Watch these dogs hang 10 to raise funds for local animal shelters
Surfing went to a dog in Del Mar, California on Sunday (September 7) where the dog hit the waves to raise funds for a local animal shelter.
- Ron Dimenna, founder of Ron Jon Surf Shop, passed away at the age of 88.
- Dimenna began business in 1959 selling surfboards from cars in New Jersey.
- The company has grown into a major retailer, with flagship Cocoa Beach Store becoming a tourist attraction.
Ron Dimenna, who drew thousands of people into the love of surfing and helped build the Ron John Surf Shop in one of the world’s most iconic surf-themed retailers, has passed away.
Dimenna, who owned a home on Merritt Island, Florida, was 88 years old.
“Ron was revolutionary,” said Jack A. Kirschenbaum, a retired Cocoa Beach lawyer and avid surfer, Dimenna’s best friend, who last saw him in August.
“He turned surfing. This was a fringe sport where the kids practiced, a nomadic fringe sport, and became a mainstream retailer juggernaut. He saw things nobody else saw. He’s been overlooked badly,” Kirschenbaum said.
Ron John officials announced Dimenna’s death on Sunday, September 7th. He passed away on September 6th.
Dimenna, who grew up in New Jersey and worked at her father’s grocery store before joining the US Marines, founded the company in 1959 by selling surfboards from the trunk of his car.
He learned that his father had an interest in surfing, and after doing it, he was considered a novel activity practiced along the beach, mainly in places such as Florida, California, Hawaii and other places. “His father told him to buy three surfboards and sell two,” Kirschenbaum said.
Dimenna opened a small Long John Surf Shop on Long Beach Island on the New Jersey Shore in 1961.
Two years later, he moved to Florida and opened the Long John Surf Shack with dirt floors at Canaveral Pier. The shop continued to grow on Third Street and A1A as tourists from all over the country came to Brevard, watched Apollo launches from the Kennedy Space Center and visited the area’s pristine, relaxed beaches.
The store eventually took over the strip mall and then evolved into a 52,000-square-foot modern temple of everything surfing on A1A near State Route 520.
Thousands of tourists continue to visit space shores from around the world and purchase goods at Megastore. Kirschenbaum, who approached Dimenna in 1977, said that Dimenna remained private, donating millions of dollars to the Brevard Zoo and chose to work behind the scenes to quietly defend the beach preservation.
At one point, the surfing pioneer moved to Australia – known for its huge coastal waves – and traveled the continent in a decorated motorhome as his business continued its booming state and later opened the American market with Australian beaches and surfing-themed products. “He was very private. I think it was added to the myths and mysteries of who he was. He had a humble beginning and enjoyed the privacy of his life,” recalls Kirschenbaum.
Today, in addition to its original location in New Jersey, lifestyle apparel and board sports economy retailers have stores in seven locations in Florida, including Cocoa Beach and Key West. Additional stores are available in Maryland, Alabama and South Carolina.
The store’s brand has become a legend of East Coast surfing, discovered on bumper stickers and t-shirts around the world. Billed as the world’s largest surf shop, the flagship Cocoa Beach Megastore also sells an array of beach equipment, swimming equipment and surfboards in all styles.
“Ron is known as the free spirit, and his love for the beach and the sport of surfing endured throughout his life,” Michelle Goodwin of Ron John Surfshop said in a statement. “He lived on his own terms and created a retail empire, one of the most successful beach shopping destinations in the country.”
“The entire Lonjon family laments this loss. On behalf of the board, management team and employees, we are spreading our deepest sympathy for Ron’s wife, Lindimenna,” the company said.
Together with his wife, Dimenna founded the Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation, a non-profit organization that protects the health of Florida beaches and supports organizations working to address issues such as coastal pollution and beach ecology. It collects money through endless summer specialty license plate sales.
“Ron’s vision and legacy will continue to live for generations through the Lonjon Surf Shop and the Foundation for Evolution and Conservation of Surfing,” Goodwin said.
JD Gallop is Florida’s criminal justice/broken news reporter today. Please contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, previously known as Twitter: @jdgallop.
