Surf Style

Surf Style
IndustryRetail
Founded1990 (1990), in Florida, U.S.[1]
Founders
  • Eliyahu Levy
  • Avi Ovaknin
Headquarters
Hollywood, Florida
,
United States
Number of locations
65 stores
Area served
Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi
Key people
  • Avi Ovaknin (president, CEO)
  • Doron Malinasky (vice president)
Number of employees
730
Websitesurfstyle.com
Footnotes
Financials as of August 19, 2026.

Surf Style is a surf-style clothing and souvenir retail chain in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi operated by Surf Style Retail Management.[2][3][4][5] Surf Style has about 65 retail locations and is also an internet retailer. Surf Style also carries its own line of branded apparel.

History

Surf Style began with windbreaker sales out of a car trunk. A wholesale clothing business followed and retail stores were eventually developed.[1]

In 2000, the Gus Stevens building at US 90 and Veterans Avenue in Biloxi, Mississippi was slated for conversion into a Surf Style store. The location was a famous nightclub in the 1950s and 1960s and best known as the last place where Jayne Mansfield performed prior to her death.[6] The Platinum Dolls and former stripper turned suburban housewife and murderer, Marjorie Orbin modeled for Surf Style for four years.[7]

A Surf Style store in Gulf Shores, Alabama in 2026

Their flagship store is located in Clearwater Beach, Florida was slated for reconstruction in 2010, including a FlowRider indoor surfing and boogie boarding installation, 31,000 square feet of space, adjoining restaurant space for Britt's Laguna Grill, and 349 space parking garage. A delay was requested due to the BP oil spill.[8][9] In 2011, Surf Style opened the new $11 million superstore.[4][5] There was a dispute with the City of Clearwater over outdoor displays at its superstore on Clearwater Beach.[4]

In 2011, Surf Style was sued by Abercrombie & Fitch for trademark infringement over use of a seagull image.[2] In 2013 the company partnered with Guy Harvey.[10]

On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at the Clearwater Beach location, 20 year old Jonathan Stanley shot and killed 22 year old Rodney Sweeney. Stanley was arrested soon afterwards.[11]

Offerings

The beachwear sold at Surf Style includes sarongs, sunblock, and swimsuits. The indoor FlowRider artificial wave provides an opportunity to learn surfing, a sport difficult to practice on the Gulf of Mexico with its small waves.[8] They sell items including Birkenstock, Crocs, Ray Ban, and others.

References

  1. 1 2 "Our History". SurfStyle.com. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Abercrombie & Fitch sues Florida retailer Surf Style, alleging infringement of Hollister trademark". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Surf's Almost Up At Surf Style". nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Harwell, Drew (November 19, 2011). "Stores' outdoor displays pose a dilemma for Clearwater". Tampa Bay Times.
  5. 1 2 Brassfield, Mike (June 19, 2009). "Clearwater strikes deal for 300-space parking garage on Clearwater Beach". Tampa Bay Times.
  6. ↑ Frazier, Allen (September 18, 2023). "His Biloxi supper club wowed A-list celebrities and was the 1st of its kind in Mississippi". Sun Herald (Biloxi).
  7. ↑ Hogan, Shanna (May 24, 2011). Dancing with Death: The True Story of a Glamorous Showgirl, her Wealthy Husband, and a Horrifying Murder. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4299-9015-8.
  8. 1 2 Fodor's (October 30, 2012). Fodor's Florida 2013. Travel Distribution. ISBN 978-0-87637-170-1.
  9. ↑ "Beach Walk inspires business development - Tampa Bay Business Journal". www.bizjournals.com. October 14, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Surf Style, Guy Harvey partner for visual arts education". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Police arrest man accused of shooting, killing person in Clearwater Beach Surf Style store". www.wtsp.com. March 15, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
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