by Nate Beck
Over the past five decades Ron Jon Surf Shop has grown into an international symbol of the Florida beach life and a trip to Cocoa Beach Florida isn’t complete without a visit to the Ron Jon Surf Shop flagship store.
With a sprawling 52,000 square feet of retail space covering over two acres, Ron Jon Surf Shop is the world’s largest surf-themed store. Self branded as “The World's Most Famous Surf Shop”, Ron Jon is a local favorite. Check their website for updates on hours open.
Though Ron Jon may now be the world’s most famous surf shop, it was a bumpy road getting here. The story began a decade before and back in a place a little colder than Cocoa Beach Florida.
RON JON SURF SHOP HISTORY
Ron DiMenna opened the first Ron Jon Surf Shop in 1959 in the beach town of Ship Bottom New Jersey, located about 1½ hours west of Philadelphia Pennsylvania and 45 minutes north of Atlantic City New Jersey. His hobby-turned-passion for surfing and frustrated by the lack of quality boards available in the area, DiMenna told his dad he was going to travel to California to buy a professionally shaped and glassed surfboard. His father suggested that while in California he purchase three surfboards but sell two at a profit, thus paying for the trip and Ron’s own board.
Thus, Ron Jon Surf Shop began. After a few years of selling surfboards to New Jersey locals and out-of-towners who came to purchase boards from Ron for their own shops along the east coast, he packed his warm weather clothes into the back of his parents closet and headed south; trading his jacket for a pair of flip flops and the warmer waters of the Space Coast.
With a humble beginning in Cocoa Beach Florida, Ron Jon Surf Shop opened in a small building complete with dirt floors that Ron covered with palm leaves. DiMenna’s shop quickly grew as the popularity of surfing exploded, thanks to the Hollywood film hits such as “Gidget” and “The Endless Summer” glorifying the cruisy, laidback surf life.
While some core surfers claimed DiMenna to be a sell-out as sales at Ron Jon shifted focus from surfboards to clothing, necklaces, beer koozies, and beach chairs, others bring to light that DiMenna helped usher surfing from a cottage industry into the multi-million dollar international behemoth the sport has become today.
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RON JON SURF SHOP STICKERS
Just how did Ron spread the surf vibes across a nation? Free stickers. DiMenna envisioned a way surfing could be sold to families across the US, oceanfront or not, and built the bandwagon for everyone else to hop on. Families from landlocked towns have always flocked to Florida for vacations, and DiMenna sold them a souvenir T-shirt with a free sticker for their car to remember their sun tanned, salty haired beach life in Cocoa Beach Florida.
Duke Boyd, founder of Hang-Ten, arguably the first surf-wear centric brand stated, “What you see today stems from his open-minded merchandising, which got surfing out of its cool doldrums and into the general population. He saw very early on the broad vision of surfing.” Today, Ron Jon still gives away free stickers with a purchase at the rate of about 2 million annually.
RON JON SURF SHOP TODAY
Ron DiMenna still privately owns and operates Ron Jon Surf Shop and he’s still living the surfer lifestyle; albeit a wealthy surfer style. In his $500,000 RV, he travels the country, staying out of the public eye and enjoying his privacy.
But Ron Jon Surf Shop is much more than a surf shop. Its filled with surfboards of all styles, Shortboards, Midlength, Longboards, Softboards, Balsa Boards and all the surfing accessories: Board Bags, Fins, Leashes, Racks & Pads, Wax & Traction, Rash Guards and Wetsuits.
If all that means nothing to you, you may want to stop in for a bodyboard or skimboard to play with while on your vacation in Cocoa Beach Florida. Beginning at $30, a bodyboard is a fun water toy that you don’t mind leaving behind if you’re traveling by plane. You can also rent a bodyboard at Ron Jon but it’s $10 for 4-8 hours so if you’re going to be here for the weekend, why not buy a new one? If you just want to play for the day, a rental might be your better option.
Speaking of rentals, just across the street from Ron Jon Surf Shop is Ron Jon Rentals with an entire rental section foam surfboards, fiberglass surfboards, bodyboards, standup paddleboards, kayaks, wetsuits, beach bikes, beach chairs, umbrellas and beach carts to haul it all down to the beach on. In addition to beach rental gear you’ll find The Florida Surf Museum in the Rental Shop as well.
Ron Jon Surf also has a wide selection of skateboards and skateboarding accessories. Cocoa Beach Florida has a public concrete skate park with a bowl & 'street' areas & floodlighting for evening skating. Located just a 10-minute drive from Ron Jon near Cocoa Beach Junior and Senior High Schools.
If you plan to spend time on the beach (and why wouldn’t you?) Ron Jon has everything you could possibly need or want from the sun screen to the swim suits, the Ron Jon branded souvenir beach towel and flip flops, the beach toys for the kids and the beach bag to carry them all in. And, of course the koozies, the insulated cups and the cooler to keep the beverages cold.
Then, after you fall in love with Cocoa Beach Florida and want to decorate your home with reminders of your wonderful vacation, there’s an entire section of home décor in the Ron Jon shop. There are bamboo cutting boards and Ron Jon branded coasters. There’s a branded bottle opener and shot glasses. Coffee mugs and sippy cups. Wall art and Christmas ornaments. Anything and everything to commemorate your vacation.
What once was “The World's Most Famous Surf Shop” has definitely transformed itself into “The World’s Largest Surf-Themed Store” and a not-to-be-missed tourist attraction in Cocoa Beach Florida.
Surf Boards for sale
Home Goods to take a bit of Ron Jon's home with you
Wide selection of clothes
Don't forget the souvenirs for the kids back home
"Own a surfboard from Ron's personal collection"
RON JON SURF SHOP FUTURE
Looking forward, DiMenna is creating his magnum opus to give back to surfing. Titled The Experience, Ron wants to incapsulate history and unify all board sports under one roof with exhibits linking all board sports back to surfing as the seed that spawned them all.
The Experience would shadow the Cocoa Beach Florida Ron Jon shop at a mind blowing 80,000 square feet, over twice the size of the Roman Colosseum. Ever the forward looking visionary, DiMenna has placed The Experience under the management of Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation, a 501(c)(3) started by himself and his wife Lynne, that will send the proceeds back to the beaches to help fund lifeguards, cleanups and ecology projects.
Ron Jon Surf Shop is located at 4151 N Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach FL 32931