Meet Shannon Thomas of Surf Dayton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Thomas.

Shannon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
i was traveling in my van as a pro paddle boarder and river surfer and doing graphic design remotely. When I came back to my hometown of Dayton for the summer, i decided to build a little river surf and paddle board clinic business out of an enclosed utility trailer I had. I spent the winter building the website and booking system and in 2019 I launched the business with a friend of mine as an instructor. We did about 16 clinics that first summer and just grew from there and just kept expanding our fleet, bought a container, expanded into retail etc.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No business is smooth. There’s always a learning curve. I think the real only struggles we’ve had is parking sometimes because we our waves are downtown. Sometimes it can be a lot of customer service, helping people book or answering a lot of questions but its really not too bad and we kept it a simple business model.

We’ve been impressed with Surf Dayton, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are Surf Dayton. A full river surf and paddle board shop in Dayton Ohio offering full retail shop, board rentals and clinics for beginners or intermediates. We’re a pretty unique business being a land locked surf shop but we have tons of waterways and a few fun man made surf waves that can really fun at good levels.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Playing it safe and not stepping out of your comfort zone, there’s no growth or learning. I always want to keep evolving and challenge myself so Im always going to risk almost everything. Besides my health, my family, and my home, ill pretty much risk everything else. But its always a case by case basis and its always a calculated risk vs reward. Its what life is about, whether it be risking in business, relationships, taking a chance on moving to a new town or new job opportunity. You can always learn from mistakes and move foward with that knowledge and wisdom you learned

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.surfdayton.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surfdayton
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/surfdayton
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/shannonthomas