After 25+ years in La Jolla on Avenida De La Playa, Rusty Boardhouse is closing shop.
Rusty Preisendorfer, surf industry legend, and Angie Preisendorfer, marketing and retail queen, opened Rusty Boardhouse in 1992 with the mantra: “It’s all about surfing.” Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case for the beloved surf shop. In fact, there are a lot of contributing factors.
“Kayak shops, streets torn up for the last three summers, Covid virus, and an insensitive landlord” are responsible for the closure according to Preisendorfer in a recent Instagram post (below).
The renowned shaper launched the Rusty brand in 1985. At one point in the eighties, Rusty models were ridden by over half of the pro surfers in the Top 16 including Australia’s Mark Occhilupo and Californian Dave Parmenter. In the 1990’s, the iconic brand endorsed pro-surfers Taylor Knox and Chris Ward. Early in that same decade, Rusty opened brick and mortar surf shops in La Jolla and Del Mar.
“The Del Mar store is still open and thriving” Preisendorfer assured followers in his post. Located on 15th street, Rusty Del Mar Surf Shop specializes in handcrafted surfboards, authentic surf wear, and surf lessons and rentals. Also, visit Rusty online.
“I’m still doing what I love,” Rusty proclaimed in the below post along with a “thank you to everyone who made the special times at the shop possible.”
