Entrepreneur Finds New Way to Cut a Rug

For an entrepreneur, inspiration can come at the oddest times. Sam Humphreys’ came while absently staring at a surfboard lying on the tile floor at his brother-in-law’s Huntington Beach home.

Humphreys, a longtime Orange County resident who now lives in Portland, Ore., had been looking for an idea that would put him in the surf-oriented business. And there it was, looking up from the ground level. What if he made a rug in the shape of a surfboard? The idea was just goofy enough to work.

“The board was in the hallway, and it just struck me as hilarious,” said Humphreys, 41. “A lightbulb came on, [and] what started as sort of a funny idea began to turn into something more. Now, this is what I do.”

That was about two years ago. Since then, Humphreys and his wife, Tracey, started Deck Styles, a fledgling company that specializes in surfboard rugs called Floorboardz. They sell them on the Internet (https://www.floorboardz.com) and at 15 retail outlets from coast to coast.

The big sellers, he says, are the two original designs: the Classic Longboard rug ($200), which is 9 1/2 feet long, and the Mini-Tanker ($180), which is more than 7 feet. Both are usually used as hallway runners.

Hanging 10 in Every Room

Deck Styles plans to come out with several more types in the coming months. Among those will be rugs that should go everywhere from the kid’s room to the bathroom, Humphreys notes, adding that they will even have a small throw in the shape of a skim board.

“Because of the length, the originals are perfect as runners,” he says, “but we’re opening up now. We think [the new ones] will fit along the side of the bed, in kitchens, next to the kid’s bed. We’d like to think just about anywhere you’d like them to fit.”

Humphreys concedes that some people are drawn to the rugs because they’re a kitschy take on the beach-boy lifestyle.

“The interest [in surfing] is countrywide. We have buyers from the Midwest, the East Coast, people who haven’t lived near the beach. They all want a little of that SoCal lifestyle,” he says.

Wannabes figure in much of the sales, but about half come from those who have surfed or are close to someone who has, Humphreys says. He knows this not by any particular marketing survey but from calls to his Portland office.

“They’ll call after they’ve received it and are standing on the rug, maybe hanging 10 on the nose, talking to me from their portable phone,” he says. “I hear a lot of ‘Love this, you guys rule!’ It’s fun for all of us.”

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It’s something of a dream realized for Humphreys.

Floorboardz, he says, is a happy extension of a boyhood spent on or near California beaches. Humphreys lived in Orange County, mostly on Balboa Island, since he was a child and moved to Portland in 1986 to work for a sports company. Like most kids in Southern California, he was as comfortable in the ocean as on the land.

“My family [which still lives on Balboa Island] was very beach-oriented. My father [Don Humphreys] had all the kids in the surf early. He was an avid bodysurfer and wanted us to get used to the water.”

Humphreys began when he was about 10, practicing mostly on the longer boards that inspired his rugs. As he grew older, his hope to combine surfing with business was fueled by the many surfboard makers and beachwear designers that have flourished locally.

“I remember talking with friends all the time, [with] us wondering how we’d make a living out of surfing,” Humphreys says. “We were guys who wanted to go to work in shorts and a T-shirt.”

Part of the problem was finding a niche. Humphreys knew there were already enough clothing companies and board shops, so he had to do something different. The rugs made sense, if only because they could occupy space--the floor--in surf stores not usually reserved for products.

“That may sound funny, but that space is wide open for us. We’ve been taking advantage of that in our marketing,” he says.

Customers, he adds, tend to find their way easily onto the rugs. He says there’s just something inviting about standing on one and indulging in a little make-believe.

“Anyone, especially anyone familiar with long boards, cannot come into the house without stepping onto one of these. It’s pretty irresistible.”

For more information on Deck Styles and Floorboardz, call (503) 493-8261.