Wilmington’s surf shops cover surfing and other water sports top to bottom.

Sweetwater opened in February 1975 and was bought by Chuck Bourgeois in 1995. Sweetwater is located right in the center of the Wrightsville Beach’s shop area and has a unique “beachy” atmosphere.

Sweetwater’s carries a huge selection of girls and women’s clothing. Sweetwater carries all the necessities including surf, skate, wake and snowboards and equipment as well as rentals.

Chuck Bourgeois’ son Ben is a professional surfer. Ben is able to see surfing from a worldly perspective and this contributes to Sweetwater’s cutting edge inventory. Sweetwater mixes extremely friendly service with everything you need to surf, and more.

Surf City Surf Shop owner Roy Turner said, “We are for surfers, by surfers.” Surf City opened in 1978. Surf City is known for their variety of hard goods; surfboards, wetsuits, skateboards, trucks, etc.

Surf City was the first local surf shop to be found on the World Wide Web in 1995. The online store now offers videos, watches and lots of other surf apparel. “Watch out for a new and improved online store,” warns Turner. “We’re taking it to the next level.”

Turner said he strives to offer knowledgeable advice with friendly service. He also wants to make all of the resources available to accommodate the “traveled surfer.” Experience is a key element at Surf City.

A pioneer in the Carolina surfing industry is Bert’s Surf Shop. The first Bert’s opened in Kinston, NC in 1963 by Bert Pierson. Bert’s has all the traditions in surfing ranging from Bert’s t-shirts and long boards to Hawaiian button up shirts and souvenirs.

Dean Lassiter opened Aussie Island in 1990. Here customers can find a large selection of snowboards and equipment to buy or rent for the winter season. In the winter season it’s hard to tell if this is more of a surf shop or a snowboard shop. Aussie Island covers all of the basics.

Hot Wax Surf Shop opened in 1985. This store is unique because it has a surfboard shaping room inside. Owner Michael Paul shapes Pro-Line custom surfboards in the shaping room. Customers can watch Paul in action as he adds to the heavy collection of WRV, Vector and Natural Art surfboards gathered in the loft of the store.

Hot Wax may lack in women’s clothing but they offer more boy’s clothing and skate shoes than other shops. Last but not least is Wilmington’s newest addition to the surf industry, Pride Surf Shop. Tom Brown owns Pride as well as seven 17th Street surf shops based out of Virginia Beach, VA. Manager Troy Williamson separates Pride from 17th Street by offering more hard goods and maintaining a wide selection of clothing items.

Williamson comments about Pride’s overall prices, “The good thing about being part of a chain is that the stores buy items in bulk and can offer better selection and better prices.”Wilmington’s new name in surfing has established a good sense of “Pride” that should not be underestimated. The city has a variety of surf shops for many kinds of winter and summer sports and fashions.