Noll Surfboards opened its flagship store in San Clemente, CA. The store opening coincides with the re-launch of one of the first American surf brands. Noll Surfboards was originally established by Greg Noll in Manhattan Beach, CA, in 1951.
“Our goal is to return surfing to its roots,” said Jed Noll, Greg’s son and Noll Surfboards CEO. “My dad is famous for being one of the greatest big-wave surfers of all time, but he was also one of the founding fathers of the surf industry.” That era – the 1950s in California and Hawaii – was a foundational period for the sport and lifestyle, which blew up worldwide in the 60s.
“We want to bring back the essence of what surfing was all about back then: the freedom to explore what’s possible, searching for the perfect wave with your friends, living out there on the edge. It’s that vintage sense of community that remains part and parcel of the authentic beach lifestyle today.”
“I cant think of a brand more steeped in the foundation of the sport than Noll Surfboards,” said Garrett McNamara, one of the world’s pre-eminent contemporary big-wave surfers and a member of the Noll Surfboards Team. “Greg has been an inspiration to so many surfers, young and old alike!”
The flagship store’s inaugural event was attended by a host of surfing’s elite, including surf-industry moguls Paul Naude (CEO of Billabong USA), Fernando Aguerre (co-founder of the Reef sandal company and president of the International Surfing Association), Jeff Kelley (founder and creator of the Sanuk shoe company) and Sparky Longley (founder of Rainbow Sandals).
Also on hand for the big bash were Dick Metz and Spencer Croul (founders of the Surfing Heritage Foundation) and surfers from all eras, including 50s pioneer Warren Harlow, 60s competition star L. J. Richards, 70s star and surfboard designer Malcolm Campbell, and current big-wave surfing legend Rusty Long.
Naturally the Noll family and members of the Noll Surfboards team (including McNamara) were there to celebrate the grand opening in style.
“Im proud of what Jed and the team have accomplished here,” said Greg Noll, Noll Surfboards Chairman of the Board. “Weve been thinking about doing this for many years, but we never could create the right circumstances to make it happen on the scale we wanted. We had to make sure we did this right. Now weve got a great team in place, and the stars seem to have aligned for us.”
“Our flagship store is a wonderful tribute to the history of the sport, but it’s also a peek into its future,” said James Edwards, Noll Surfboards COO. “We wanted give customers a genuine experience they wouldnt soon forget – and a reason to come back again and again!”
In that spirit, the Noll Surfboards store is a combination museum, art gallery, event center and local surf shop. Entering this unique surf shop, customers are immediately surrounded by one-of-a-kind memorabilia, hand-crafted wooden surfboards, and freshly designed apparel and gear. In short, they find themselves at the center of surfing history.
The store even contains an active surfboard factory with three shaping rooms in the rear. Inspired by the artisan craft of hand shaping surfboards, the materials used throughout the store are derived from the board-shaping process.
The shop is also a unique interactive and multi-media experience. Vintage Noll “Search For Surf” films (Greg was also a pioneer surf-filmmaker), including footage never before seen by the public, is simultaneously played on three strategically placed screens.
Meanwhile, cameras located throughout the store (including one in the shaping bays) allows viewers from around the globe to sign on to the Noll website (www.nollsurfboards.com) and see a surfboard actually being shaped. The site also offers customers the opportunity to shop interactively from afar.
The store showcases Noll Surfboards new line of authentic surf apparel, which includes unique high-quality, T-shirts, board shorts, rash-guards, and sweatshirts. The designs are a fusion of vintage graphics and innovation offering up-to-date fits with state-of-the-art fabrics, including an eco-friendly collection. The store also features one-of-a-kind garments, handmade on site by in-house designer Koki Nishida and exclusively available in the store and on the company’s website, which will be launched in late June 2011.
“Being able to touch and feel the history is a key aspect of our store,” said Chris Wagaman, Noll’s General Manager. “By making it relevant to today’s consumers, we are also giving people the opportunity to take a piece of our collective history home with them. Im not sure there’s another place in the United States (or elsewhere for that matter) where you can have this type of retail experience.”
“Greg Noll helped pioneer our industry. The Noll brand is an authentic reminder of that and his great contributions to both surfing and skateboarding,” commented Johnny Schillereff, Founder and President of Element Skateboards. “We had a highly successful collaboration and showed the relevance and need of their story in the current market place. It was an honor to collaborate with the Noll family.”
