RETAIL : Former Hobie Sports Hodad Back on Board With Surfwear Shop

A few months ago, former Hobie Sports President Tony Mardian proclaimed that he was “burned out” and resigned from the company. Now Mardian says he’s raring to go with a new venture.

Next week, Mardian and his wife, Carrol, will dedicate their new Blue Hawaii surfwear shop in La Jolla, which he promises will be the crest of the wave in the surfing-togs industry.

The three-level building will have its own tropical rain forest and trickling waterfalls. The air will be continuously scented. And its extensive stock of middle- to high-end surfwear will be from some of the newer, more innovative brands such as Pirate Surf and World Jungle.

“I got bored at the Hobie stores. This was a change for my wife and I to go do what we wanted,” explained Mardian, who spent 12 years at Hobie Sports and helped established the brand’s Hawaiian Sun label.

Though his new store is in San Diego County, the Mardians plan to keep their home in San Clemente and will commute by train to their new store.