Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop

Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop is a surf and skate shop in Carlsbad, CA.  Located at the intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Carlsbad Village Drive in downtown Carlsbad, it is a block away from Frazee Beach.  It's a medium-sized surf shop at around 1200 square feet.  With its main doors open, a side door open, and a large tree in front providing shade, the shop is as fresh and cool inside as the weather outside.

Its owner, Witt Rowlett, opened it over 29 years ago in 1984.  A former pro surfer in the ASP from 1979-1982, he ranked as high as 59th in the world.  He was there the day I walked in, and he couldn't have been a friendlier guy.


Owner Witt Rowlett

If you have questions about any of his merchandise or local surf spots, I'm sure Witt (or one of his young shop employees) will be more than happy to answer them, as he did for me.  Even though I was interested mainly in his surf shop t-shirts, he treated me with courtesy and respect.

Though it also sells skateboarding merchandise, Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop is a full-fledged surf shop.  Surfers in need of a new surfboard, wetsuit, or surfboard accessories may find what they need or desire there.  It mainly carries Hank Warner, Sharp Eye, and Harvey surfboards.  For wetsuits, it mainly stocks Xcel and O'Neill.  If you're looking to rent surfing gear for the day rather than buy, it can also help you out.

If you're just going to the beach for the day, it can provide you with some last-minute beach accessories like a hat, flip-flops, sunglasses, sunscreen, or towel.  And if you feel the urge to learn to surf, Witt or the shop staff would be happy to give you the contact information for surfing instructors they recommend.


If you're shopping for some surfwear, like t-shirts, hoodies, or swim trunks, the shop carries mostly the Reef, Loft, Hurley, and O'Neill brands.

As for its own line of surf shop t-shirts, Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop just has one design, which is its shop logo.  Designed by Witt himself, the logo was inspired by both Witt's love of surfing and his knowledge of plumbing, which he gained from his father's plumbing business.  Its main element is a literal depiction of a silver-colored metal pipeline made up of a couple of straight pipe pieces, a couple of elbow fittings, and a center valve.  Water flows out of both ends, meeting in the middle.  On the right side, the rush of water creates a breaking wave that is alternatively called a tube, barrel, or pipeline, which a surfer rides.  On the left side is a skateboarder performing an aerial maneuver while pulling open a flap on the pipe to let the water out from that end.  In-between the metal pipeline and the water is the shop name "Carlsbad Pipelines."

Based on my impressions and my conversation with Witt, Carlsbad Pipelines shop logo t-shirts are screen printed.  Because of some of the bright, non-opaque colors in the design, dark t-shirts require a white base, so there is a slightly heavy hand.  The t-shirt I bought was printed on a blank Hanes Beefy T, a heavy and durable 6.1 oz preshrunk cotton t-shirt.  After a proper wash (turning the t-shirt inside out), the t-shirt held up perfectly with no cracking or loss of color vibrancy.

If you're interested in ordering an original and authentic Carlsbad Pipelines shop logo t-shirt, you will have to order it by phone.  Unfortunately, the domain for Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop was taken over by cybersquatters after it momentarily lapsed, but the website should be back up and running at a new domain sometime soon.

I did notice that some versions of the logo on some merchandise, like hats and stickers, don't have the surfer and the skateboarder, so be sure to ask if you're getting the full design I described.  I also noticed that some logo t-shirts were made with different blank t-shirt brands, so you will have to verify for yourself what brand is used for the t-shirt you order.

The exact address for Carlsbad Pipelines Surf Shop is 2975 Carlsbad Boulevard.  It is open 7 days a week from 9 AM-8PM.  To order a t-shirt or any other merchandise by phone, call (760)-729-4423.

Written by Anthony Fuentez.  You can follow Anthony on Google+.