Listed In: Surf Shop
Don French, owner of Ocean Magic, first moved to Jupiter, Florida with his family in 1970. At age 11, he took up surfing, which led to competitions in the ESA 3A division at age 14 and several years of competing throughout Florida. Over the years, his surf travels have taken him to Hawaii, Fiji, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Baja, Costa Eluthera, Hatteras and many more exotic locales ultimately leading him to his current ride at his surf store, Ocean Magic. After high school, French moved to Florida’s "surf city", Cocoa Beach, where he designed and created resin seashell tables and continued to surf and hone his knowledge of the industry for the next two years. At the age of 20, French returned to his beloved Jupiter where he took a position with Hawaiian Tropic Suncare products prior to landing a job with OP (Ocean Pacific). It was at the latter that this veteran surfer and board expert was able to accumulate capital for his current venture.Today, this true local still surfs and has over 35 years logged in the water - not to mention expertise on all types of boards including his first cut-down Hobie Gary Propper Model long board and his favorite Holmsey 7’ full nose with a pin tail and flames on the bottom, as well as the short board Twins with resin tints he rode in high school. These days, French presently has 10 boards in his quiver and often enjoys the glassy right-hand point breaks from his second home in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. However, he still recalls years of riding his bike 10 miles to the beach in Hobe Sound with a special buit surfboard carrier attached for his two boards. "The best beaches back then were a place called 'Poles' kinda where South Coral Cove is now (Civic Center) and Hobe Sound," French recalls. "We had no surf reports or cams but I truly believe we had more surf back then." And "more surf" is exactly what French brought to the once- sleepy town of Jupiter when he opened Ocean Magic in the fall of 1986. Originally, 1600 sq. ft., Ocean Magic first supplied local surfers with boards from Linden, Natural Art, Spectrum and Rainbow. After 20 years in its original location, Ocean Magic is now an institution in Jupiter boasting over 5000 sq. ft. and is rated one of Florida’s top 10 surf shops. He continues to service the surfing community with top of the line surfboards, accessories and fashions for all surf enthusiasts.
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Best Surf Shop in the Palm Beaches & the Treasure Coast
