Surf shop is all in the Ohana

Dave Brooks

Mirror, mirror on the wall, whose surf shop is the most “core” of

all?

When Mike Breidenthal, 31, looks at himself each morning, he

doesn’t see a surfer burnt out by the crowded sets or rampant

commercialism of the industry.

No, Breidenthal sees a guy who still gets “stoked” each time he

paddles out in the water, a guy who still enjoys sharing his love of

surfing with others. Whether it’s a dogged old-timer or an

up-and-coming “grom” not quite big enough to see over his (or her)

own board.

“I think I just wanted to capture the soul of surfing,”

Breidenthal said from behind the counter of his new surf shop, Ohana,

at the corner of Warner Avenue and Bolsa Chica Street.

Hawaiian for “family,” Ohana is as much about Breidenthal’s

connection with others as it is about building a “core” surf

community on the north side of town.

Being “core” means so many different things to so many different

people, but for Breidenthal it’s about living by values that one

develops in the water, tapping into the rhythm of the earth. It also

means getting up at dawn to catch a surprise southern swell or

paddling out a quarter-mile for an afternoon session.

“You can’t really describe ‘core’ with words because it goes so

much further beyond that,” said Sunset Beach longboarder Frank

Basset. “It’s really more of an attitude, a way of living for each

moment.”

It’s one thing to be “core” in the water, but how does it

translate into a surf shop? That was the dilemma for Breidenthal a

year ago when he decided to quit his job as a union sheet-metal

foreman and open his own business.

The move was part financial, said Breidenthal, whose wife Heather

is a human resources executive.

“An accountant told us we were in too high of a tax bracket and

that we needed to start a small business,” he said. “We would be able

to write a lot of our expenses off if we made the move, so we decided

to go for it.”

So Breidenthal found a space, ordered a bunch of boards and gear

and threw a huge grand opening party to kick things off.

But what about staying “core”?

“One of the first things I decided was that I was going to open up

near dawn on the weekends so I could be there early when the guys

head out to the water,” he said. “If someone needs to stop and get a

bar of wax, I’m here for them.”

His newfound freedom at the surf shop also allows him other

indulgences: He can wear shorts every day he works; he can bring his

6-year-old, Kieran, and 4-year-old, Taylor, to work with him; and he

gets to hang out all day and talk about surfing.

He has even drafted his own “core” business model for selling his

custom surfboards.

“I put my name behind any of these boards,” he said. “I guarantee

that they will surf. That means if you can’t catch a wave on it, I

will go out in the water with you and show you how it’s done. I’ll

even show you what you’re doing wrong to make you a better surfer.”