Many moons ago when I started surfing, the action sports industry was in it's infancy and new products were shaping the future of the sport. Like Al Merrick's Tri-plane Hull, Rip Curl's Aggrolite wetsuits, and Arnette's Hotcakes sunglasses. Now there's a zillion products on the market from a gazillion so called action sports companies (Hollister are you listening?) and it's hard to decipher what's real and what's not.
Luckily for us, companies like Arnette have persevered over the years and have actually made some smart decisions- like setting up shop in downtown Encinitas. You may have noticed the location pop up last summer, July 2012 to be exact, but didn't know exactly what mad science was going on in there. I got a tour from an old buddy of mine, Fabrice Le Det, the Global Business Director (fancy title for a down to earth guy) and he gave me the scoop. Basically there's been a lot of energy in north county San Diego the past few years- from pros Josh Kerr moving here (as well surfers Jordy Smith and Damien Hobgood to skaters Bob Burnquist and Tony Hawk, to snowboarders Todd Richards and Shaun White, etc. etc. etc.), to Switchfoot having their annual surf contest at Moonlight Beach each summer (13,000 groms at last count), to other companies such as SUPERbrand, Spy, Reef, Nixon, and Fallen to name a few, calling it home. So Arnette wanted to be part of that surge and took up shop in the old Coast Brake and Wheel building- across the street from the La Paloma theatre and next door to Filiberto's. Solid.
Their new location is a 3 headed monster: part retail, part office space, part hang out spot. The retail store (shown above) has their latest styles as well as video games (don't tell your groms). Bret Egertson, Arnette's Marketing Specialist, told me their best seller has been the La Pistola shade in the 'Havana' frame and brown lens (see above). Killer looking pair of shades- and they're polarized. Store hours are 10-6 Tuesday to Saturday.
So what's with the so called 'hang out'? Well if you can't find your groms playing video games in the retail store, then they may be skating the mini-ramp in the offices. Of course the mini ramp isn't open to everyone all the time, but there's been enough events lately where you can sneak a peak. Up next for the Arnette crew is the 'Street Fighter II' tournament happening October 25th. And no, it's not a UFC undercard- they have the old school video game in their retail store. And it's being hosted by none other than skate legend Willy Santos. It's the 2nd time they'll be hosting the event. Check out the first one here:
Like the 1st event, they'll close off the parking lot and have a skate session before the tournament begins. Make sure to check out all the details on Arnette's Facebook page as the event gets closer.
Thanks to Fabrice and Bret for the tour and make sure to stop by the new digs and give them your support!
