The brand was apparently named by his wife, Barbara, after a novel but there is also a theory that the name was chosen after the psychedelic band Quicksilver Messenger Service.
They left out the “c” of Quicksilver, however, as they could not afford to check the trademark.
They invented the “boardshort”, a pair of swimming shorts designed for surfers with press studs and Velcro fastenings.
The brand went international, establishing itself in the United States and Europe, where in the 1980s it set up its headquarters in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in southwest France.
The company organised numerous competitions and in 1990 it signed Slater, then 18, who would go on to rule the waves for decades to come, making himself and Quiksilver a household name.
Over the course of their 23-year partnership, Slater won 11 world titles.
Quiksilver became the first surf brand listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1998 and by 2004 it had grown into a billion-dollar surfwear empire.
© Agence France-Presse
