Maui and Sons Venice

When did you start your business?

Maui and Sons Retail Surf & Skate Shop Opened April 2008. However, Maui and Sons the Brand has been around for 30 years and is sold in over 100 countries.

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

We are located on the Venice Beach Boardwalk, which sees over 5 million tourist a year. Besides the tourists that come to the shop, we are located directly in front of the NEW Venice Beach Skate Plaza, a 16 thousand sq ft skate park with a 9 foot bowl, a 6 foot wall snake run, a 7 foot bowl, and an entire street skate side. It's AMAZING, so the locals shop here or come in to get there rides fixed etc. . .

Who is your average buyer?

Totally varies…a lot of European tourists like what we have to offer because its cheaper than what they would pay in their countries. . . plus we have the locals or the people from middle America who come for a visit and shop shop shop…

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

Kinda sorta, we are a very friendly shop and you can’t even imagine the totally random kinds of people we get in our shop….from all walks of life…but we try to respect everyone equally…

What is the dumbest question a customer has ever asked?

No dumb questions. Just dumb people.

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

We have Sharkman. Peope stand out front and take pictures with him. All day. Everyday.

What is the craziest return a customer has ever tried to make?

Had this guy who stole a shirt and tried to return it two weeks later, with no receipt, but tried to convince me that I had sold him the shirt when he was with his mom….yep had to call the police and put a scare into him…I knew it was stolen cuz it was the last one in the shop…

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

The shop doesn’t have a team yet, but Maui and Sons Corp. supports surfers around the world.

What is your most annoying grom story?

We don't really have any annoying groms. We try and teach them to be respectful and kind when in the shop.

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

We have had many celebs in the store…Angelica Houston lives around the corner, Pink was here last week, Avril Lavinge, most recently was last week when NCIS: Los Angeles was filming in our shop and Chris O’Donnel hung out for an hour while waiting for his scene and bought one of his sons a new surfboard. Oh and Greg Brady is in frequently…

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

What happens in Venice stays in Venice.

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

Never enough hours in the day.

Who is your favorite surfer and why?

Joey Burran and Tom Curren. I grew up with Joey in Carlsbad; Tom was always hanging around and they taught us to surf…

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

Yes, but we're not complaining.

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

Dude, this is Venice.

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

We had 4 boys come in and steal two skate deks. Then they went and sat at the skate park…well we found them and got the boards back…and all the little skaters that come to our shop, chased those guys down and let them know Venice protects its own…lets just say they weren’t walking so well after… we have zero tolerance for thieves.

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

Last week we had a guy come in and try to buy a pair of boardshorts and a tshirt with bud (it was purple haze) but we said no can do…