When Kelly Sorensen was 18 and working at his parents’ retail shop selling car parts in Mendota, all he wanted to do was be by the ocean. Fridays after work, he’d jump in the car and drive to the Monterey Bay to surf – he could make the 127-mile trip in exactly two hours, he says – and he’d crash with family friends in Santa Cruz.
He was taking automotive classes, in keeping with his parents’ hope that he would take over the family business, but the siren sound of surf beckoned. At 18, he moved to Monterey to attend Monterey Peninsula College and surfed when he could. Two years later at 20, he opened a surf shop in Carmel. The motivation then, as he puts it, was to “ride waves, impress girls and hang out with his friends.” That was April 24, 1986.
Thirty years later, Sorensen’s On the Beach Surf Shop is still in business, at a location on Lighthouse Avenue in New Monterey. To celebrate the 30-year anniversary, he threw a bash with about 200 guests, raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So far they have raised $7,000.
He ended up making his own family business: His oldest of five children is now a manager at the shop, and younger kids work there over the summer.
Sorensen spoke to the Weekly about riding his first wave in Pebble Beach, running a business for three decades and surf culture on the Central Coast.
Weekly: You grew up in the Central Valley. How did you end up on the Monterey Peninsula?
Sorensen: Every summer as a kid was spent in Santa Cruz. I grew up on swim team, sailing and scuba diving. I wanted to move to Santa Cruz, but my parents were pretty conservative and wouldn’t let me. A friend was coming to Monterey and my dad was a huge golfer, so my parents bought a condo here. I felt welcome in the surf community.
How did you first start your business?
I didn’t do well in school, but I’ve always been a good people person while watching my parents work and was very involved in how my mom and dad ran their business. In the late ’80s, everything was starting to pop for the surf culture. There was enough local support to start a shop here. I took my college fund and opened a shop on Ocean Avenue in Carmel, which at that time was chill and very local.
We opened another store in Salinas less than two years later, which didn’t do so well. When we opened the Monterey store, snowboarding was taking off, so this was a snow and skate shop. Rollerblades were big back then too. The Monterey store overtook the other stores and Carmel closed in 1999.
You’ve been in business for 30 years. What’s changed since you opened the Lighthouse Avenue shop in 1993?
It has completely changed since we first got here. Now there are way better businesses, and people care about their buildings. We were able to design our store as [the landlord was] remodeling the building. What you see is how we wanted it from the ground up.
What are some keys to your success?
It’s customer service. We are 80-percent local, which fluctuates during the summer. The internet has changed business a bit, but the bottom line in our store is the experience. When people walk in, they are in our tropical village.
Has surf culture changed?
There is localism, but it’s more of a give-and-get-respect mentality. If you know the unwritten rules and you hang in there, you’ll get respect.
What makes a good surfboard for you?
I like them all. My dad asked me once why I had so many boards and I replied, “Why do you have so many golf clubs?”
What are your favorite spots to surf?
When it’s good, I like them all. My favorite is Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, because it’s where I caught my first real wave when I was 18. It was 100 feet long. I still remember the wow feeling of surfing it all the way to the beach. Outside of Monterey, it’s Fiji; it’s magical.
What does the future look like for On the Beach?
The fantasy of being in the tropics is timeless. It’s like Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a kid. Surfing isn’t going to change and waves don’t change.
Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect the following: Sorensen's surname was misspelled as Sorenson on one reference. He moved here at 18, not 20, as previously stated. The country of Fiji was misspelled with a U originally.