The Sickday Surf shop opened its doors in April of 2005. Its first location was on Commercial street in Wellfleet where is began as a small, grassroots surf operation. But even before it opened its doors officially it was already in business in the mind of owner and Wellfleet local, Olaf Valli. The shop name is based on wordplay. Take a “sick day” and go surfing instead. If the surf is good, surfers will call it
a “sick day” at the beach. Olaf says that he dreamt the name many months after deciding to open a surf shop and pondering a name for it.
Olaf began surfing in his late teens after a childhood friend introduced him to the sport, taking him out on a surf session at Maguire’s Landing in Wellfleet. He instantly fell in love. During this time in his life he was attending school in CA, which provided him a ripe opportunity for both surf culture and waves. It was also during this time that he decided he would enter the field of computers. He moved back home and
began working as a computer-networking technician. After a day in the office, he couldn’t wait to get in the water. Surfing provided a much needed escape. The combination of daily surf sessions and coming
from a family of self-employed business owners provided the perfect groundwork for opening his business.
In December of 2003 Olaf’s longtime girlfriend Angie accepted his proposal for marriage. Shortly after their wedding in September of 2004, they began to work on making this dream a reality. Where
Olaf is the heart of Sickday- knowledgeable in many aspects of surfing, Angie is the mind- organizing the behind the scenes aspects of the business. Together, they worked to grow the business from its
humble beginning to its present home on 361 Main Street in Wellfleet.
As a surf shop that began peddling mainly surf hardware goods, it has now added paddleboards, beach toys, name brand apparel, sandals, sunglasses, surf art, and has expanded into the skate world as well.
Sickday also continues to teach lessons and rent all necessities for surfing. In addition, Sickday supports several artists by carrying many handmade goods from both local Cape Codders and elsewhere. Over
the years, as the business grew, Olaf and Angie have given back to the Community by giving free lessons to many of the youths on Cape through the Wellfleet Recreational program. The surf shop also
sponsors local surfers and skaters providing talented athletes with an affordable means to acquire their much-needed equipment. Sickday is also a supporter of the Surfrider Foundation and Christian Surfers.