Billy's Boardshop Offers Hip Clothes, Boards Galore

Whether you're a extreme sports fanatic or simply like to look cool in comfortable clothes for any climate and season, offers a wide selection and has established a strong connection with the Montrose community.

"We're not only promoting Billy's Boardshop when we do events, we're promoting Montrose, the experience," said owner Tim Shepard. "The food here is good, the people are nice and there's shops that you can shop. I dig the people—there's a general, nice enthusiasm that people take toward one another, and people aren't in too big a hurry."

Located on Honolulu Avenue, Billy's started as an Army-Navy surplus store in 1979 and took on the current brand name in the 1990s. Shepard, an Eagle Rock native and St. Francis High School alumnus who currently lives in Monrovia, has owned and operated the business since 2006.

He explained that skateboards, snowboards and related equipment outnumber his aquatic inventory but considers Billy's a "surf, snow and skate shop, so you have the leashes, traction pads, swim fins [and] boogie boards," on which he's recently stocked up.

Some key board brands at Billy's include Element, Burton, Bones, Lencoe, Girl, Toy Machine and Anti-Hero. In addition to boards, the store is also a go-to place for replacement parts, accessories and surf wax.

"I like selling surf wax on the basic, no. 1 end of things because people need surf wax. ... It's that item that if you're a surf shop and you don't have surf wax, you can't really call yourself a surf shop," Shepard said regarding some of Billy's top items. "I like selling women's shoes, and Toms shoes are evidently hot."

Toms donates a pair of shoes to a child in an impoverished country for each purchase made in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.

"I like those little things where people come to look for a screw for a snowboard, you know, the tools of the trade," Shepard added.

Fashion is another major part of his business. Casual apparel and accessories occupy the majority of the store's floor space. Racks and shelves abound with brands the likes of O'Neil, Roxy, Billabong, Quicksilver and Volcom.

Shepard really enjoys "being able to turn people on to what looks good and what works for them," he said. "A lot of times you can just lay out a few pieces that might work for them as opposed to forcing them to sift through your inventory."

Shepard said he took over the shop because of "the community, the people that you work with, it's recreation driven, and I had personal interests in the sports that we service for people. Those sports offer creativity, freedom, individuality—that's kind of what draws people to it."

In terms of appeal, "skateboarding and snowboarding always had that crossover of music, art, not subculture issues but not considered mainstream either," Shepard explained. "Still skateboarders are discriminated against. It's not for everybody, and a lot of people don't understand it. Even as you see grown men and women on skateboards it's like some people still kind of consider it to be a toy. People can view it that way, but it's just a personal interest that people have a tough time giving up."

Billy's is located on a stretch of Honolulu Avenue that hosts a weekly farmers market sponsored by the .

"The Montrose Shopping Park is extremely viable," said Shepard. "It's very energetic, the merchants as they continue to make efforts to, as an example, open a little early or stay open late, [or] have the positive attitude that it takes to say ... 'a farmers market brings people into town.' Not 'oh, I'm a bitter merchant because it blocks off some of my traffic.'"

Despite recent controversy surrounding former Glendale city councilman and Montrose resident connections with the Shopping Park, Shepard focused on the positive.

"I think the association does a lot of good things for the community and I plan to be here for a long time."