Bought gear there for my kids. Seemed higher priced but definitely an excellent customer experience.
While Sunshine Freestyle has had a few different owners over the years since it first opened in 1976, when Wenzlik and Kreyenhagen purchased it on April 1, 1998, the store carried winter sports gear. But when sales of skis, snowboards and winter clothing started to decline, they stopped carrying that inventory and turned their focus to summer merchandise.
“Since 2010, there’s been a lot of changes with corporations,” said Wenzlik, noting that both the REI in Marina and the Vans store in the Del Monte Center have affected his sales.
The one thing that remained over the years was the annual Surfabout two-day event that Sunshine Freestyle sponsored at Carmel Beach. This year, due to the store closing and mounting costs to schedule the use of the beach, the event was canceled.
“It was an idea of bringing the tribe – all the surfing communities around Monterey Bay and Monterey County – of bringing everybody together for a community family event and friendly competition,” explained Wenzlik, noting that this last three or four years, he’s been able to witness three generations compete in the contest. He hopes to resurrect the event in the future.