About Us

SOUTH COAST SURF SHOP HISTORY

Since 1974, South Coast Surf Shop has emerged as one of Southern California's premier surf shops. Historically, South Coast has always been ahead of its time by not only emphasizing on custom surfboards, a huge wetsuit selection, and the latest in surf accessories to meet your in-the-water needs, but its willingness to experiment with selling surf inspired clothing and accessories. South Coast Surf Shop was instrumental in introducing and legitimizing brands such as Quiksilver, Billabong, and Gotcha to the Southern Californian Surf Community during the seventies and early eighties. And even today though surf influenced products are much more mainstream then they were when South Coast first opened, you can be sure to find the finest selection of all your favorite brands as well as new looks from brands that are new to the surf industry.
At age 21, Rob Ard had a vision of expanding a local surf shop, Ocean Beach Surf Shop (no affiliation with today's Ocean Beach Surf and Skate). In 1974, Rob took the name South Coast Surf Shop and opened his first location in Ocean Beach. 13 years later, Rob took the business to 5023 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach and that location still exists today. 
In 1993, he partnered with Eric "Bird" Huffman to create South Coast WindanSea, a bigger location from the original South Coast and 1/2 a block away from the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach. Erich "ET" Tramonti joined the partnership at that time as well. Rob thought all his bases were covered in the San Diego beach communities but 1 year later, when a new location opened up in OB, Rob jumped at the opportunity. South Coast Longboards was born to honor surfing's history and cater to longboard enthusiasts. Something was still missing though. Women's fashion was quickly evolving and a standalone store was the ultimate solution. In 1999, South Coast Wahines entered the Pacific Beach community and was fully stocked with women's clothing and footwear. 11 years after the opening of Wahines, longtime employees Heather Shields and Steve Cowan stepped into partnership roles after Bird stepped down to pursue his owns dreams. The success of Wahines was unimaginable and with two men’s-focused shops in Ocean Beach, the owners felt it was necessary to convert Longboards into another womens location. In April 2012, South Coast Wahines Ocean Beach opened its doors. Today, South Coast Surf Shops has 5 locations including South Coast Closeouts (a discount surf shop) and men's and women's locations in Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach, as well as an online store and remains a family owned and operated business with deep ties to the local community. 

SURFBOARD TRADITION

South Coast Surfboards and South Coast Surf Shops have been a Southern California tradition for over forty-six years. Every South Coast Surfboard is a product of years of shaping and glassing experience. All models have been team tested and refined through customer feedback in our own retail surf shops. The surfboards displayed on our website represent only a small sampling of the most popular shapes and graphics available. Custom orders are our specialty. Order your custom today.