil.
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| Public | |
| Founded | Pearl City, Hawaii, (1971) |
| Headquarters | Pearl City, Hawaii , |
Key people | Craig Sugihara, Tak Kawahara |
| Products | Apparel, sporting goods |
| Website | http://tcsurf.com |
In 1976, Tak Kawahara became the co-owner of Town & Country (T&C) Surfboard’s wholesale division and developed the apparel brand, which became one of the top five in the beach and active surfwear industry. During his tenure at T&C he expanded the brand’s product line by introducing surf watches, beach sandals and school stationery accessories, all of which were the first of its kind in the surfing industry. T&C was also the first surf label to take production off shore. Tak continues to consult with many surf companies on product design, production processes, marketing, sales and operations.
In the 1980s, T&C became famous for their shirt designs featuring "Da' Boys," surfing cartoon characters designed by Steve Nazar. The most famous of these was Thrilla Gorilla, a surfing anthropomorphic gorilla. In 1988, LJN released a game on the NES based on the store, entitled Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage. A sequel focusing on Thrilla Gorilla (Town & Country II: Thrilla's Surfari) followed in 1992, before the character designs disappeared until re-launching as part of the Thrilla Krew brand in 2016.
See also
- Billabong
- Quiksilver
- Rip Curl
- Con Surfboards