The Blue Wild Expo is South Florida’s premier water-sport enthusiast’s expo and gives the public a chance to see the latest offerings from vendors from a wide variety of activities. Local artists show their wares next to diving equipment manufacturers, fishing enthusiasts find offerings adjacent to surfboard shops and local tour operators.
Core Surf is one such vendor. Their Cape Canaveral shop was, at one time, the only surfboard shop in town, on what is arguably one of Florida’s premier surf hotspots. Owner Dennis Griffin spoke with DeeperBlue.com at The Blue Wild Expo about his mission to “make surfing more accessible to everyone, especially kids”.
Dennis explains that the big chain stores had pretty much put local shops out of business. The price of new boards was a real barrier to entry for young surfers and people who wanted to start surfing and just needed basic gear.
“I wanted to make it easier for people to own a nice board at a reasonable price, so I started taking used boards in for trade,” says Griffin, who has no problem taking two or three yard-sale finds in so someone can trade up to a new, or better board. If the trade-in isn’t really usable, he often sells them to local artists, who use them as canvases, or for decoration.
Griffin says it makes sense to have a large selection of reasonably priced boards and those water-sport enthusiasts often cross over to other related activities.
“I know quite a few surfers who dive as well. I was certified at 13, and I know that surfing and diving have been a big part of my life.” Dennis Griffin
Core Surf has new and used board starting at around $200 and are located at 7008 Atlantic Ave., Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920. They can be reached at +1-321-613-2982. Make your next trip to the Space Coast a real adventure and check out Core Surf!
