Surfing culture makes Sheboygan the ‘Malibu of the Midwest.’ A WPR reporter tried it himself.

The walls in the front of the downtown store are lined with T-shirts depicting waves and surfing, as well as boxes of skate shoes and sandals. Toward the back of the shop, surfboards are displayed along the wall to the left and skateboards to the right. A flat-screen TV behind the checkout counter shows videos of surfers riding the waves.

EOS Surf & Outdoor Lifestyle Shop has all the trappings of a surf shop in California or Hawaii. But it caters to the surfers who catch waves in Sheboygan, Wisconsin’s “Malibu of the Midwest.” It’s known for being the state’s first surf shop.

People have been surfing on Lake Michigan since the early 1950s, and Sheboygan surfers began forming surf clubs by the ’60s. From the late ’80s through the early 2010s, Sheboygan hosted the “Dairyland Surf Classic,” an annual freshwater surfing competition held on Labor Day weekend. The city’s surfing scene was also featured in the 2003 surfing documentary, “Step Into Liquid.”

But for decades, the city didn’t have a surf shop to support the local surfing scene.

“When I first got into surfing, there was no surf shop off of the coast,” said Andrew Jakus, owner of EOS Surf Shop. “To get my first personal board, I had to drive all the way to Ocean City, Maryland.”

Mike Miller started the business that eventually grew to become EOS in 1998, under a different name and at a different location. The store began as a skate shop, but it evolved to have a broader focus on outdoor recreation and eventually grew to include surfing gear in the mid-2000s. A few years ago, husband and wife Andrew and Hannah Jakus took over as owners.

Sheboygan’s nickname, the “Malibu of the Midwest,” might be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Sheboygan isn’t exactly known for its palm trees and celebrities, while Malibu residents might be surprised to learn that a blizzard-prone Wisconsin city uses the name.

But surfing genuinely is a year-round sport in Sheboygan. Where oceans have tides and a wider surface area for swell to generate, Great Lakes surfing relies solely on wind-generated waves. That means some of the best months for surfing in Sheboygan are actually in the middle of winter because there are stronger winds generating bigger waves.

Surfers wear thicker, hooded wetsuits to stay warm in the frigid water. Andrew Jakus said he believes it’s absolutely worth braving the cold.

“We’re out there surfing in the blizzards and in the snowstorms and everything else,” he said. “This last year, the longest I went without being in Lake Michigan was just shy of two weeks.”

Becoming small business owners and fostering community

Andrew Jakus had been a customer at the shop when he was a child, where he grew a fondness for Miller, whom he thought was “the coolest person in the world.”

When he was a high schooler, Miller offered him a job. Over the next seven years, he worked his way up from the sales floor to manager. Miller even paid for his gas so he could drive home from college in Madison to work the shop on the weekends.

After college, Andrew Jakus left the industry to work in youth services. But by the end of 2021, Miller approached him about taking over the shop. At first, he was hesitant, but he said his wife challenged him to take a closer look at the opportunity.

Over the next year, Miller gave the couple access to the books and keys to the shop so they could get a peek behind the curtain to make an educated decision.

“What excited us was the ability to make an impact (in the community),” Andrew Jakus said. “I can put my own money where my mouth is and do things that we want to.”

By late 2022, the couple took over as the shop’s owners. They’ve tried to build community through youth skate camps, free community paddle events and a thrift shop in the store’s basement.

Andrew Jakus said many of those events have been aimed at helping people connect with each other at a time when “everyone is kind of disconnected.”

“We really believe that is the root and cause of a lot of struggles: People are losing the ability to spend time together and connect,” he said. “Activities are cool. They’re fun, but really they’re a catalyst for getting people together.”

Hannah Jakus said the shop’s events also provide a space for surfers or those interested in surfing to connect and build relationships.

“That’s why some of these community events are so important to create that network,” she said. “You can get on that text thread of five or six people who are like, ‘Hey, we’re going out at this time. Who’s showing up?’”

Your humble correspondent catches a gnarly wave, dude

Andrew Jakus and Hannah Jakus gave me, WPR reporter Joe Schulz, a tour of their shop for about an hour in early July. And then we set out to visit their recently opened EOS Surf Snack Shack and Rentals business at Deland Park in the lower level of the beach house.

I decided to give it a try and take a surfing lesson. When in Sheboygan…

I should say: I’m not exactly the most coordinated guy. I played football in high school and picked up longboarding in college, but in both cases I always had to work very hard to be just average, or a little below average if I’m being honest. 

I put on a wetsuit, and met Andrew Jakus out on the beach. One of the first things he told me as we began the lesson: “Surfing is hard.”

He wasn’t kidding. 

He started the lesson by explaining that you need to keep your feet centered on the board. Too much to one side or the other, and you’ll flip. While we were still on the sand, he demonstrated how to push yourself up and place your feet. 

Then, I tried it, still on the sand. The first couple tries, I sort of hopped instead of stepping into the center of the board. After I practiced the footwork a little bit, he took me and the board into Lake Michigan. 

He held the board, and I got on. We waited a little bit for a wave and then he gently pushed the board. I paddled with my arms and then, when he shouted “pop up,” I tried to spring into position on the board.

I fell into the water almost immediately. We tried again. Andrew Jakus shouted “pop up,” and I fell into the water. 

Finally, on the third or fourth try, I balanced myself on the board… for all of three seconds, before I fell back into the water.

Surfing is hard. 

But Andrew Jakus also said his goal for every surf lesson is that by the end of it, you’ll be able to “paddle in, pop up and ride your first wave.” He also admitted that “not everybody gets that goal, so don’t get discouraged.”

I think I accomplished that goal, at least sort of. My minor accomplishment gave me a new appreciation for the folks who do this all the time. It takes a lot of practice. It felt pretty good for the few seconds that I managed to find my balance, and the wetsuit kept me nice and warm in the cold water.

Throughout the process, Andrew Jakus was a patient teacher who knew how to push me outside my comfort zone.

‘We have (things) those places wish they still had’

Sheboygan has had a rich surf culture for more than half a century. Being featured in the 2003 documentary just helped to bring more attention to Sheboygan, and other books and documentaries about the sport that have come out since also featured Sheboygan. 

Eventually, local tourism leaders took notice.

In addition to the “Malibu of the Midwest” branding, the community has claimed the title of freshwater surfing capital of the world.  

“It’s not what you think of (when you think of Wisconsin) and it really drew people,” Andrew Jakus said. “Now, you go down to Chicago and you ride the L train, there’s going to be people surfing Sheboygan all over the banners.”

The economic impact of tourism in Sheboygan County has grown in recent years. From $439 million in 2022 to $465 million in 2023 and $477 million in 2024. Last year, visitors spent $287 million in the county, according to state data.

To Andrew Jakus, though, the nickname misses the point. He’s surfed in Malibu, but he said Sheboygan has its own charm.

“We have (things) those places wish they still had, which are small crowds, friendly faces, good access, clean water,” he said. “Sheboygan doesn’t need to be Malibu. It doesn’t need to be anything else.”

WPR reporters are making pit stops across the state to explore some of the people, places and things that make Wisconsin summers special. See all the stops and plan your own road trip at wpr.org/roadtrip.