Time & tide
The inviting Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach attracts patrons and tourists worldwide. The 52,000-square-foot store offers surf culture gear, apparel, and souvenirs. TOM WILBY
Founder of Ron Jon surf empire left a deep legacy
BY JERRY SHAW
Only a few fortunate souls really knew Ron DiMenna. But to the people along the Space Coast, throughout Florida — and around the world — he was the iconic entrepreneur and king of the surfing lifestyle as founder of Ron Jon Surf Shop.
DiMenna died peacefully on Sept. 6 at the age of 88. He remains an inspiration to generations for his love of surfing and his tireless work to preserve Florida’s natural beauty.
Most of all, he put the state on the map in recognition of its significance as a surfer’s paradise.
“It’s inspiring to see how Ron DiMenna started right here in Florida and built such a lasting legacy around surfing,” stated Gunther Schwartz, manager of Spunky’s Surf Shop in Fort Pierce. “His vision with Ron Jon Surf Shop showed the world that the Sunshine State isn’t just about beaches and oranges, but also a rich surf culture.
“As a local shop, we respect and are inspired by how his roots began in our home state and grew into something that introduced surfing to countless people. His influence will always be part of the fabric of Florida surf history,” Schwartz added in an email.
EARLY DAYS
It wasn’t just the surfers who enjoyed Ron Jon. Summer folks loved buying the apparel that connected them to the beach. JACK KIRSCHENBAUM
Jack Kirschenbaum, a longtime friend, remembers walking into DiMenna’s shop as a 10-year-old kid. Jack was a beginning surfer and DiMenna was just beginning his surfing empire.
“My brother took me to the shop in Cocoa Beach in 1963 to buy me a surfboard,” Kirschenbaum, a retired attorney, recalled. “It was in a small strip plaza. There was sand on the floor, and the trunks and shirts were on milk crates.”
DiMenna was the only employee in the shop at the time. “At 10, I didn’t know much for nothing,” said Kirschenbaum, but with his first board, he would improve his surfing and witness DiMenna’s business grow from that small store to an internationally known enterprise.
Kirschenbaum watched in awe as DiMenna increased the size of his shop, building by building, until “he took the whole strip mall over.”
That would eventually lead to stores in seven locations throughout Florida and in three other states.
Kirschenbaum would later earn his undergraduate and law school degrees at the University of Florida. He had become DiMenna’s friend as well as his advisor and counselor. He would also serve on the board of directors for Ron Jon Surf Shop.
WORLDWIDE APPEAL
Ron Jon T-shirts aren’t just popular throughout Florida and up the coast, they are seen around the world by surfers and tourists. TOM WILBY
DiMenna’s influence has spread worldwide, Kirschenbaum said. “Everywhere you go, you see people with Ron Jon T-shirts, stickers on cars.” He once saw a Ron Jon sticker on a car in Morocco, and they’ve even been seen in Iceland.
“The Ron Jon logo is internationally known.”
Annual revenues for Ron Jon Surf Shop are not publicly available since it is privately held. But RocketReach, a sales and recruiting source, estimated an annual revenue of $38.3 million, which may be based on public reports from 2011. Zippia, a career search site, estimated it at $59 million after extensive research and analysis.
Incredibly, DiMenna kept himself out of the spotlight for all these decades.
“He was a very private person, that was part of his mystique,” Kirschenbaum said.
DiMenna had his home in Merritt Island and traveled often in his motorhome, even spending several years in Australia, a popular haven for surfers. The motorhome was custom painted to resemble a 1940s woody station wagon, some 42 feet long.
“He enjoyed traveling and being with his wife [Lynne],” Kirschenbaum said.
DiMenna, a New Jersey native, discovered surfing in 1959 and began his venture selling surfboards from the trunk of his car. At age 24, he opened the first Ron Jon Surf Shop on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in 1961.
In 1963, he opened a second shop in Cocoa Beach on the Canaveral Pier, now the Cocoa Beach Pier.
Nowadays, the huge, 52,000-square-foot Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach sits on A1A, attracting patrons and tourists worldwide to the store’s surf culture gear, apparel and souvenirs. Walking into it is like being in an ocean wonderland, a kid in a magical candy store that offers the latest in boards, shirts, swimming attire, and anything beach related.
Ron Jon’s other Florida locations include Lake Buena Vista, Fort Myers, Key West, Panama City Beach, Clearwater Beach and Pensacola Beach. There are also Ron Jon shops in Ocean City, Maryland; Orange Beach, Alabama; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Get your shirts, your shorts, your board and hit the beach after strolling through the gigantic display at Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach. It’s not just shopping, it’s an adventure. TOM WILBY
GIVING BACK
The Ron Jon empire grew a little bit at a time. DiMenna opened a shop at this shopping mall and soon had taken over the entire space as the surfing craze continued through the 1960s and 1970s. JACK KIRSCHENBAUM
But that’s not DiMenna’s only gift to the world. Kirschenbaum noted, “He was a tremendous philanthropist.”
DiMenna and his wife, Lynne, founded Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation, a charitable organization that supports and protects the health of Florida’s beaches and ecology.
The DiMennas established the Endless Summer specialty license plate to support programs that protect the beaches. They also supported the Special Olympics and the Ron Jon Surf School.
“Ron was known as a free spirit, and his love for the beach and the sport of surfing endured throughout his life,” said Michele Goodwin, president of Ron Jon Surf Shop, in a statement.
“The Ron Jon Surf Shop Corporation will continue to function as it has, and nothing will change in the company’s day-to-day operations,” said Goodwin. “Ron’s vision and legacy will live on for generations through Ron Jon Surf Shop and Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation.”
