The Great Souvenir Dilemma

Check out our souvenir t-shirts

 

The end of every vacation is a bittersweet experience. Feelings of excitement to sleep in your own bed mixed with the dread of getting back to the daily grind.

Adding to the end of vacation anxiety is the always touchy subject of souvenirs. Who should I buy for? How much should I spend? If I get something for Auntie than I need to buy something for the cousins as well, right? What about me? How do I commemorate this amazing trip I took? Sure the memories are great, but I want something tangible. A tee shirt, a keychain, a kuzi, the possibilities and options are endless. What is one to do in this predicament?

At SurfStyle we go by the following guidelines:

• Name drops are good! Show pride for where you went on vacation
• Only buy for close family and friends, people who get souvenirs for you when they travel
• Stick to a budget. No one wants post-vacation spending regret
• Get a variety of the same items (like the same tee in 5 different colors, or similar keychains). That way everyone feels equally important and there is no arguing over who got a better gift.
• Personalize personalize personalize! Who doesn’t love getting something with their name on it!?
• Always pick up a few extra in case you forgot someone

We know how hard souvenir buying can be and at Surf Style we want to help you in any way possible. Our affordable souvenirs won’t break the bank and our wide selection means you can buy for the family without making multiple trips.

And just in case you forgot something for someone (or even yourself), you can get the same great deals and variety on surfstyle.com!
Happy shopping everyone.

The Ultimate Winter Vacation

It’s Resort Season! Where will you be headed?

I must admit here at SurfStyle we are pretty partial to beach destinations (Clearwater Beach, Gulf Shores, Panama City Beach and Destin) because of warm weather, sun and relaxation factor. There are also great things to do like surfing, bodyboarding, building sand castles, shopping and eating.

Winter break is a time for relaxation and reflection and what better way to do that than sitting on soft white sand, on a beach chair, in a bikini with a drink in hand? No better way! Escape the cold, blustery wind and snow flurries for the sunshine.

Now I know that it being winter, most of you don’t have your summer gear close at hand! Well fortunately for you, we have what you need (shameless SurfStyle plug here). Swimsuits for all genders, shapes and sizes (yes, including plus size swimwear), tee shirts (funny shirts, souvenir shirts, and Hawaiian shirts), shorts, footwear and beach accessories. In fact, you could probably fill your whole resort wardrobe in one shopping trip. You can shop in store when you arrive or online at surfstyle.com so you can be prepared before you come.

No matter where you vacation or staycation, make sure that you take the time to rest and reflect on the year that has past and prepare yourself for the most amazing 2014 ever!

 

Indoor Surfing- Is it like real surfing?

 

As I am sure you have figured out by now after perusing our site and facebook page, we have a FlowRider or indoor surfing machine in our megastore on Clearwater Beach. The big question we always get is, “IS INDOOR SURFING LIKE REAL SURFING?”

Well, the answer is both yes and no.

The skills that you need for Flowboarding (what they call indoor surfing on the FlowRider) and surfing are the same (balance, upper and lower body strength, stamina, great timing and patience) but the mechanics are quite different.

In regular surfing you paddle into the wave. The water comes at you from behind and you use the momentum of Mother Nature to ride the wave to shore. When you indoor surf, the water comes at you from the front and you drop in on the wave from the top. The “wave” in indoor surfing is a 2 inch sheet of rushing water being pushed uphill by a large motor. Instead of crashing into the water, sand or shore, you fall onto a trampoline surface, quite a unique experience if you have never done it before.

Flowboards (what you use to ride the indoor wave) are quite smaller than a regular surfboard. The reason for this is first and foremost practicality (the indoor wave surface is much smaller than the ocean) but also so people can maintain more control over the board and have the ability to do more tricks (similar to those done in skateboarding).

Flowboarding is a mix of the surfing, skateboarding, Skimboarding and snowboarding all packaged into a 20 foot by 12 foot glass box. And while being a pro flowboarder won’t mean that you are ready to take on the US Open of Surfing, it helps people beef up the skills you need for surfing the open water.

To boot, flowriding is an indoor sport so it can be done in any weather and any location (no waves on the Gulf Coast, no problem) and also there is no fear of shark attacks.

So come on in and see what all of the fuss is about! Come ride the indoor wave that is always up in Clearwater Beach.