NAGS HEAD, N.C. — 50 years ago, Whalebone Surf Shop opened its doors. Today, its reach spreads worldwide. Since 1975, it’s been a vital part of not only the surfing community but the Outer Banks as a whole.
"Started in '75 and kind of like the anchor of surfing on the Outer Banks through all these years," Jon Black, the owner of the shop, said. "These are hallowed halls, if you will, in the surf community here and kind of known worldwide. It's a big honor and a heck of a responsibility that we don't take lightly."
Christie and Jon Black bought the shop in 2021 from founder Jim "Biggie" Vaughn and his wife April. The entire family continues to be an inspiration for the two.
"Jim makes sure that that flag is always flying and it's properly represented. When we first took over, Jim was here every day in the store, and really helped us kind of see how he would do things, to make sure that when other faces came in this store, they had no idea that anything had changed," Jon Black said.
Christie Black said that Biggie and April Vaughn's shoes are hard to fill — but she and Jon Black understand how special the shop is.
The pair have been honored since day one to take over such an iconic and special part of the Outer Banks.
"We want to support the brands that are surf endemic, brands owned by surfers, built by surfers. Take it back to the roots that this is a subculture, and surfing should be rock and roll, it should be punk rock. That is what it is to us and we want to make sure whatever we can do to maintain that in this world, that we have a little piece of it," Jon Black said.
Celebration-wise, the shop is continuously introducing new shirts with a nod to the past and teased there might be more celebrations coming throughout the year.
"It's very important to us to hopefully take Whalebone into another 50 years," said Christie.
For more about the history of the surf shop, click here.
