Shop Profiles
East of Maui Boardshop Profile
Give us a quick run-down of your shop and its history.
We started business 30 years ago as a windsurfing shop. 23 years ago we bought 4 Sims snowboards and that winter, learned to ride and have been selling boards ever since.
What is it about your shop that keeps the local shreds coming back to get all their gear?
Our product selection, product knowledge, and the fact we all love to ride. We would rather not sell something than sell someone the wrong thing. It sucks when people come in that have bought or been sold the wrong thing somewhere else. We are Boardshop selling boards. We don’t sell skis.
Describe your local shop crew; do you often have people hanging out at the shop?
Over the years, a lot of our customers have become good friends. They all stop by from time to time to say hi and shoot the shit. It is always good to see them, but sometimes it makes it hard to get work done.
What’s your current set up?
I split my time between the Arbor A-Frame and the Rome Anthem. My business partner rips on the Anthem SS and Targa bindings.
What are your off-seasons like in the shop?
We are a year around shop. Surf, Stand Up, Skate, and Wind in the summer and SNOW in the winter.
Do you remember buying your first kit? How do your early snowboard purchasing experiences affect how you sell snowboards?
My fist set up was Sims Blade and Sorel boots. Just because I like something doesn’t mean it is right for our customers, and just because I don’t like it, doesn’t mean it is not perfect for someone else. Personally I’m a camber guy. For a certain types of riders and conditions, rocker is going to work really well. That is one of the cool things about snowboarding...everyone is different.
Do you have any yearly event at the shop that you look forward to?
Our Annual New Year’s Chili Party at Ski Roundtop in Pa. The store is closed, and it is one of the few days we all get to ride together. I make a big pot of Chili on the camp stove and we ride, eat and ride some more. It is a great way to start the year!
What’s the hardest part of working in the shop?
Coming to work on a snow day when everyone else gets to play.
What’s the piece of Rome gear you guys get asked about most often?
Agents and 390’s
Do you get out on the hill enough to make you happy?
In the words of Jerry Garcia “a little too much is just enough.”
What’s the shop’s all-time most played shred flick?
All time has to be Fear of a Flat Planet. Last year: No Correct Way
What’s on the music playlist in the shop lately? Who usually gets controls over the music and why?
The sound track to what ever video is on big screen. Radio reception in our store is really bad.
Any celebrity or pseudo-celebrity sightings ever happen in the shop?
Sully stopped by a couple days ago….does that count?