The Temple of Fringe Surf Shop

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER-when the surf isn't picture perfect..

I was brought up in a small surf community nr Brighton on the south coast of England. There, we had waves that were mostly generated by howling winds, rarely groundswell, creating choppy, onshore, conditions, but it's all we had.
This did, however, create a tight-knit surf community, as passionate about riding waves as you could get.
Years later, I made the move to Newquay.
I'll never forget the sheer awe, stepping off the bus, as I gazed upon the crystal clear water and white sand, a far cry from the tar covered pebbled beaches and murky waters of the English Channel.
I still to this day some 35 odd yrs later, retain that feeling of stoke and gratefulness of the waves.
When many 'surfers' are surf checking and walking away, deeming the surf not good enough, you'll find me running down the hill, with my stomach full of butterflies, anticipation and wonder, that I'm able to 'get in' and harvest some of that stoke.
I got in everyday last week, whilst many were 'unsurfed'.
I rode my surfboard, coffin lid, bellyboard, and burger tray. One of those was in 3ft howling onshores at Fistral, and it was probably the one I took the most from strangely. I pretty much had the beach to myself, caught a bunch of good rides, long bowly faces, fast high lines upon deceptively clean walls, it's out there.
All that exercise, cardio, and movement is all credit in the health bank, and it's great to make the most of the light evenings (the hours start to go back, a week today)😫
Anyway, what im trying to say is, drop the expectations, don't worry what you look like, grab a surfcraft that allows you to go surf, stay surf fit, and stoked. Tap into it. If it's moving, make the most of it, it could go flat for ages.

We have family here from North Carolina right now, my wife's god daughter Emily and her fella Ryder. They surf luckily, so it's real fun to show them our town.
Seeing them eat their 1st pasty, visit our beaches, meet our people, they love it here.

Also, the shop's been busier than expected. So a big thank you to everyone who came in this week 🙏 🙌
Have a great week everyone
Stevo⚡️⚡️

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE EVEN MORE STOKED ON SURFING, THE OLDER YOU GET?
I'd say the good news, and the shortest answer is YES!

I used to worry about 'what if you get older and get bored of it' or the buzz goes out of it.
However, I reckon I feel an even deeper love for slidin' waves, and after 45 yrs since I first took a board in the water back in my hometown of Southwick nr Brighton on an old 'popout' and felt that 'feeling' I still feel like a teenager when I'm hurtling along a wave, all the bu****it and grown up stuff forgotten in the moment, an escape, release, and way to keep fit all in one, without getting too cheesy about it.
Mixing up the surfcraft has been a game changer, too, for me. After covid times, the lineups got busier, surfing became more mainstream, and I searched for new ways to keep the fire stoked, and I found it.
I found it in the subcultures, the 'fringes' of surfing and the small communities and tweaked humans that inhabit that world, the bodysurfers, matsurfers, Kneeboarders, bellyboarders and all manner of weird and wonderful surfcraft riders.
I have always kept my eye in on the surfboard of course, but I soon realised how surfboards are often not the right tool for the job on any given day.
Low tide Newquay bay, for example, is epic for bodysurfing, hellish in a surfboard. Onshores are actually fun on a bellyboard, when most are driving away.
I have had epic surf after epic surf this last couple of weeks, in surf where others are having 'shockers'.
Whether that's mindstate or surfcraft, skill or luck, who knows🤔 but I feel I'm on the right path and I'm overstoking right now, at 56, feelin' like a 5 yr old at Xmas👌⚡️
A local surfer, Craig Runnalls, (pic 2) sadly died of heart attack last week. A solid lifetime surfer, old punk, lovely bloke.
I've surfed with him for years. Only a couple weeks ago he said to me in the shop as I was moaning about the s**t northerly winds junking up the surf
"f**k it, I'm going in, never know when it's over for you bey" in his thick cornish accent...and now he's gone.
Makes you think dunnit.
Life's too short for hate, find something or someone you love, and squeeze the hell out of it while you can.
Stevo⚡️⚡️⚡
Shop's open every day
10am to 5pm
Sundays 10am to 3pm

