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surf & Sand: Lowcountry beaches

Folly's surf shack shaper

Abi Nicholas

Abi Nicholas/ Tideline Magazine

Greg Elliot

Former pro surfer still building boards and loving life.

You know that funky little multicolored shack that sits on the south side of Folly Road on the way to the beach, wedged between the condos and supermarkets and tourist shops that have popped up in recent years? The one with spray-painted signs stuck in the lawn, a few mismatched chairs cluttering the small porch and colorful tapestries hanging in the windows?

That’s Inner-G Surf Shop, and it’s where Greg Elliott spends his days — unless there’s good surf — hand-crafting surfboards as intricate as you’re likely to see.

That crazy, unassuming, artsy shack is the incarnation of a local personality you might call “old-school Folly.”

A former pro surfer who grew up riding waves at The Washout, Elliott is laid back, quick to laugh and even quicker to grab his board. The 49-year-old surfboard shaper, surfing instructor and sports trainer wears shorts and sandals every day and can’t seem to walk down Center Street without 10 people calling out his name. Dial his cell phone number — which happens to end in S-U-R-F— and if he doesn’t answer, you’ll hear a voicemail greeting that says “peace and love” at least three times.

His mantra goes something like this: “There are only two energies on this Earth: love and fear.”

It doesn’t take long to realize that Elliott exists only in the realm of the former.

WHEN DID YOU START SURFING? I think I was about 9 or 10. My big brother brought me to the beach with him. I was just sitting there in the sand with my imaginary friends, and all of a sudden my brother called me over to surf with him.

We were on Sullivan’s Island of all places, in the summer, trying to catch a wave. There Folly’s surf shack shaper was no way possible that there was going to be a wave coming through there. No possible way. But did that stop the Elliotts? No. I rode probably three or four feet in distance and then just stood on that board with the blade in the sand — I might still be doing that.

WHEN DID YOU START SURFING PROFESSIONALLY?I think it was ‘82, and Body Glove was a big-time sponsor of mine. I ended up landing a job with them, and later on with Local Motion, as a sales rep, which was interesting because I couldn’t read. But it was all colors and numbers — swimsuit sizes, wetsuit colors. Again, I could not read a word, which made it interesting when computers started kicking in.

YOU COULDN’T READ? I couldn’t read until I was 30 years old. And to this day, I have never cut on a computer — not one stinkin’ time.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE NOT BEING ABLE TO READ UNTIL YOU WERE 30? In school, it was hard being behind all the time. No one really detected it. When I was in the seventh grade I got invited to the East Coast Surf Championship and missed one month of school. When I got back, they put me in the eighth grade because that’s where all my other classmates were, so I was really far behind.

In the ninth grade, I just sort of stopped going.

I actually just got a phone call from a guy inviting me to the 30-year high school reunion for James Island High School. I said, “Do you know who you’re talking to? This is Greg Elliott. I only went there for a few months.” He said, “That’s all you need.” It was amazing, after all I’ve been through and where I’ve gotten without an education. And everyday things were pretty tough. I could figure that out, but. I would just stare at a menu and then usually order what someone else was having. But with no cheese.

WHY NO CHEESE? Because Greg does not eat-a the cheese. I’m not real big on dairy products or anything like that.

TELL ME ABOUT SOME CAREER HIGHLIGHTS. Just traveling. I’ve done pretty well not having an education — Australia, Fiji, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico — all sorts of places, and with someone else paying the way.

WHERE WAS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE? Fiji. Nothing but great waves, good food and just a handful of people on the island. That was a trip Local Motion invited me to go on around 1990-91. I wasn’t pro then. I stopped that about ‘86 or ‘87.

NOW YOU OWN INNER-G SURF SHOP, MAKE BOARDS, GIVE SURF LESSONS... Yeah, it’ll have been open three years in August. I love what I’m doing.

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON ARTIFICIAL WAVES, WAVE POOLS? I actually went to one in Allentown (Pa.) and it sucked. S-U-C-K-E-D. I don’t know, I guess it’s just not a freshwater thing for me.

You know, salt water is buoyant and other things like that.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SURFER A GREAT SURFER? Passion. And desire.

WHERE AND WHEN IS THE BEST SURF IN CHARLESTON? Folly during hurricane season.

WE’VE GOT GROMFEST AND THEN GOVERNOR’S CUP COMING UP, SO WHO ARE SOME LOCAL STANDOUTS, UP-ANDCOMERS WHO HAVE CAUGHT YOUR EYE? ANYONE WE SHOULD BE WATCHING?Oh yeah, Kyle Busey. He’s strong, a physical power surfer. An “aerial artist” as I call them. And he’s got the coolest bag of tricks. And also Evan Tanner.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE SURFER? My son, Greg. He’s 27.

WHAT WAS YOUR LAST IMPULSE BUY? A scooter. This ‘60s-looking thing a few days ago. It goes like 5 miles per hour plus. Gets 80-100 miles a gallon. It’s blue.

WHAT’S THE FIRST CHANNEL YOU FLIP TO WHEN YOU WATCH TV, IF YOU WATCH TV? The weather, of course.

IF YOU COULD LISTEN TO ONE BAND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Rolling Stones with Lenny Kravitz opening up for them.

IN THE MAY ISSUE OF SURFER MAGAZINE, THERE WAS A COVER PIECE ON SMALL WAVES. THE TAG SAID SOMETHING LIKE ‘WHY LARGE WAVES HAVE MADE US DISHONEST AND LAZY, AND WHY SMALL WAVES REPRESENT EVERYTHING GOOD ABOUT SURFING.’ THOUGHTS? Small waves take more finesse. Riding big waves stretches the process out. When you’re used to small surf, you get sensitive about them, I guess. You asked me about what makes a good surfer a great surfer — passion and desire. It’s kind of the same thing with small waves. And if you don’t like where you’re surfing, move.

You know why you ride small waves? Because you can. Why aren’t we riding bigger waves out here? Because we can’t. So we ride what we got, because surfing’s about so much more than just catching a big wave.

Reach Abi Nicholas at abi@tidelinemagazine.com or 843-958-7375.