Home > Los Angeles Style > Style Review > Spotlight on: Ride

Surfing the Internet doesn’t come close to surfing a pipeline in Venice, so when it comes to shopping for wave-riding essentials, why even bother looking online? In a world where gas prices climb higher every day, it may be more cost-effective—not to mention environmentally friendly—to purchase items via cyberspace, but it’s certainly not as much fun.

For those who love the feeling of skin on merchandise but are consumed with maintaining a minimal carbon footprint, there’s Ride. The recently opened surf shop rode onto Abbot Kinney Boulevard on a green wave: The store and its merchandise are entirely eco-friendly.

In light of recent real-estate developments on Abbot Kinney—trendy boutiques, art galleries and restaurants—it's easy to forget the ocean is only a few blocks from the bodacious boulevard. Ride is a concrete reminder of that fact. A new surf shop on this old street might seem out of place now, but Ride would be situated among its boarding brethren had it been built 20 years ago.

“The surf, skate and punk lifestyles are great and necessary, but what’s even greater is the added eco-friendly element the products we carry offer,” says J.T. Codd, one of the store’s co-owners. Along with Jimmy Valentine—a surfer since the age of 4—Codd and company bring a punky aesthetic to the new green scene. For starters, they built the shop itself out of 95 percent recycled wood. The merchandise is also earth-conscious: The proprietors ensure every surfboard and skateboard carried is constructed of bio-foam and every bikini sold is made of bamboo.

Ride boasts a friendly, almost familial vibe. The store also features Re-Fuse recycled furniture designed by Brock Mayeux and jewelry designed by his wife, Jess. Other labels offered include Arbor, Land Loc’d, Symbalaswim, Defiled and Pnatural, as well as Ride's own house brand, proving that clothing can be stylish and eco-friendly at the same time.

Just as Ride is making it a point to share the importance of the green movement, so are others taking notice of its efforts. The shop will soon be featured on the upcoming Discovery Channel series “Alter-Eco.” “We try to lessen our footprints as best we can while still enjoying the earth,” Codd says.

He is careful to note that, while most of what they sell doesn’t require fossil fuel, one of the shops best-selling items since its opening in April has been the E-Glide electric skateboard, which can speed up to 20 miles per hour for nearly 12 to 13 miles per trip. Now there’s a solution to this summer’s escalating gas prices.

Add a comment