Hurley was started in 1979 by boardshaper Stephen Hurley, who had worked for other big brands including Lightning Bolt started by Gerry Lopez. As a well-known shaper in Southern CA, Hurley licensed the US rights to the new and rising Australian brand Billabong, forming Billabong USA in 1983. Not renewing the licence in 1998 Hurley International was born. In May 2002 the company was sold to Nike.