Bear Surf

In 1977 John Milius, famous Hollywood Producer on the scene from the 60’s right through to the 90’s and inventor of the Bear Surfboards brand for the movie ‘Big Wednesday’ asked a Californian designer to create the Bear logo.
The first Bear Surfboards were ‘shaped’ in 1977 by Bill Hamilton, famous Hawaiian surfer and shaper of Kauai Island. Bill continued to shape the Bear boards until 1991.
In 1978 the Bear brand was widely used in the movie ‘Big Wednesday’ set between 1962 and 1974, the film tells the story of three guys who share a passion for surf and of an epic shaper, whose nickname is ‘Bear’ The first Bear boards and clothing collection including boardshorts, T-shirts and sweatshirts, were produced for use in the movie. The success of the movie led to worldwide popularity of the Bear brand.
The brand is rooted in John’s great passion for surf and this is identifiable in three distinctive features of the logo:

The diamond = Surf
The Bear = Californian flag
The colour red = Strength