About Hotline Surfboards

It all started in 1979 as a ding repair business in Gurney Collins’ backyard. Gurney was good at fixing surfboards so all his friends brought him their boards to fix. Soon Gurney started repairing boards for all the surf shops in Virginia Beach. He happened to have a red phone that seemed to ring constantly with people and shops checking on the status of their repairs so one day when his friend Butch answered the phone “Hotline” the name stuck.

Gurney’s ding repair business eventually evolved into surfboard manufacturing that distributed boards up and down the coast for 15 years. Eventually, he needed a storefront to showcase all of his boards so, in 1984, the first showroom was opened on 3rd Street at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach. In 1991 Gurney and his wife Cammi moved the shop to Norfolk Avenue where it remained for nearly 10 years. In July of 2000 the store was relocated to corner of Baltic Ave. and Virginia Beach Blvd where the flagship store stands today. Two more shops in Virginia beach have been added to the mix, a skate shop near Lynnhaven Mall, and a store in the Red Mill area.

Gurney no longer does ding repairs and only shapes an occasional board for a friend, but his passion for the sport remains. He still conducts research and development on a regular basis..if you know what I mean.