Ron Jon Surf Shop was founded in 1959 on the New Jersey shore when a bright young man named Ron DiMenna was just discovering the sport of surfing with fiberglass surfboards. His pastime soon became a passion and homemade surfboards would no longer do. When his father heard that Ron wanted his own custom surfboard from California, he suggested, "Buy three, sell two at a profit, then yours will be free." Dad was right, and Ron Jon Surf Shop was born.
"The Original" Ron Jon Surf Shop opened in Long Beach Island, New Jersey in 1961. DiMenna sold surfboards out of that tiny Jersey shore shop and supplied former customers with surfboards to open their own surf shops on the East Coast. When he headed to Florida two years later and opened the "One of a Kind" Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach, he sold even more.
Today, Ron Jon Surf Shop has grown into a world famous surfing destination. "The Original" Ron Jon Surf Shop on Long Beach Island, N.J. is now a four-level surf emporium filled with a colossal selection of active lifestyle apparel and board sports equipment. It even features one of the world's largest surfboards (more than 24 feet in length). Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach, Fla. is a whole water world of eternal summer fun, encompassing more than two acres, overflowing with more surfwear, sportswear and beach gear than is available in any other single venue. The flagship store in Cocoa Beach is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The addition of stores in Orlando, Key West, Fort Myers, Panama City Beach and Clearwater Beach, Fla., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Ocean City, Md. and Orange Beach, Ala. brings the Ron Jon mystique to loyal followers in those areas.
The Ron Jon Surf Shop logo and name has become recognized around the globe for more than 50 years with only minor revisions. It has been spotted on the space station Mir 200 miles above the earth, and has purportedly embraced one of the long slender legs of the Eiffel Tower. And every day, it is seen on vehicles ranging from '65 Ramblers to '14 hybrids.
The company has established several licensing agreements resulting in Ron Jon Surf Shop store locations in Orlando, Tampa and Miami (Fla.) and JFK International airports, Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos and Las Vegas, Nevada.