Shark’s Surf Shop

I love Shark’s for their Toms selection alone. Plus, it seems like every time I stop in they have some great clearance selection of them. I always get a great deal here on a pair of shoes. They have a wide variety of trendy brands as well as a a wide selection of surf style gear. Definitely worth checking out for their downstairs sale and clearance selection. You’re guaranteed to find something.

Love this place and back when I lived in Lawrence, this was the place I got my supply of Reefs and basically any other shoe at the time. Good selection of flip flops and boat shoes. I came in with my friend and husband and noticed we were being followed around… almost like they thought we were going to steal something. Kinda weird, but okay.

The name says it all… this is a laid-​back little shop that sells everything you need for chilling out in the summer or a trip to the beach (no surfing here, unless you count dodging catfish in Clinton Lake). Since we are land-​locked, I usually only buy shoes here, but they also carry clothing, kitschy items, and have tanning booths.
I am going to stick with what I know from here, and talk about the shoes. This is a great place to get flip-​flops. They carry Teva, Rainbow, Olukai, Reef, and others for men and women. You can also check out all their stock on-​line, which I like. They also sell Toms, Converse, and assorted other shoes and boots.
The staff is friendly and some of the deals in the basement can’t be beat. Stop by if you are in town and need flip-​flops or just want to soak up a little of the beach-​y vibe.

Clinton Lake is located three miles southwest of Lawrence. It’s not widely know to outsiders, but in July the wind picks up across the Kansas plains and creates six foot tall waves on the eastern shores of Clinton Lake. The natives surf from sunup to sunset and Shark’s Surf Shop decided to capitalize on this niche market and opened for business in 1989.
The previous two sentences are pure fiction.
Shark’s offers sandals, watches, shoes, sunglasses and even in-​store tanning sessions. Shark’s is a very unique shopping experience after walking in from the snowy Lawrence sidewalks. A vendor of TOMS brand that gives a pair of shoes to a needy child for every purchase.

Nestled among the hookah lounges, a shaved ice shop, a couple of incense outlets and candle shops, and several vinyl record stores along Mass Street in Lawrence, Kansas, you’ll find Shark’s Surf Shop. Being a surf photographer in Southern California, I just HAD to plot a course to Shark’s during my visit several weeks ago.
Stepping through their front door reminded me of walking into any one of the many local surf shops in San Diego’s North County of Encinitas, Carlsbad, or Solana Beach. Its a VERY ACCURATE rendition of any typical shop specializing in beach couture, and I applaud the owners for a job well-​done.
Don’t let the term «surf shop» lead you into thinking surfboards and wetsuits. Shark’s is a specialty retail store with emphasis on casual and dressy-​casual fashion, period. Any level-​headed individual will notice this as they wander through the racks of top quality, name brand vendors.
The sales staff were very helpful and knowledgeable of the products they sold. Yes, I put them to the test just to see! That says a great deal of not only themselves but the owners as well, that they care about the shopping experience of customers. Again, its not rocket science.
Most people may not be aware of their incredible shoe selection downstairs. They have one of the largest selections of quality shoe manufacturers I’ve ever seen, even for stores here in California, and at prices that I found to be more than reasonable.
This isn’t just some «here today» retail store; they’ve been servicing their customers over the years with three locations, which were streamlined to this one location due to its popularity, regardless of how «out of place» it may seem to few.
Bottom Line: Shark’s Surf Shop gets 5 stars in my review because of their selection of quality brands, highly competitve pricing (even for this economy), helpful and knowledgeable service, incredible selection of goods, and mostly for their highly unique execution of being a specialty retailer in Lawrence, Kansas. Its made of all the ingredients that makes for incredible local support here in California. Kudos for an incredible job well done, Shark’s!
Mahalo!

Wow, talk about out of place. I’ve walked by here at least a dozen times before entering just thinking «What the hell were they thinking?» So I decided to enter before making my final judgement.
Wow, this is out of place!
Okay, now that the weather has turned instead of sandals they moved on to Uggs (which I guess Cali girls wear too). Maybe they’re making a mockery of their surroundings or it’s just wishful thinking with all the tiki gear and Hang Loose stuff. There’s no place to even use a surfboard unless someone has a backyard pool or you use it so sunbathe on in your grass. Maybe that’s why the only surfboards you see are on their clothes or on display.
They have some good accessories like sunglasses, tropical themed wallets, and of course their shoe line. The shoes are what gives this place 3 stars – chuck taylors, asics, tigers (love these!), puma’s, vans. These are more skater than surfer, but whatever.
It’s a fine store, just a little weird but obviously it works because they’ve been around for almost 20 years now. I guess folks love the unexpected.

I’m not young. I’m not a dude. But I understand the value of looking good — whatever your age or gender. So I can appreciate why Shark’s has been around so long. It’s trendy, yet it defies categorization, because even an oldster like me can appreciate a decent selection of sandles in September, which I found at Sharks. Their selection of Billabong bags is awesome too.
I found guys and girls sandles, leather and synthetic, cheap and expensive. There were also plenty of clothes, especially hoodies and shirts with Shark’s own «Ski Kansas» logo plastered everywhere. I guess they figure if you’re willing to be a walking billboard you might as well be funny.

Shark’s is a surf shop in Lawrence, KS. It gave me a chilly, ocean feeling from the minute I stepped through the door.
The whole shop feels like a distant cousin wanting to be included in a game of poker. They carry some great stuff and have a truckload of sandals. Last time I checked, they are no beaches around the center of the US. I say this, of course, with flip flops on my feet right now.
But really, would one expect to find a Ron Jon’s imitator in Kansas? It just doesn’t make sense to me but I do applaud the effort. Another problem here is the merchandise is just everywhere, practically on top of one another. You’re lost in a sandal stack and there’s no way out! They carry goods like Puma, Volcum, Billabong (blagh!) and Cobian. Unfortunately, the whole crowded, low-​lit space feels like a depression waiting to happen.
I almost tossed in another star because they carry Coal — a small headwear line from Seattle. Never thought I’d find it here in the Midwest.

Shark’s has an obscene sandal selection all year long. They also have quite a big sneaker choice carrying a lot of Vans, Puma, Converse, Etnies, etc. There’s nothing exceptional about their line though, nothing is going to stand out in a crowd, which is a big shame because the brands they carry have a lot of interesting limited edition type stuff.