Shallow Water Swimwear

2011-02-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

Gearing up for Summer 2011. Can't wait to post pictures from our new 2011 Collection. Keep following us on Twitter and Facebook :)

Private Surf Lessons Start in July

2009-07-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Learn How to Surf This Summer!!

What to Expect
Quality Instruction
Experienced male or female instructor
Worldwide surfing experience of over 20 years
CPR and First Aid certified
Learn ocean safety, ocean awareness and
Ocean science such as info on waves, tides and marine biology

What to Bring
Boardshorts or swimsuit, a towel and lots of sunscreen
Wetsuits, surfboards will be provided

Who Can Join in the Fun
Anyone over the age of 6 is more than welcome

One-Hour Private Lesson $60
Two-Hour Private Lesson $100
Co-Ed One-Hour Surfing Lesson (2 0r more people) $40/each

Book a surfing lesson today!!!
Spots are limited
E-mail: shallowwater@hotmail.com or call 619-684-5386
We accept PayPal payments.

Summer Surfing Lessons

2009-07-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

It is official. Shallow Water Swimwear has teamed up with Good Life Boutique in Ocean Beach, San Diego to offer FREE surfing lessons to girls above 7 years old. Any purchase over $100 will qualify for the FREE surf lesson hosted by Shallow Water Swimwear team embassador Sabrina Dacosta. The first FREE surf lesson will be held on Monday, June 20th at 9:00 am at Dog Beach. Sign-up sheet available at the store. For more information drop by the Good Life store located at 4967 Newport Ave Ocean Beach, CA 92107 or call 619-222-9374. Hope to see you there!!

Timnichol. Trying my Hardest Here...:)

2009-06-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

You can purchase tops and bottoms separate. You do not have to purchase a whole suit or even top and bottom the same color. Mix-and-match and create your own style and fit. I am selling the bottoms for $22 and the tops for $20. Since the double string does not appeal to you go with the triangle top. Triangle tops are classics and never go out of style. If you want skimpy with skinny sides I think the C05 is a good match for you as well as the 258 and they both adjust on the sides giving that extra comfort. The 003 bottoms are skinny on the sides but I do not know if they are skinny enough for you. Anyway, I hope you like what we have to offer. Thanks for stoping by...

Timnichol. This One is for You...

2009-06-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the pics of the front of the bottoms you were interested. They also come in yellow, red and black. Thanks again...hope this helps :)

Stuck in the Impact Zone

2009-06-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

When you go out surfing, sometimes you make it to the line up fairly easy. Sometimes you get stuck on your way there when a set of waves come. The set will keep breaking on your head as you duckdive one wave after another without making much progress towards your goal of riding waves. That place where you usually get stuck is referred to as the impact zone. It is not a very pleasant place to be. Still, there isn't much you can do about it, other than take it on the head and hope it will be over soon.
You can use that as a life analogy specially in these trying economic times. Sometimes you get stuck in the impact zone and run out of steam as one wave after another keeps breaking on your heads and preventing you to move ahead towards our goals. Maybe trying to power your way through it may not be the best option and patiently waiting for the "set of waves" to stop breaking may be wiser. Sometimes staying put works. Eventually...
The good news is that when the "set" stops breaking, you will be able to position yourself in the lineup, and then, you will be ready for a nice ride. A nice, relaxing ride that will make it worth your while going through the inconvenience of being stuck. It is exciting to see that ride when it is finally in front of you.
For the ones who do not surf you should try it. It will teach you what life should really be all about. And it will make you realize how everyone is so far from what life is supposed to be. For the ones who surf keep doing it and do not let the madness stop you from enjoying yourself. That advice is actually for all of us who are facing so much adversity. Just get back in the water...and everything will eventually work itself out. That ride will come around.

10 Years in Business and Still Going

2009-05-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

I started Shallow Water Swimwear in 1999. I was sewing bikinis for 10 hours a day in my living room in Ventura. The first store I sold my bikinis at was now the defunct Surf Hut which was located right around the corner form my house. At that time, it was nearly impossible to find nice Brazilian bikinis anywhere in the United States. My suits were accepted by the local girls and they started flocking towards my house to have their suits custom made. I was stoked that my work was getting recognized by the most beautiful beach girls in town. Unable to keep up with demand, I started getting my suits made in Brazil so I could sell them to stores and expand the business. It was not hard to get into the best surf shops and swimwear stores in Ventura such as Momentum Surf Shop, Mermaids Bikinis, Ventura Surf Shop and Ventura Swimwear.

In 2006, I moved to San Diego. I pushed hard with sales and got into the best swimwear shops in one of the best swimwear markets in California. By 2007, Shallow Water Swimwear was being sold up and down the San Diego Coast from Imperial Beach to Carlsbad. The plan was to expand the business to other states such as Arizona, Texas, Hawaii and the East Coast. Also, the thought of conquering the overseas market was not that far off since Shallow Water has strong connections in Australia and Europe.

Even before the recession hit the U.S. in 2007, the swimwear market was already experiencing sluggish sales. Nobody knows exactly why but according to store owners the advance of the Internet and the boom of Brazilian swimwear created a broad market with many companies entering the industry. With so many different players the market got saturated with similar products and every body's piece of pie became smaller.

I remember attending the legendary ASR Trade Show in San Diego in 2003. I attended a business workshop held by Reef's C.E.O at the time (sorry don't remember his name). He was showing charts on how surfing was generating a great amount of business and commanding respectable sales figures. According to the charts, many companies were adapting their brand identity to participate in the promising surfing share of the market. Big corporations that did not have any ties to surfing like Oakley and Nike, to name a few, were transforming their brand to partake in this new potential market. One of the factors prediciting the great increase in sales in the surfing industry was demographics. The age group of pre-teens and teenagers, which is the surfing industry main target, was exploding. Not to mention the rise in women's participation in surfing that I personally attribute to the "Blue Crush" effect, after the screening of the movie in all major theaters making it a household name. All that fueled Shallow Water's success in the market. By 2006, the peak of the company's existence, Shallow Water was being sold in 15 stores around San Diego and Ventura County, outselling most mainstream surf corporations to the surprise and delight of many store owners.

Then came the recession. And, it seems like all the work that was accomplished since 1999, was in vain. It has been real hard to get this business off the ground with very little funding and no access to the aggressive American marketing machine. However, Shallow Water is still fighting for its position in this tough business climate. Staying positive knowing that the economic downturn will eventually end and a new business phase will emerge where our company will be positioned for the business thrust about to happen. There is no doubt our product being tested in many different scenarios has been highly accepted. Shallow Water has commanded a respectable share of the surfing industry and wants to invest in athletes and contests because giving back to the sport is at the core of our belief. If anybody is interested in being part of this business in the areas of graphic and website design, publicising and advertising we want to hear from you. Leave us a comment with some personal background and contact information.