In the winter of 1991, Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall embarked upon a snowboarding trip to Tahoe; little did they know that this trip was to change their lives for ever. Every morning they awoke to ride the fresh powder; after two weeks of this, Woolcott had quit his job to join - the already unemployed - Tucker in an inspirational new venture.
The idea was to create a company based around their love of snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. With a $ 5000 investment from Woolcott's Dad, the dream became a reality and the company, Stone Boardwear Inc. (using the brand name Volcom) was created.
Initially, they began with T-shirts; after a year shorts were introduced. The distinctive Volcom diamond shaped logo was created with McElroy Designs. Inevitably the money began to run dry, this was crunch time; the duo either needed to knuckle down or the business would fail. Thankfully, Tucker and Woolcott started to take the business seriously and worked hard to get it back on track.
After this, the company began to grow. In 1993, the film Alive We Ride was released and featured snowboarders, surfers and skateboarders from around the world. With a firm belief in the importance of collaboration Volcom created their own record label - Volcom Entertainment. Care was taken to ensure that Volcom didn't reach the mass market and lose its status as an 'elite brand'.
With continued success, in 2005 the company decided to go public; this decision was taken to enable growth without the need to sell out - to a larger firm such as Nike. Volcom has emerged into a lifestyle brand, it embodies the creativity of youth culture, and creates clothing for people who share their passions for, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, motocross, art, music and film. Products include streetwear, boardshorts, denim, accessories and outerwear.
Volcom’s team includes Geoff Rowley, Rune Glifberg, Mark Appleyard, Dustin Dollin, Caswell Berry, David González and Tyla Rattray.