The Surf Expo, the action sports trade show held Jan. 6-8 at the Orange County Convention Center, saw a 9.2% increase in buyer attendance compared to last January's event. Organizers said 6,276 retailers attended the show, along with 4,887 exhibitor attendees, 219 media guests and 128 industry guests.

Surf Expo became the largest trade show serving the action sports world following the demise of ASR (Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo.) The
Agenda trade show, which debuted a larger format with dates directly coinciding with Surf Expo, also services the channel.

Surf Expo organizers said retail representation included 47 states and 46 countries–with strong growth from both the international and Western states markets.

Encompassing more than 220,000 net square feet in the Orange County Convention Center, the sold out Surf Expo January 2011 trade show has been roundly praised as the most successful in years.

“We've been pleased with the growth Surf Expo has enjoyed over the past several years,” says Show Director Roy Turner. “We're particularly satisfied with this past show. It's a testament to both the trust the beach-related industries have placed in Surf Expo and the strength of our industry's rebound after the recession of 2008 and 2009.”

“I was grateful for the opportunity to touch base with my vendors and find some new ones.” – Jodi Tobman said, from Salamander Holdings in Aruba.

“I had another great show! It looked as though the venue was even more packed with vendors than last year. The seminars were very informative! I look forward to making it back in September.” – Jill Kudro of Kalarhari Resorts

Southern California's ZJ's Boarding House's Mikke Piersson dropped a Facebook comment right after the show. “Great show guys,” he said. “Thanks for everything. I got more done at this show then any in recent memory. You rule!”

Bangers 4 Bucks Skate Shop Contest

Surf Expo's retail shop contest returned for its second year, this time with teams qualifying at the Top Shop contests all over the country, and two fan favorites voted in from surfexpo.com. The course, set to look like an outdoor plaza and decked out in florescent graffiti, was arguably Team Pain's best ever at Surf Expo. And so were the shop teams, who were skating for $15,000 in cash, prizes and shop credit from Vans, Skullcandy and Eastern Skateboard Supply. Midtown edged out Third Lair to take the top spot in an exciting final that thousands watched from the perimeter of the park.

Resort, Swim and Boutique enjoy continued success
 
The Resort category continues to be one of the strongest categories at Surf Expo. This January, Resort showed a 10% increase in exhibitors over last year. More than 70 new exhibitors in Resort, Swim and Boutique included Green Label Organics, Sara England Designs and Mountain Sweets Candy. The Swim category added a Brazilian contingent with ABIT (Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association) representing five of the top Brazilian swim brands. Long-time exhibitor Joshua Glickman with Exist was especially pleased with the presence of international buyers at the show: “I saw more traffic than the year before. There were a lot of new retailers from all over the country.”

Quiksilver All '80s All Day Vert Challenge

Quiksilver brought its All 80s All Day Vert Challenge to the East Coast via Surf Expo. This much anticipated event went off, with both Surf Expo and public attendees rushing in to get a prime spot to watch in awe as their legends like Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi and Kevin Staab in their '80s best, skated their '80s decks for, you guessed it, $1980. Hawk took the prize and gave it to long-time skate medic Barry Z. And if the night couldn't be more sublime, the Smithsonian was on hand to take Tony's board from the event as its first piece for its new Skate exhibit.

On top of this highly successful event, Quiksilver VP of Sales Young Men's and Quiksilver/Roxy Wintersports Dave Rosenberger reported a solid show. “We were busy the whole time,” he said. “The quality of the appointments and meetings are always great at Surf and this show was no exception.”

Parasail

The January 2011 show also saw the introduction of the new Parasail product category. Sponsored by the WSIA, the section featured parasail boats, chutes, lines and accessories. A five-hour symposium on parasailing featured speakers from USCG, NOAA, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the FAA, insurance providers and the WSIA, and was met with standing room only crowds.

SUP category growth

Standup Paddle continued its explosive growth at the show with 85 companies exhibiting boards, paddles, fins and accessories- a 70% increase over the January 2010 show. Industry professionals from across the SUP and outdoor/recreation industry spectrums gathered Thursday evening for the three-hour SUP Business Industry Summit to discuss issues and trends influencing the SUP marketplace. The standing room only crowd participated in an open forum discussion with an industry panel that featured Royce Cansler, Billabong director of Retail Relations, Scott Ruble, owner of Covewater Paddle Surf, Mark Johnson, sales manager and designer/shaper for Hobie, Ty Zullim, national sales manager for Surftech, Dave Chun, owner for Kialoa, and Andre Niemeyer, executive director of My Local Lineup Media Corporation. Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, now established host of SUP at Surf Expo was on hand to showcase this resurging category at the indoor demo pool.

Florida Shapeoff: A Tribute to Joe Shriver

The 4th Annual Florida Shape Off went down on the floor of Surf Expo in a newly designed shaping bay that highlighted the skills of six well-known shapers for all to see. The contest that promotes the art of surfboard shaping and the “true heroes” of surfing: the shapers. This exhibition takes place once a year at the Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida. Six outstanding shapers showed off their skills by replicating the last board the late great Joe Shriver shaped. While Richie Buehn, Stu Sharpe, Shawn Vecchione, Adam Warden, and Bruce Ragan all did masterful jobs, in the end it was Mike Whistnant who got the nod as winner of this years event, with Warden the runner up.