TEMPLE OF FRINGE UPDATE
Captain's log mid to end May 2026
HAPPY BANK HOLIDAY

It's honestly been one hell of a week of exciting surf, rad deliveries, and humbling love for the shop🙏
The 1st half of May was just awful for surf.
A week of total flat conditions, followed by howling N winds and cold with it! Then....boooom⚡️
Offshores and sun with pumpin' surf!
We were all losing it down here in Newquay without waves, but last week, I surfed my old Glyder surfboard a few times and really enjoyed it.
I had an 11 out of 10 bodysurf at N Fistral on Thursday, one of the best of the year so far, but by Saturday, I had to rest and not go in, utterly broken!
But it's the best broken, isn't it? That special 'surfed out' feeling, but at 56, I was feeling it after 6 days in a row, surfing for hours each session🤙
Thing is, I'm always scared the swell will go again, so harvest while it's here. In the words of Greenough "you never know when it's your last go out"

Took delivery of that incredible red 'Flextail edge Spoon' made by Master craftsman Jay surfboards
up in Edinburgh. I rate him in the top teir of shapers in the UK and Europe, his work is outstanding and you are welcome to come see this board. It's stunning.
Big thanks to Innes and Grace for safely delivering it to me at the Temple, you are both legends, and to Craig for storing it in Bristol 🙏
Chris Thomson brought his new issue of Longboarder magazine in and served on the Spoon board too. I had an old wavelength surf mag tee from the 90's I gifted him, as he's the owner, he was well chuffed.
The surf is pumpin' today, the sun is out, it's 🔥
Hopefully, I'll see u in the surf this week. It's set to be a fantastic start to the week, and I couldn't be happier.
P.S If u are specifically coming to see me at the shop, best time to catch me is 10am to 2pm as I am likely to go surfing late afternoons. The shop stays open until 5pm though. Mike, the grom covers me🔥🤙
Get in the water.
Stay rad
Stevo⚡️
Shop open 7 days a week
Opens at 10am everyday

WOW..SO BLEDDY HUMBLED THAT THE MUSEUM OF BRITISH SURFING would take the time to be so kind about my little surfshop tucked away off the high street! I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy😂💪⚡️
But seriously, it's so lovely to get a little recognition for the time and effort I put into my surf shop and the time it took the guys at the rad little museum to give a s**t...outstanding..thankyou, it really made my weekend 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

THE ARTICLE👇

"We often talk about old surf shops, and one of the main things people always mention is the vibe. Not just going in to buy something, but going in to talk surf. Talking boards, waves, trips, magazines, history, all the stuff that made surf shops feel like part of the culture rather than just another retailer.

A lot of people say they miss that.

Well, guess what? It’s still here.

Temple of the Fringe in Newquay is one of those rare places that still feels completely authentic.

Run by Steve, this place is a proper hidden gem and a reminder of what surf and skate culture used to be about before everything became polished and commercial.

Steve moved to Newquay over 35 years ago, chasing bigger waves from his hometown of Brighton, where he was already known on the surf and skate scene. That whole mix of surf, skate and street culture still runs right through the shop today.

Steve is seriously old school in the best possible way. He still believes surfing and skating are cultures, not trends, and he’s a real champion of the fringe side of surfing that often gets forgotten nowadays.

Walk into the shop and you instantly know it’s different. It’s packed with stuff you just won’t find anywhere else. Steve imports brands and pieces from all over the world, loads of it from places like California, alongside incredible artwork, obscure surf labels, knee boards, longboards and all sorts of alternative surf craft.

Honestly, it felt like walking into a surf shop from the 90s, if not earlier. The kind of place where you’d go in for a quick look and end up staying for an hour talking surf.

But the best thing about Temple of the Fringe probably isn’t even the products, it’s the atmosphere. It reminds you of when you used to pop into a surf shop not just to buy something, but to actually talk surf. Talk boards, waves, trips, history, and before you know it half an hour has disappeared.

Steve can literally talk surf about anything.

He’s also the author, designer and producer behind The Real Surfing Magazine, which has become a bit of a cult thing in British surfing. One of the main questions we asked him was whether he’d ever do another issue.

His answer was simple.

“No. I did 10. That was a good round number.”

Fair play really.

Places like this matter. Shops with personality. Shops with soul. Shops that keep the spirit of British surf culture alive.

