Raw Skin

When did you start your business?

1997

Do you consider the location of your shop a key factor to the business’s success?

I do not consider the location of my business a key factor even though it’s located right on the coast highway. I consider my rentals the key factor.

Who is your average buyer?

Ladies & Gents from the ages of 14 and up.

If a total Barney walks in do you treat him with the same respect as a full on loc?

Yes absolutely.

What is the dumbest question a customer has ever asked?

“Do you rent bikes?” (There is a huge sign outside the shop that says “Bike Rentals,” along with a bunch of bikes all lined up).

Do you have a mascot (ex. - An animal that roams freely throughout the building)?

Yes. Pumpkin the Kitty Cat.

Does your store support any local surfers or have a surf team?

Yes we have a surf team and support a lot of the local contests.

Have you ever had any type of celeb roll in and make a purchase?

Nope.

Have you ever pulled a hot chick/guy solely due to the fact that you own/manage a surf shop?

I don’t know. I’m gonna have to ask the boys.

How many days a week do you surf now compared to before you owned/managed a surf shop?

I probably surf about the same amount. Pretty much every day.

Who is your favorite surfer and why?

Shane Beschen. Because I grew up watching him surf and because he still holds the record for getting three 10 point rides at Kirra and will always hold that record because nowadays they only judge yer top 2 waves.

Has a customer trying on clothes ever walked out completely naked?

Yes. I’m pretty sure one of my girlfriends has walked out completely naked.

Has a person ever walked in totally blitzkrieged (really intoxicated) and tried to make a purchase?

If so elaborate. Yes multiple times. One vandalized my shop a while back so now all of the drunkards get kicked out.

Every store has to deal with shoplifting. What is your most memorable experience and what is your shoplifting policy?

A girl put a bathing suit outside the window of the dressing room to steal once. I pulled up and saw it outside on the ground with the censors still on it. I picked it up and brought it back into the shop before the thief could steal it. My employees thought that the girl had already stolen the bikini because they saw an empty hanger in the dressing room. Later the same girl came back and tried to steal the bikini again, except this time they brought a friend to distract my employees while they stuck in through an entirely different window than the first time. When the 2 girls came back to the shop and did this I was on an errand. One of my employees called me and said that the same girl came in with a friend and stole the same bikini. I went on a search to try and find the 2 girls, but couldn’t find them. Fortunately the girl put her name on the shop’s mailing list so I gave her name to a police officer who happened to know her parents. The police officer found out where she worked and went into her work and told her that she needed to return the bikini. The thief girl returned the bikini, but it had holes in it from where the censors were ripped out of it. The police officer came into the shop to make sure the girl had returned the bikini and I told him she did, but we were unable to sell it due to the fact that there were holes in it. In this case the police officer went back to the girl’s work and told her that she needed to go into the shop and pay for the bikini since we were unable to sell it. The girl paid full price for a bikini with holes in it. So I guess the thief girl should’ve just paid full price for the bikini in the very beginning because her choice in trying to steal it made them have to deal with the cops and pay full price for an item with holes in it.

And last but not least tell us one of the craziest shop stories you can remember?

Well it was Labor Day and I was cruising on my bike enjoying my day off. My cell phone rang and it was one of my employees so I figured I should pick it up and see what’s up. I answered the phone and my employee frantically shouts in my ear “Marlon just trashed yer shop!!!” Considering the fact that it was my day off I was already a few cocktails in and feelin pretty groovy so I didn’t wanna deal with this matter as of that second. In this case I told my employee to close up the shop. The next day I came into the shop and there was glass in merchandise all over the place in the front room. What had happened is our old bike repair guy (Marlon) came in super hammied and was asked to leave. Marlon didn’t like that he was told to leave so just went absolutely nuts. As he threw my female employee across the room he continued to yell out “No one tells Marlon what to do!” “No one tells Marlon what to do!” After he threw my female employee across the room he punched the glass out of all of the display cases in the shop. After that he ran out of the shop and disappeared. 2 military officers happened to be nearby and chased him all of the way to the freeway (which is over 1 mile) literally following the blood trail from his hands. The 2 military guys eventually found him passed out in the bushes by the freeway. As the military officers approached Marlon he awoke and noticed that his hands were bloddy. He said to the officers “what did I do kill somebody?” After restraining him the officers contacted the police, which came and picked him up and first took him to the hospital to clean his hands. Marlon tried to attack one of the police officers in the hospital. Marlon is now in jail. He tried to plead not guilty because he doesn’t remember anything and thought that everybody had set him up. He tried to call me collect from jail once and he has sent me numerous letters.