The 3 Major Surfer Profiles and Optimal Storage Setups for Each

Almost every single kind of surfer we come across fits generally into the three profiles laid out below. There may be some small variations, but by and large, surfers – and their storage habits, are highly predictable. Although we don’t know much about a lot of things, we do know a lot about surf storage. In fact, it may even be all we know, and we are happy to share our real experience with you right now. Lets drop in.

Profile 1: The active surfing family with kids, living in a coastal suburban home.

Description: This group is characterized by a pair of active surfing parents with enough financial stability to buy nice things for themselves (i.e new surfboards and wetsuits) without second thought. They may have one or a few avid surfing, salty-haired beach grommets, each training to become the next Kelly Slater - they may just turn out to be. This fun family lives in a nice coastal suburban home. Their garage is jam packed with sports equipment, e-bikes, old art projects, and miscellaneous junk they will probably never use again. Their yard is well- kept for the most part, that is, if you look beyond the scattered wetsuits dripping from tree limbs and along the warping picket fence.

And the garage, oh the garage, has the potential of becoming the neighborhoods’ trophy man cave or she shed boardroom, if not for the hard and soft tops stacked in the walkway, most of which are old relics that don’t see first light anymore, in addition to the heaps of soggy towels scattered across the epoxy floor like a slippery minefield.

Storage Solution: There are a few ways to fix this modern dilemma. If the garage is a viable option, i.e. ceiling height permits, that would be my first-choice placement for the new storage solution as it’s protected from both the elements and opportunistic porch pirates. The go-to rack for this profile would be a family sized freestanding 6-10 Board – Tabletops Rack placed along the perimeter wall, ideally with extra board slots for inevitable future quiver growth.

I would add locking wheels, hanging pegs as well as fin ledge attachments to my unit – we’ll need all of it to fight back against the relentless messy monster. In practice, I would load up my family’s 4 daily drivers in their own respective board slots with fins left in, for easy frequent use, and then pop out the fins of older or out of season boards and place them two together in the rest of the board slots. I would place the family’s wax, ebike keys, sunscreen and excess fins on the top fin ledge, and then hang our dry bags changing ponchos and extra leashes on the side pegs below. Finally, the locking wheels would come into play when the garage needed a quick blow out or sweep periodically. No mess, no drilling into the walls and no wasted floor space. For the wetsuits, I would place a 6-8 Seaside Wetsuit Rack next to the board rack with 8 heavy duty dive hangers. The most frequently used wetsuits would live at the very end, and all of them would be hung inside out folded over at the waist for optimal dryness and suit protection. After surfing, while freshly used wetsuits are dripping, I would roll the wetsuit rack out of the garage until dripping stopped to protect the garage floor from water damage and then back indoors for safe and sound protection prior to the next surf. This pro level surf storage routine will protect everyone’s equipment, save time in transitions before and after each session, and clean up the mess instantly. This is a long-term solution that will last your family decades.  

Alternatively, if outdoor surf storage is your only option, it would look something like this. A SoCal Surf Rackz blackout 6 Board – Hotel California placed along the side or back of the house, discretely out of sight. This one stop shop model connects the board slots and wetsuit component with one single base for an ultra-compact, neatly organized storage solution. Ideally, this rack would be protected from excessive wind, hugging the exterior of the house, and would be protected from sun and rain with some sort of awning looping overhead. This unit wouldn’t require wheels as it would live in one permanent spot, but I would still recommend adding the fin ledge and pegs to hold all other ancillary surf equipment together – keeping clutter out of the yard and off the garage floor. Finally, with any outdoor setup, I would heavily recommend ordering a few canvas board bags, like the ones on our site, to cover all the stored boards when not in use. You’ll need to prevent sun damage and wax melting. Finally, keep the safety bungee on at all times so the boards are extra secure and just see how much better you sleep at night without the clutter monster contained.

Profile 2: The young professional living solo in an efficiently sized coastal apartment or condo.

Description: This profile is characterized by a young or middle-aged professional living bachelor in a comfortable 1-2 bed apartment or condo near the local break. They work full-time but still try to catch a few sessions before or after work each week, or at the very least once per weekend. They may have a balcony or a detached covered garage space, but they always try to keep their space organized and smelling good for the casual friends or boyfriend/girlfriend they frequently have over.

