"I’m pretty sure our battered soul still exists, stuck to us like the last chunk of wax at the bottom of the box."
Lovers of authentic surf culture were shocked several months back when Dane Reynolds, the former world number four surfer, daddy to six children and neighbour of Travis Barker and the homeliest of the Kardashians, curvy ol mama Kourtney, was forced to shutter his iconic Ventura surf shop shortly before it was bulldozed by developers.
The green shack was called Chapter 11 and lived at 365 East Santa Clara Street in Ventura. It was a place where its famous owner would greet customers and offer screen-printed t-shirts, still warm from the freshly applied inks. It quickly became the hub around which that surf community revolved.
It’s easy to feel like surfing’s soul has drowned in a sea of soft tops and Sprinter vans. The latest private equity firm to come along buys and sells the empty shell that’s left. Pull the shrinkwrap off another one.
Did it ever exist at all? Did surfing ever have a soul? Seduced by magic images and exuberant story-telling, did we imagine the whole thing?
I’m pretty sure our battered soul still exists, stuck to us like the last chunk of wax at the bottom of the box.
It might be the guy screening t-shirts in the back of his shop and making cheerful small talk about the waves and the forecast.
It might be the next generation of groms falling asleep on movie night. It might be the women hanging out in the parking lot, talking about board designs.
Never one to miss an opportunity for a little comedy, Reynolds, who is thirty-nine, used the misfortune to have some fun.
“Well, shit, the time has come that you’ve been waiting for, we’re finally closing our doors for the last time,” said Dane Reynolds in classic huckster mode, straw panama hat balanced on head.
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All is not lost, howevs.
The gods have breathed a little life into the dying embers of surf culture with the new Chapter 11 store opening up just one hundred yards from the old place at 83 Palm St, Ventura, and next to Indoek, an art gallery famous for its brightly coloured books on interesting surfers and their “surf shacks.