Sunshine Coast Bulletin - Australia

Surfing is a popular part of the Sunshine Coast beach culture and local entrepreneurs have opened an online surf shop giving industry advice.

Willow Watt and surfing pro Leigh Sedley are the dynamic duo who originally opened Tradewindsurf.com as an experiment which quickly transformed into a successful online business.The business helps surfers to advertise their unwanted surf gear for free, or alternatively purchase the company’s own selection of custom goods such as surfboards, clothing and skateboards.

The two locals have very different roles in the business. Leigh manages the business with hands on surfing tips and willow uses his entrepreneurial skill working on the website.

Willow claims Tradewindsurf.com is a unique business. “Our range is bigger so our prices are down, you can order online on our order form or call us to get advice or make a special request, how many surf stores have a professional surfer that can give you advice about your next board,” he said.

Leigh continues to strengthen his reputation, recently winning the Arrive Alive Central Coast Pro surfing competition where he received $US10,000. “I’m so stoked with the result it’s a perfect start to the year for me,” Leigh said.

The Sunshine Coast continues to embrace its surf culture, producing a growing list of pro surfers who are competing at an international level.

“There are lots of really good surfers coming through the world ranks from the Sunny Coast too, so I imagine that is inspiring a lot of people around here to surf more and more!” Willow said.

However despite the positive growth in numbers and local talent Tradewindsurf.com raised the issue that they would like to see more surfing competitions held in the local area. The XXXX pro was a world-class surfing competition that used to be held on the Coast every year, but hasn’t been held here for the past 10 years.

As for the future the two entrepreneurs plan to extend their range of custom goods and keep the website looking fresh. Due to their small overhead fees they are able to produce custom surfing goods at a cheaper price. They hope to expand their business into an Australia wide company helping surfers find the board that is right for them.

They will be constantly introducing more features to the website, such as the tradewindsurf.com girl of the month and new promotional jobs available to the girls who apply. They will be holding events at local venues to keep their business in the middle of the action.