El Porto Surf Shop

Conveniently Located
Right in Porto for Rentals
and surf wax
El Porto Surf Shop is located over a liquor store and is the only surf shop in Porto. I have only been here to buy leashes and surf wax, but it is a small shop and just a few yards from the beach. You can park your car, then walk up to the shop via 38^th or 39^th street.
It is a pretty small shop, but there are boards for sale, mostly all poly (fiberglass) boards and mostly short boards. They also sell rash guards and other clothing items.
The owner seems to want to take cash or debit cards over credit cards, so if you are from out of town make sure you got some currency.
I don’t know if I will ever buy anything more than just wax or leashes but it is nice to know that I have a go to shop in Porto.

I’m not sure what the purpose of this place is. If you want to buy a board go to a larger shop that has a larger selection at the same price. The owner is gruff but fair. Definitely not the «customer first» type. I suppose the only reason you might go here is if you want to rent a board. In that case, their rental boards are worn out and poorly maintained. However, not many places rent boards so it’s hard to compare. There are only 3 spots for parking out front. The bottom section is a liquor/​convenience store. There is a very narrow stairway on the right side of the building leading up to the actual shop.
–1 for having poorly maintained rental boards
–2 for customer service which, while not rude, does not make me want to go back. Rest assured, unless I MUST rent a board for some reason, I will not be coming back.
Note to the owner: I know you’re a small business and you like certain credit cards more than others due to the fee structure but if you were nicer about it, I might have just paid in cash.

My son and I came into this shop on Friday 7−31−15 and were treated so wonderfully by the young suffer who was still in his wet suit fresh from the ocean !! He took care with my son and picked out the right board and wet suit for him. When we came back later on to return board and suit the same guy was there and he expressed genuine interest in my son’s day. The price of the rentals was great and because of the really great service we will be back before my son gets back into the school year. I highly recommend this place and am looking forward to going back !

This place saved me today. My flip flop broke and I had no shoes! I rolled in barefoot and the very nice dude hooked me up with a new pair. He was super helpful and sweet and disposed of my useless old pair. Thank you!

If you are a beginner avoid this location. They will give you worst boards which are not even good for your height or weight. You can buy same board in the market for 4 days of rent price.

Great shop., and rentals to boot!

Got two good begginer boards for my kids which the staff helped me pick out. Mike was really patient. Heard about this place through a friend. The prices here are comparable to the chain stores too. So I’m happy. Will be back and would recommend this Surf Shop

Mike is a nice guy, he had no bad attitude when my friend and I were there. Rentals are decently priced. The shop is located next to a parking structure, and upstairs. There is a changing room and you can keep your stuff in the shop until you get back from surfing. Bring cash.

Mike is rad! He dealt with my hectic schedule and saved a board just for me, so small town and personal, not like other corporate shops with uninterested teenage kooks.

Players Surfboards now known as El Porto Surf Shop is the historical local shop brah. As with anything else, there is the good and bad.
Good:
–Mike gets excellent boards in there for sale. I don’t know how he does it but he seems to get bizarre… Lost boards that I have never seen anywhere else and they are dirt cheap. I think they are factory 2nds. I got a brand new 6’8″ Blunt for $ 400 including fins. Retail is like $ 799+fins. He also gets some amazing consignment boards from the well heeled MB locals. You can get a top shelf… Lost or Al Merrick for under $ 200 which is a world leading price. GREAT selection
–Decent price ding repair, quality work.
–Free stickers + wax when I have bought a board or wetsuit from him. Customer appreciation goes a long way with me.
Bad:
–Mike (the white haole) seems to have a bit of an attitude problem sometimes. Perhaps it’s localism or whatever but occasionally I’ve caught a bit of attitude and I’ve seen him do it with other patrons. The Hawaiian guy who seems to work weekends is a complete asshole like most Hawaiians in the surf scene. That just pisses me off that some ignorant islander living on the mainland brings the snobby hater vibe with him from the North Shore.
Were it not for the localist attitudes the shop would get five stars but the bottom line is this place has the best selection of quality boards at the lowest prices in LA