Storage Solution: For almost anyone in this situation living alone, a 2 or 3 slot board rack will do the trick. This size of rack offers enough room to store your daily driver shortboard or midlength with fins left in, with additional room to store a few extra less frequently used boards without fins. P.s. if you have a significant other living with you, increase the board rack size to a 3 or 4 board rack. However, in either case, a small 3-5 suit wetsuit rack should be sufficient to hold all your summer spring suits, winter suits and summer pullover tops neatly. Regarding attachments, mobility might not be of concern with the space constraint, so although wheels may not be unnecessary, the fin ledge and pegs would still be a good idea to house all your loose accessories together.

Now, one of the biggest considerations in this scenario is correct placement of your rackz. I NEVER recommend placing your rack inside your unit unless your equipment is used very infrequently or is kept solely for decorative/display purposes. Water, wax and neoprene don’t go well with carpets, Pottery Barn furniture, and good noses, no matter how careful or how much incense you burn. If your unit is on the ground floor with a small patio, or has a single detached storage garage, this would be ideal to hold your boards, without any drilling into your walls, and a great place to let your wetsuits drip/dry freely. If your unit is on an upper floor, the balcony is also a viable option, as long as your wetsuits aren’t dripping directly on your neighbors head. Again, whenever housed outdoors, keep your board bags on your quiver when not in use, and try to shield your wetsuits from direct sunlight in a shady corner. Compact, organized, ultra functional – this sophisticated solution will keep your equipment safe for years to come and encourage you to go surfing more often knowing it will require less time to transition to and from each surf in your short windows outside of work.

Profile 3: The social butterfly with a few roommates.

Description: This profile is characterized by the ever-active social butterfly living with a couple close roommates. This group is always out and about, surfing with friends almost every day. These individuals maximize their time in the water, but they come home to a lack of adequate storage space which causes their shared rental to be messier than any of their roommates would like. In this dilemma, boards get stashed under the bed or scattered in the front yard grass and wetsuits stink up the bathroom or collect mold in a plastic box in the trunk. These individuals still work full time, but are balling on a budget, and would rather pay less to fix a dinged board or patch a torn suit than buy new equipment altogether.

Storage Solution: This solution can be a tricky one. The more people thrown into the mix, the more complicated the situation gets. Now, if communal space is on the table, and everyone is diplomatic, the best-case scenario would be to split the cost of a 4 or 6 Board - Tabletops board rack to be kept in the living room and a separate 6-8 Suit - Seaside wetsuit rack to be kept outside near the front door. This solution would confine everyone’s gear to one single place and would make it a cheaper solution per person to keep their shared living space stylishly organized.

Alternatively, if there is no available community storage area, and your room is your only option, pull your boards from out of your closet, or under your bed, and place them in a freshly stained or whiteout 2 Board - Tabletops in the corner of your room to serve as a functional decorative addition to your space. I would still keep a smaller 3-5 suit wetsuit rack outside your front door whenever wet, with the ability to move back indoors as needed when not in use. This rack is a great value to price solution to cover you until your quiver expands.

So, there you have it – all the hundreds of amazing retail clients we have worked closely with fall generally into the three buckets above. Obviously, these recommendations are on key assumptions and meant to help you store better. Be sure to consider the following elements that are unique to your situation before settling on your storage option: the current amount and quality of equipment you need to store, future quiver growth, indoor or outdoor limitations, how often you surf, budget expectations and how bad your OCD is.

We may be biased, but SoCal Surf Rackz are the best value surf storage solutions on the market. Our rackz will last you decades, save you money by facilitating longer-lasting equipment, and give you piece of mind with an aesthetically organized space. The biggest benefit you realize is increased time spent out in the water after the reduced transition time at home. This is why everyone on our team has a SoCal Surf Rackz solution in their own personal boardroom. We really use our products every day. Our team is passionate about creating personal handmade products that are functional, durable and offer subtle aesthetic appeal. As always thanks for reading through to the end, and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to shoot us an email or dm. Happy surfing and even better storing.

Keep shredding,

Rory