I The West Coast Surf Shop is an island landmark on Gulf Drive at the western terminus of Manatee Avenue, right next to the Manatee County Public Beach.
Copyright (c) 2009 David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com.
Anyone who lives and surfs on Anna Maria Island knows who Jim Brady is. Owner of the West Coast Surf Shop, he and his family are heavily involved in the surfing scene on the island. I remember the surf shop far back into my childhood when it was located near the now closed Pete Reynard’s revolving restaurant in Holmes Beach, where it served the surfing community from 1964 to 1978. In 1979 it moved to its current (and very good) location right next to the public beach.
Stickers and decals plaster the door to the West Coast Surf Shop. Branding is an important aspect of the surfing business.
I asked Brady how he got started in this business and his answer made it seem like the natural thing to do at the time:
I moved here in ’63 with my dad and I started surfing then. Me and another guy decided to open a store. I was in high school. Right time, right place, I guess. I was 16.
Like all surf and beach shops, the West Coast Surf Shop carries a wide variety of beach attire that is popular with beach, surf, and skim devotees.
At first glance, Brady’s shop looked much like surf shops looked back in the ’70’s when I was heavily involved with surfing. I saw that several brands of clothing, sandals, and equipment were still around : Quicksilver, Lightning Bolt, Billabong, and O’Neill. New to me were HIC, Lost, and Hurley.
But my attention, and our conversation, quickly turned to surfboards. Today’s boards look a lot different than most of the boards I used to ride. Modern boards are sleeker and lighter, and some come to such a sharp point they look threatening.
West Coast Surf Shop has a large selection of the latest surfboards, boogie boards, and skim boards packed into every available space in the shop. But you don't have to make up your mind as to which one you want all by yourself. The shop has lots of experience helping people of all ages, shapes, and sizes pick the right board.
Back in my surfing days, all boards were hand-shaped foam covered with fiberglass. Each board was different. Brady told me about today’s molded epoxy boards:
Now they’ve gotten to the point where they take the best hand-shaped board a guy can make and they scan it [scan the dimensions into a computer], make a mold of it, and reproduce it. The beauty of the boards is that they are stronger, they’re lighter, they float better because they have a different core. Every board is a clone. It used to be with hand-shaped boards that some rode better than others and some didn’t ride at all.
The fiberglass boards are still around, but the shaping process has improved with the use of computer technology:
The shaping machines have gotten so good that they just scan the board, feed up the machine, turn the rails and glass ’em. A lot of the boards are still made here in the states, but a lot are made overseas now.
Brady proudly displays photos of many of the local surfers on the walls of the shop.
It’s not only the surfboards that have changed over the years. Brady says that today’s surfers are a little more educated:
They have an exposure to more lines of boards. The community was more tightly knit in the old days and you only had access to whatever boards the shopping area carried. Back in the ’60’s there were very few stores, period. Kids nowadays do a lot more traveling. They go all over the world now. In the old days, if we went to Puerto Rico we thought we went some place. Now these guys are in Bali, Indonesia, Australia, Hawaii–and I’m talking about young kids–Costa Rica, El Salvador. They travel like crazy now.
Hundreds of photos of local surfers decorate the walls of the West Coast Surf Shop.
Back in the ’60’s you didn’t see very many little kids into it [surfing], and very few girls, and now you see kids starting at 4 years of age in these surf camps.
Now the sponsoring companies look for the younger up and coming surfers to sponsor in surfing competitions whereas they used to focus on older proven surfers.
These younger guys are just so much more aggressive.
Surf Camps are a great way for kids to be safely introduced to the sport and lifestyle of surfing.
Brady spoke proudly of his grandson’s involvment in surfing and his impressive accomplishments at a young age:
My grandson is 13 now. He started surfing when he was 5. He’s up in New York. He just won a contest up there this last week.
Brady showed me a photo of his grandson taken while surfing with highly respected and legendary surfing pioneer Shaun Tomson when Tomson was visiting Anna Maria last year. Shaun had come to St. Pete to show his movie “Bustin Down The Door,” the story of the events that took place back in the 1970’s as the Australian surfers began to dominate the surfing scene in Hawaii.
He [Shaun] put on the movie in St. Pete and then he came down here [to Anna Maria] and stayed for a couple of days.
Brady popped a video in the VCR and showed me a few minutes of surfers like Cory Lopez and CJ Hobgood surfing the waves here on Anna Maria and talked a little about the surfing conditions on the island:
Best surf around here is winter and spring. This island in particular is the furthest point out in the gulf, so we catch anything from a strong southeasterly swell to northwesterly to sometimes a real northerly swell, because Egmont Key has deteriorated so bad [from erosion] that it has actually opened up a window for a different swell for us.
Brady and I realized we had some friends and acquaintances in common from the old days and chatted about that for a while. Then a young man came in looking for guidance on selecting a skim board for competition and Brady was quick to offer his seasoned advice, turning his attention back to the business of surfing while I headed for the beach to reflect on the “good old days.”
Surfing waves from Hurricane Ike on Anna Maria Island.
Getting lots of air on the gulf coast.
Surfing Resources for Anna Maria Island:
West Coast Surf Shop, 3209 Gulf Drive, N. Holmes Beach, FL 34217. Phone 941-778-1001.
Gulfster.com – for daily surf reports
ChubNelson.com – local surf reports, photos, beach events.
Native Surf School of Jupiter, FL offers surf camps for kids on Anna Maria Island during the month of July.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding is the newest rage to hit watersport enthusiasts in Florida. Rentals are available on the island.
