The enduring legacy of McKevlin’s Surf Shop
by Liz Wolfe | Contributing Writer
When Tim McKevlin looked out across the parking lot of McKevlin’s Surf Shop on May 3, he saw a sea of smiling, sun-kissed faces and lots and lots of surfboards. It was the 60th anniversary celebration of his surf shop, a Folly institution that has brought joy and stoke to generations of local and visiting surfers alike.
The party, which included hundreds of people from across Charleston, also attracted surfers from all over the country.
“It hit me how much it meant to people to be there,” McKevlin said. “That opened my eyes to how important this place has been to so many lives. It was very touching.”
The shop, one of the 20 oldest in the country and the longest-running in South Carolina, has been a second home for many, including McKevlin who watched in 1965 as his father Dennis “Mr. Mac” McKevlin convert a small storage room in the back of the Folly Bowling Center into what would become the first McKevlin’s Surf Shop location.
McKevlin says his dad was inspired to open the small shop after seeing how big of an impact the local military community was having on young beachgoers.
“There were folks getting stationed out here from California and Hawaii, and they brought surfing and surf culture with them,” he said. “Lots of kids on Folly were instantly hooked, including my older brother Ted.”
With so much interest in the sport, it didn’t take long before the shop outgrew its humble beginnings. Dennis, with help from his sons, packed up their boards and moved to 4 Center Street (currently Rita’s Seaside Grill) where they stayed until the 80s.
After nearly 20 years in the surf business—which included advocating on behalf of surfers’ rights as a member of the Folly Beach City Council—Dennis gave the reins to his youngest son and current owner, Tim.
With a new administration came a new and final move to 8 Center St., but that was just the start of big changes for the shop.
“Going into the ’80s, it was the boom of neon everything, and there were 7,000 different surf companies coming into the world,” McKevlins recalled. “Things were going crazy, so I went crazy too with lots of brands and different categories of surf merchandise.”
Despite serious business growth from all of the new gadgets and gear, McKevlin held fast to one policy that his dad had put in place — an unwavering commitment to integrity.
“My dad could be brutally honest with people and that got him into trouble sometimes,” said McKevlin. But ultimately, he says, it was because his dad believed in transparency and fairness.
Like his father, McKevlin wants people to know their options and to feel like they’ve made the best, most-informed decision when buying a surfboard. And, as long as he’s in charge, McKevlin says there will be no pop-out boards sold at his shop. That means, if you buy a surfboard from McKevlin’s, human hands—and not robots from overseas—have helped shape it.
“It gives me pride to work here,” says manager Heather Wall, who’s been a member of the staff for 13 years. “We value staying true to surfing and not trying to sell whatever gimmick is popular.”
Fellow manager and 20-year McKevlin’s veteran, Perng Hutson, says that in addition to prioritizing honesty, quality, and authenticity, the shop also offers community.
“It’s a place where families can gather and shop and talk about surfing,” she says, adding that even those who don’t live locally feel like a part of the family. “People come in and I remember what they bought the year before. It’s about building those lasting relationships and having meaningful conversations.”
When asked what the next 60 years have in store for McKevlin’s Surf Shop, Hutson, Wall, and McKevlin are all hopeful that it will still be around, providing top-quality surf supplies to the community it loves.
And if the turnout at the 60th anniversary party is any indication, it most likely will be.
