DJ McKevlin opened his first surf shop in 1965
In 1965, Dennis “Mr. Mac” McKevlin opened McKevlin’s Surf Shop out of a storage room in the back of the Folly Bowling Center. The shop grew through several buildings on Folly Beach and locations on Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms. During the 1970s, McKevlin became active at community meetings, advocating for the rights of surfers and soon winning a seat on Folly Beach City Council. He served for a decade, spearheading a fight in Federal Court to maintain the rights of surfers at Folly’s best breaks. Today, the 3,300-square-foot flagship store on Folly Beach is run by Dennis’ son, Tim.
On June 9, McKevlin was inducted into the Folly Beach Hall of Fame. He’s pictured here in 1967.
Many images, like this one above, are included in Stratton Lawrence’s book, Images of America: Folly Beach. To purchase your own personalized signed copies, delivered to your home on Folly Beach, or to share a photo and story for next month’s Folly Flashback column, email Stratton at strattonlawrence@gmail.com.
