Ron Jon Surf Shop Honors Legacy of Surf Culture Pioneer Ron DiMenna [2024 Update] (2025)

• Ron DiMenna, the founder of Ron Jon Surf Shop, died at the age of 88.
• DiMenna started the business in 1959 by selling surfboards from his car in New Jersey.
• The company grew into a major retailer with its flagship Cocoa Beach store becoming a tourist attraction.

Ron DiMenna, who drew thousands to the love of surfing and helped build Ron Jon Surf Shop into one of the world's most iconic surf- and beach-themed retail stores, has died.

DiMenna, who had a home on Merritt Island, Florida, was 88.

“Ron was revolutionary,” said Jack A. Kirschenbaum, a retired Cocoa Beach attorney and avid surfer who was a close friend ofDiMenna and last saw him in August.

“He turned surfing, which was a nomadic, fringe sport practiced by kids into a mainstream retail juggernaut. He saw what no one else saw. He will be sorely missed,” said Kirschenbaum, adding that DiMenna'sgrand vision appealed to hardcore surfers and tourists alike, turning the giant Cocoa Beach store into another must-see Florida destination.

Ron Jon officials announced DiMenna's death Sunday, Sept. 7. He died Sept. 6.

DiMenna, who grew up in New Jersey and worked in his father's grocery store before joining the U.S. Marines, founded the company by selling surfboards from the trunk of his car in 1959.

He did that after his father learned of his interest in surfing, then seen as a novel activity practiced along beaches mostly in places like Florida, California and Hawaii. "His father told him to buy three surfboards and sell two," Kirschenbaum said.

DiMenna opened a small Ron Jon Surf Shop in 1961 on Long Beach Island on the New Jersey shore.

Two years later, he moved to Florida and opened a Ron Jon surf shack with a dirt floor at Canaveral Pier. That store, at 3rd Street and A1A, continued to grow as tourists from across the nation came to Brevard to watch Apollo launches from the Kennedy Space Center and visit the area's pristine, laid-back beaches.

The store eventually took over the strip mall and later evolved into the modern, 52,000-square-foot temple of all things surfing at A1A near State Road 520. Surfing boomed, riding the waves to become not only a dedicated lifestyle, but a worldwide sporting industry.

Thousands of tourists continue to visit the Space Coast from across the globe to buy merchandise at the megastore, where tall, sculpted statutes surfing waves welcome visitors. Kirschenbaum, who became close with DiMenna in 1977, said that DiMenna remained private, opting to work behind the scenes to contribute millions of dollars to the Brevard Zoo and quietly championing beach preservation.

At one point, the surfing pioneer moved to Australia — known for its huge coastal waves — and journeyed across the continent in a decked-out motor home as his businesses continued to boom stateside, later opening the American market to Australian beach and surf-themed products. “He was very private. I think it added to the myth and mystery of who he was. He had humble beginnings and enjoyed the privacy of his life,” Kirschenbaum recalled.

Today, the lifestyle-apparel and board-sports-equipment retailer has stores in seven locations in Florida, including Cocoa Beach and Key West, in addition to its original location in New Jersey. There are additional stores in Maryland, Alabama and South Carolina.

The store's brand has become an East Coast surfing legend — its logo spotted on bumper stickers and T-shirts worldwide. Billed as the world's largest surf shop, the flagship Cocoa Beach megastore also sells beach goods, swimming gear and an array of surfboards in every style.

“Ron was known as a free spirit and his love for the beach and the sport of surfing endured throughout his life," Michele Goodwin, president of Ron Jon Surf Shop, said in a statement. "He lived life on his own terms and created a retail empire that remains one of the most successful beach shopping destinations in the country."

"The entire Ron Jon family mourns this loss. On behalf of our Board of Directors, management team and employees, we extend our deepest sympathy to Ron’s wife, Lynne DiMenna," the company said.

Together with his wife, DiMenna also founded Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation, a nonprofit that supports organizations which work to protect the health of Florida’s beaches and address issues such as coastal pollution and beach ecology. It raises money through the sale of the Endless Summer specialty license plate.

"Ron’s vision and legacy will live on for generations through Ron Jon Surf Shop and Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation," Goodwin said.

J.D. Gallopis a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.Contact Gallop at321-917-4641orjgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, formerly known as Twitter:@JDGallop.