Larry Friedel laughs when he talks about the surfer culture here in Ocean City.
“This is a surf town,” says Friedel, who with his wife Becky Green-Friedel own 7th St. Surf Shop. “My lawyer surfs. My doctor surfs. Let me tell you about the depth of surf culture and how pervasive it is: this year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary in town, and we are still the new kids on the block.”
It might be true that the Friedel’s shops –they are four locations strong in Ocean City – were established after their competitors. However, they have their own niche in town and have grown into their role quite comfortably.
7th Street, named after Ocean City’s original surfing beach, was the first shop in town to offer lessons, and the first to have a storefront location on the boardwalk. They now have two locations on the boards and two on Asbury Ave. They sell and rent boards, wetsuits, and offer a full range of surfing fashions for the lifestyle. Instead of trying to go against the competition, they went after a younger customer and took a mass-market approach.
“We were the first in town to go mass market,” Larry said.
“The women’s clothing has become a major part of the business,” says Becky. “Used to be you offered T-shirts and shorts to women and that was it, but now we take a boutique approach and have a full range of apparel for every season.”
The Friedels and managers Colin Devine and Jamie Keenan are currently working feverishly to get the shops ready for the spring and summer onslaught, no small feat given last year’s fire what gutted the iconic location at 654 Boardwalk, adjacent to the surfing beach. The stores were fully stocked and ready to go last year when the fire broke out just a week before Memorial Day.
“That was devastating,” Becky said of the blaze, which investigators said was caused by faulty wiring and accelerated by a fiberglass surfboard. The interior of the store was completely destroyed as was every piece of inventory. Insurance covered most of the loss. Larry and Becky still had to scramble to salvage their season. Surf lessons operated out of a neighboring business, an arcade also owned by the Friedels. All other retail took place at the other locations and through online sales.
Work on the building stalled due to some unforeseen delays and is still ongoing. “We will be open for Memorial Day,” Becky said, although work might not be fully completed. She said the store layout had been reconfigured and there will be more retail space also available.
The surfing lessons and camps remain a staple of the business. There are two group lessons every day in season, which have grown to about 36 students in each group. Individual lessons are also available and week-long surf camps which run from 9 am to 12 noon, will take place all summer.
The business, up and running since 1986, is an extension of the surfing lifestyle for Larry, who has been coming to Ocean City his entire life and commuting back and forth between here and his native Hollywood, Florida. That is where he met Becky, who hails from Ft. Lauderdale.
“There is a lot of surfing tradition in Ocean City and we are happy to be a part of it,” Larry said. “It’s great to work in a business where you deal with happy people – they are on vacation, and you are working in a sport you love. The business side of it is hard work. But we are fortunate to be doing something we love. We are making a living and avoiding a real job,” he said with another hearty laugh.
