ZJ Boarding House

ZJ Boarding House (ZJBH) is a surfboard, skateboard, snowboard, and clothing store Located in Santa Monica, California, United States. For over thirty years ZJ Boarding House has provided not only an outlet for the consumer to purchase board sport equipment, but has impacted the local community in several positive ways. From a small surf shop to becoming a super store for board sports, ZJ Boarding House helps the community, youth, and has expanded to include joint Hurley and Billabong storefronts.

The shop has remained a staple in the Santa Monica and Venice communities, often sponsoring young skaters and surfers or hosting large sales, raffles, and giveaways.[1]

History

ZJ Boarding House was opened on December 16, 1988 by Mikke Pierson and Todd Roberts. The original name was Zuma Jay Surfboards and the shop was affiliated with Zuma Jay's in Malibu. The original shop was about 2000 square feet and occupied the front of 2619 Main Street. Roberts lived in the office at the shop and Pierson lived in his RV in Malibu.

Founding

Originally ZJ Boarding House was the brainchild of Mikke Pierson (co-owner of ZJ Boarding House), who at the time in 1988 was part of Zuma Jay surf shop, a small hole in the wall shop in Malibu, California. The move to Santa Monica included a partnership with Todd Roberts (co-owner of ZJ Boarding House). Pierson and Roberts had become good friends a couple of years previous to the birth of the new shop, while volunteering to take youth from the Braille Institute surfing at the local beaches.

Since then, ZJ Boarding House has transformed from a small surf shop into a mega-store for board sports. Since moving to the Santa Monica location, the store has been expanded to the two neighboring storefronts.[2]

Community and events
  • ZJ Boarding House hosts a surf competition in which the competitors are in costume while surfing on the local Santa Monica beach.[3]
  • Skate 4 Africa:[4] ZJ Boarding House teamed up with a local startup to collect old skateboard equipment to send to young skateboarders in Africa. The sport is becoming increasingly popular among the youth in Africa and is keeping them away from drugs and gangs. Most of the roads are dirt yet these young skateboarders stay determined to ride their boards and have caught the government's attention about the current road conditions.[5]
  • ZJ Boarding House often produces events that bring people in the community together. One summer they set up an outdoor showing of the surfing film Five Summer Stories.[6]
  • Michael Guffey, a skateboarder from Venice, California, won the gold medal at the ESPN X Games 16 in Los Angeles with help of his fellow ZJ Boarding House team.

References
  1. Kepley DePalma, "30/30: Santa Monica’s ZJ Boarding House", 30/30: Santa Monica’s ZJ Boarding House, Apr 27 2011
  2. Jody McNicholas (filmmaker), "ZJ Boarding House", ZJ Boarding House (documentary film), 2011.
  3. Fabian Lewkowicz Photography, "ZJ Boarding House's 4rth [sic] Annual Haunted Heats Halloween Surf Contest", October 27, 2012.
  4. Skate 4 Africa
  5. ZJ Blog, "Donate your old skate gear for skaters in Africa!", October 29, 2012.
  6. ZJ Boarding House & Hurley, "ZJ Boarding House & Hurley Present: Night Sesh Outdoor Movie Night featuring Five Summer Stories", July 29, 2011.

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