CORE BOARD STORE OF THE YEAR

By Reggae Elliss

One of the most prestigious SBIA awards is for Core Board Store of the year.

As the name suggests this category is about the heart and soul of our industry – surfing, and retailers must have a dedicated hardware, surf accessories and wetsuits area.

Last year’s winner was Strapper, one of Torquay’s iconic stores and anyone who’s set foot inside knows it fits the core board store criteria well.

IMG_5226

 

Strapper has a 40-plus year history of making surfboards and the Torquay store has its has its own surfboard factory out back of the surf shop offering custom & stock boards and a full repair service, Stripper has a 40+ year history making Surfboards. In house shapers John “Robbo” Robertson and Michael “D’SAS” Di Sciascio are on site and available to take orders from surfers. Having a wide selection of boards is central to any core store’s success and Strapper’s board store in Torquay stocks over 300 new surfboards of the very best brands in the market including JS, Channel Islands, Stacey, Pyzel, Rusty, HS, 7S and more as well as a full range of SUP, longboards and even kneeboards.

Wetsuits is another area crucial to a core surf store and Strapper carries a full range of suits from all the major brands,

Another important factor in a core board store is having knowledgeable staff who know surfboards and wetsuits, ensuring the customers get the best advice possible, regardless of their surfing standard.

 

“All our staff are passionate surfers and some are accomplished competitive surfers, and it is important to them that they help our customers get the most out of their surfing,” says owner Michael Di Scassio. “Strapper is heavily involved in the local board riders clubs and the surf industry as well as other local community groups.”

Michael and his staff were ecstatic when they won the Core board store at the 2014 SBIA Surf Industry awards, appreciating its importance and prestige.

“For a surfer and shaper as well as a retailer, an award like this is really important and we were stoked to win it last year,” Michael said. “The Strapper team are passionate about surfing and living up to being “the surfers Shop”.”