[4] Volcom was founded in 1991 by Richard "Wooly" Woolcott and Tucker "T-Dawg" Hall, who based the ethos of the company on their own experiences with boardsports.

[citation needed] In early 2008, Volcom made its first acquisition, taking ownership of Electric Visual Evolution LLC for US$25.3 million.

[10] On May 2, 2011, PPR (turned Kering in 2013) launched a friendly takeover offer to buy Volcom Inc. for US$24.50 a share, valuing the company at US$608 million.

[11] Volcom's board unanimously backed the PPR offer, and shareholders were advised to tender their shares to the French company.

[16] Outside America, Volcom has numerous international retail stores including locations in Barcelona, Spain; Hossegor, Bordeaux, and Paris, France; two locations in Bali, Indonesia; Tokyo, Japan; Durban and Pretoria, South Africa; Bangkok, Thailand; London and Falmouth, England; Melbourne, Australia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Lima, Perú; São Paulo, Brazil; Isla de Margarita, Venezuela; Lisbon, Portugal; Stuttgart, Germany; Davos, Switzerland, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Fort McMurray, Canada, Costa Rica; Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Guam.

Natalie Suarez, Jennifer Herrema, Billie Edwards, Elle Green, Mike Correia, Stephanie Cherry, Amy Smith, Zoe Grisedale-Sherry and Hannah Logic are Volcom ambassadors.

The event strove to reduce the environmental impacts of a professional surfing contest and to provide social benefits for the local community.

[34] The 2014 Volcom Pipe Pro surf competition took place between January 26 and February 7, 2014, at the Banzai Pipeline with waves at 8–12 feet, and was televised on Saturday, June 7, 2014, on NBC.