by Edfactor
Open Ocean surf shop owner Jamie Ellett is picking up where he left off 15 years ago when he closed his Hermosa Beach shop.
Last month, Ellett reopened Open Ocean in South Redondo, at 1217 S. Pacific Coast Highway.
“I bought the Hermosa Beach shop for $10,000,” he said. “The owners were from Palos Verdes. They laughed at me and didn’t think I’d last two weeks,” he said. But he quickly developed a loyal following.
“From the 80s to the mid 90s, Open Ocean boards where the most prominent boards in the South Bay,” he said.
Ellett’s began shaping surfboards in 1972 in his garage. He was 17 and had been disappointed by a new board from a local shaper.
“I remember shaping my first board, and actually being stoked on how good it first turned out”
“I kept making boards for my friends and myself,” he said. “Soon enough, it picked up momentum.”
During the first incarnation of the Open Ocean shop, his factory was pumping out 20 boards a week.
“Our shop was also doing glassing for a lot of other shapers, Ellett said,” including Joe Bark and Starvos from San Pedro.”
In 1995, tragedy struck. Ellett was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He closed the shop and bought a ticket to Hawaii.
“What would you do?” he asked. “I didn’t know how long I was going to live so I wanted to surf my brains out.”
Ellett surfed big Hanalei Bay, but soon enough picked up the planer again.
“I ghost-shaped for a big surfboard company I swore I’d never reveal,” he said. “Let’s just say it was one of the bigger shops on the Island.”
After beating cancer, he returned to the South Bay in 2001 to work and save money to bring back his brand.
“We have a very good new and used board selection,” Ellett said. “My board prices are generously priced — a standard, 6-foot thruster, with a sanded finish starts at $375.”
“I am very excited that all my loyal customers from back in the day are ordering boards,” he said. “It’s like how I started in the beginning–good things spread by word of mouth.” ER
