Photos and wrap of the newsy SIMA Image Awards

Blake and Mark Richards of Val Surf - Val Surf was one of 20 surf shops honored during the ceremony for being in business for 50 consecutive years

The SIMA Image Awards show Thursday night was one of the most exciting in years with several awards streaks broken, different brands winning in major categories and a touching tribute to the industry’s longest-serving retailers.

Some big winners included Volcom, which ended a major Image Award dry spell with two victories in important award categories: Boardshort of the Year and Women’s Apparel Brand of the Year.

Both boardshorts and women’s are major focuses of Volcom, and their concentration in those areas appears to be paying off.




Though Volcom usually receives multiple nominations each year, it had not won an Image Award since 2007.

Vans also had a huge night, winning Footwear Product of the Year for its Surf Siders, the fourth consecutive year Vans has taken the Footwear award.

In somewhat of an upset, Vans also won Men’s Apparel Brand of Year, signaling the brand’s clothing is gaining acceptance and share in the core market.

Patagonia also won two awards, for one product, the Yulex Nexkin Wetsuit. Patagonia took the award for Wetsuit of the Year and Environmental Product of the Year.

Beach Riot scored a major coup by winning Women’s Swim Brand of the Year, unseating reigning champion L*Space, which won the award seven years in a row. Beach Riot becomes the only brand besides L*Space to win the award since SIMA introduced the swim category.

One brand that kept its incredible winning streak alive is Channel Islands, which won again for Surfboard of the Year. That’s the seventh straight win for Channel Islands, which always brings a large crew down on a party bus from Santa Barbara for the awards.

Roark Revival scored another big win by taking home the coveted Men’s Marketing Campaign of the Year award for the second consecutive year. Roark beat out other, more established brands with bigger budgets with its creative “Rocketship to Reykjavik” campaign.

Rip Curl, nominated for six awards, won the first award of the night for its “My Bikini” Women’s Marketing Campaign. Rip Curl swim and women’s apparel have been gaining traction at retail.

Socks juggernaut Stance won for Accessory Product of the Year for its socks, the second year in a row it has taken home the award in this category.

FCS also has a streak going, and won for the second year in a row in the Hardgoods Accessory Product of the Year category. This year the brand won for its FCSII Essential Series Fin Collection.

And lastly, Vissla, nominated for five awards, won the much-watched Breakout Brand of the Year award, for its noteworthy market debut last year.

SIMA added a new feature to the awards this year by honoring 20 retailers that have been in business for at least 50 years with the Surf Shop Golden Wave Award.

The always elegant and articulate Shaun Tomson, who shared his memories of many of the shops being honored, called the retailers up on stage one by one.

“If surfing is a religion, then surf shops are the temple of stoke,” Shaun said.

The crowd gave the retailers an extended standing ovation.

Retailers honored included:

Atlantic Beach Surf Shop, Atlantic Beach, N.C., 1964

Bert’s Surf Shop, Kinston, N.C., 1965

Bunger Surf, Copaigue, N.Y., 1962

Dive N’ Surf, Redondo Beach, Calif., 1956

Froghouse, Newport Beach, Calif., 1962

Hansen Surfboards, Cardiff, Calif., 1961

Harbour Surfboards, Seal Beach, Calif., 1962

Haut Surfboards, Santa Cruz, Calif., 1965

Heritage Surf Shop, Sea Isle City, N.J., 1964

Hobie, Dana Point, Calif., 1954

Jack’s Surfboards, Huntington Beach, Calif., 1957

Katin, Huntington Beach, Calif., 1954

McKevlin’s Surf Shop, Folly Beach, S.C., 1965

O’Neill Surf Shop, San Francisco, Calif., 1952

Ron Jon’s, Shipbottom, N.J., 1961

Surf ‘n Wear’s Beach House, Summerland, Calif., 1963

Surf n Sea, Haleiwa, HI, 1965

Surfers Supplies, Ocean City, N.J., 1962

Val Surf, North Hollywood, Calif., 1962

West Coast Surf Shop, Holmes Beach, Fla., 1964