It's been a long time since the surf world had seen a competition surfer wearing a Gath helmet atop their scone. But that's just what Jeremy Flores was sporting last month when he won the Billabong Tahiti Pro at Teahupoo. While surfing Sumbawa the previous month, Flores received a severe head injury requiring 35 stitches and suffering a bad case of concussion. The wounds were barely healing when the Tahiti waiting period began so Flores, who's in career best form, opted for the accesory du jour from the early-90s, the Gath hat.

Ric Gath produced his first surfing helmet in 1989 and within a few years they were seen in lineups everywhere from his homewtown of Margaret River to Hawaii and beyond. A number of surfers even became synonomous with the bulbous headwear, most famously Tom Carroll, and most infamously Liam Macnamara.

Rather than become a surf accesory staple, however, Gath hats faded out through the 90s as Ric became embroiled in a dispute with the directors of the company who licensed his name. In 1997 the company became insolvent so Ric once regained control and ownership of Gath. He's run it as a lean, modestly-sized operation since.

Which makes it a terrible shame that Ric was on an overseas holiday when the best bit of free publicity in 20 years came his way...

Swellnet: Were you aware that Jeremy would be wearing a Gath in Tahiti?
Ric Gath: No. I heard that he'd had a surfing accident and fractured his skull and the doctor advised him not to surf in the Tahiti comp so he chose to wear a Gath. I'm not sure how accurate this story is. Watching the replay though, it definitely didn't cause him any problems. Awesome backhand deep tube riding.

Which model was he wearing?
He was wearing the original Gath hat. The one with neoprene headband.

Has the design changed much since the early 90s when Gath helmets won an Australian Design Award?
The original design is still available but now comes in two options - basically the same model but with different fitting systems. Head shapes vary a lot so the goal was to cater for this and provide a comfy fit for all.

Over the years Gath has increased its product range to suit most water sport needs. For instance, the new GEDI model has higher impact protection and is more suited to jet skis, sea rescues etcetera. We also have a new surf convertiable model that converts to a very lightweight surf cap, ideal for freesurfing even in beachies. It has detachable ear pockets so is good for warm conditions, or with the ear pockets in it's great for cold conditions with minimal bulk on your head.

Also, there's more accesories available these days - visors and peaks etcetera.

When was the last time a contest was won by someone wearing a Gath?
Probably most outstanding was Tom winning the Pipe Masters in the early- to mid-1990s. But to be honest, I don't really know. They've been a few top surfers in Pipe comps wearing Gaths.

Reckon you might see a resurgence in sales?
It has been a long difficult road so any increase will be welcomed. There seems to be more acceptance these days. I'm just happy to pay the bills.

Are you surprised that, despite slab surfing becoming more popular, helmets haven't been more widely adopted?
Most definetely. What crew are doing these days is bloody scary. It makes sense to wear the gear that will help you survive to do it again another day.

I fully understand that surfing is a freedom sport and we all just want to surf in boardies, no legrope, but we wear wetsuits to keep warm and we wear legropes to save swimming. Helmets take a bit of getting used to but my belief is the positives most definetely outweigh the small negatives. The main reason I developed my surf helmet was to protect against the cold wind and the sun to keep mself in the water longer. But when coming unstuck and being smacked in the head it's a great feeling to paddle back out knowing you've just avoided a trip to the doctors or more serious injury, especially when you're on a surf trip.

Heard any stories recently about Gath's saving someone's skin?
I probably average one a month. There are so many stories. People send us their stories of how they are convinced their Gath saved their life. I'm stoked that top athletes use my product but it's always a buzz receiving stories of how a Gath has saved someone's life.