I’m from Manhattan NYC, but I love Manhattan Beach, CA! I wanted to surf and was told to check out El Porto Surf Shop. I did and the guy rented me a board for $ 30. It was around 5pm in the afternoon, he said, take it and bring it back tomorrow. He helped me load it into my car (no easy feat as I had a compact rental car). We got it in and I was on my way. The next morning I surfed for 4 hours before my afternoon flight out of LAX. I dropped off the board and was on my way.
Can’t ask for much more from a surf shop, in my opinion. Next time I’m on the west coast… all roads lead to El Porto Surf Shop!!!

great local spot owner is cool… got a great deal on a used surfboard

I haven’t been rented from a surf shop for a number of years and this one makes me want to make it that way.
Frog house in Newport Beach showed by far much more hospitality than the dude working on Sundays.
I’ll be brutally honest. He wasn’t the meanest guy around, but he wasn’t pleasant either. I would assume when running/​working for a business you’d like to show some hospitality and kindness. I asked a few questions and got very smart ass remarks and weird looks. It was really discerning and made me feel like I didn’t know what I was doing there. I’d love to have walked somewhere else to rent, but seeing as time was a constraint for my friends that were visiting. SUCK IT UP.
I would actually leave a 3 star because I assume that dealing with 1 employee shouldn’t have an effect on the whole store. But I can’t even ask for recommendations if I’ve gone out before and just felt stupid asking questions. O and I understand this place rents out rental wet suits, but damn I didn’t expect them to still be wet!

Great shop! I live in the area and while they don’t carry a huge selection of boards/​clothes, the owner (Mike I think?) is very down to earth and carries all the essentials.
Very cool vibe, cheap for leashes/​wax/​etc.
Best ding repair I’ve ever had! They send it out and my board came back in 7 days — fair price $ 50 for some serious tail repair.

This shop is killa my bru.
I have never gone into this shop to rent a board. I go in here for wax from time to time and talk about surfing.
The location is prime. It is almost beach front property. Located directly across the street from Skarkeez in Manhattan and located on top of a liquor store.
The shop has not changed in years which is a very good thing. Walk up the stairs wetsuits always hanging out to dry. Lots of cool stickers and various different wax to choose from (like it hard for a surfer to choose wax).
Parking is never a problem.
Wax is a buck. Stickers are a buck. Surfing knowledge from old timers can not have a price associated with it.
I hope this place stays around as long as the owner wants it to. It is located right down the street from my Bikram Yoga studio which is always nice when you want to do two things at once.
Please if you are headed to the area give your local surf shop business. Rent a board, buy some wax or a sticker do not leave empty handed.

This place is awesome. Its a small local shop with some sweet boards for sale. The guys in there a cool.

I like El Porto Surf Shop. They are nice and helpful. I rented a board from them once (I have my own, but wanted to try an eight foot board) and I didn’t have any issues with it. I also got the soft rack for my car here and they were able to answer my questions and gave me a good recommendation.

Great for Kooks to rent and break boards! Mike will hook you up if you need anything from wax to a new board! I have been buying boards from once was Players Now El Porto surf shop for the past 11 years and always been happy! Make sure you honk when you drive by! Let them know you support the locals!

If you’re paying 30 bucks to rent a surfboard for a day, there are only a few things you expect. Number one on the list being that said surf board stays in one piece for the 6 hours you are using it.
Apparently you should not expect this at El Porto surf shop. On my third time ever surfing, I was minding my own business in the waves with an El Porto board and it snapped in half. It broke. The waves were like 1 foot tall. And I am not a very heavy girl.
I brought it back to the shop and the guy said «oh, i thought that might happen. it had a bend in it.» thanks dude. glad i paid $ 30 to rent a broken board. when i asked for a refund, he said «what, are you kidding?» No, mr. surf dude. I was not kidding. You knew the board was going to break and you still rented me one. I would have gotten more angry but I think the waves addled my brain. Maybe thats why surfers are so laid back.

The store is good if you are looking for a reasonable rental but the guy who owns it/​works there is a total JERK.
I picked up 2 boogie boards at 4 in the afternoon and I said that I would bring them back the next day.
He told me to bring them back by 5. I agreed. Then he gave me the receipt to sign for 2 day rental.
The bastard charged me a day for an hour.
Karma, do your thing.