We’d genuinely love to hear your experiences of old school surf shops, and whether you still have somewhere like this near you. Those places and the people behind them are such an important part of surfing history and culture.

And if you want to immerse yourself even further in British surf culture, why not pop by the Museum of British Surfing. We’re open Friday to Sunday, 11am until 3pm, and we also love to talk boards, surf and travel, just like the old days".


Museum of British Surfing Christian Dormer

THIS WEEK..
I love the months of May and June in Newquay.
The days are long, the surf's usually pretty good, the neoprene starts to get shed, gloves , boots and hood gone, and the town's kinda quiet and chilled before the summer season kicks in here in Cornwall.
Shop owners are out painting and tidying their shop fronts, taking in deliveries, and hoping for a busy summer ahead.
Locals like Guy Leverton pop by the shop for a catch-up. If you haven't seen his little surfy edits on YouTube go take a look if you like positive, stoke fuelled edits that really capture the essence of what it's like to live in Newquay as a lifelong surfer.
There's a ton of new shops opened up this year down here, cafés and food places, and I think the town's looking pretty good, feels like there's hardly any empty shops despite the struggle on high streets, and with the sun out, the white sand and crystal blue water has been good for the soul, despite it being flat for a week now! I'm starting to get twitchy, missing the surf big time.
My new range of boards have sold out. I'm getting some more in this week hopefully from the local Ocean Magic crew. It's so bleddy humbling and exciting to see the surf community in the lineups on my boards.
They are a culmination of 42 years of surfing here, listening to what and how people surf, and what is going to work, but on a small scale, dripping out lovely boards to lovely people that want to support rootsy, independent surf shops rather than trusting in corporate mass production 😀 it's so rad.
Talking of small businesses. Just had those portable showers in from Newflowuk also the Wetsuit wrench to help people out of those bloody chest zip wetsuits, and this year's Yucca fins delivery has arrived at last.

My 1st batch of microgreens are ready (youtube 'Microgreens' so easy to grow yourself, and I am again humbled to be included in a new book about the pioneers of Brighton graffiti. A blast from the past and another lifetime ago in the 80s, but it's pretty rad to be remembered in the subculture.
Anyway, that's it, no more buying boards, please, until this flat spell lifts😂
Shop's open every day
STAY RAD
STEVO⚡️⚡️

YUCCA FINS HAVE ARRIVED..
Just received this years stock of the best fins out there from Newport California.
Along with tees, fin savers, surf mats, keyrings and stickers.
Also got a few used kneeboards in stock, a used Nineplus Trim King longboard for only £399 and lots of new books and bits.
Come swing by if you are near or get in touch if you want me to post anything to you.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone 😀
Stevo

BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
OPEN SATURDAY 10AM TO 5PM
SUNDAY 11AM TO 4 PM
MONDAY 10AM TO 4 PM

SUNDAY MARCH 26TH
Captain's log
It's been a beautiful week down here in paradise, or 'Newquay' as some call it.
The town is quiet, the sun is out, and the surfy gods have been blessing us with small fun groundswell in impossibly blue crystal clear water.
It's epic seeing people shedding the winter coats and getting their legs and tee shirts out.
Everyone is so happy 😊
Despite town being quiet this week, I met some amazing people at the Temple, and got to surf some super fun waves on my Temple longboard, testing it out at Watergate on my day off and chuffed to bits with it.
Rode my surfmat and coffin lid this week too with a few of the local fringe crew, which I saw as a bonus as the report was looking dodgy, but those strong offshores were perfect for the prone surfcraft.
Sold a few boards, got a bunch of grown up stuff done, unpacked a bunch of new products coming in from all over the world and ate pasties, all in all, a simple but satisfying week.
It's May bank holidays next weekend, so hopefully, I'll be seeing a bunch of you down (I'll order some tasty waves for you)🙏🙏🙏
I'll be open every day
Mon to Saturday 10am to 5pm
Sundays 11am to 3pm
Open bank Holiday Monday too..
I hope you are enjoying the good weather and hopefully got some waves this week, if not, ask yaself why not😂😁
Happy Sunday everyone
Stevo ⚡️⚡️⚡️