Ashley Blackburn

Ashley Blackburn, manager for the Ocean Surfari store located on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront on St. Thomas, had the tropical spirit in her before she came to the Virgin Islands.

She is from the Florida Keys so sun and sea were already in her DNA.

She loves “anything involving the water! Swimming, snorkeling, fishing, boating, watching sunsets, traveling.”

It was in Florida, that she recalls one of her most memorable adventures. That was “taking a ride on the World’s Tallest SkyCoaster, standing at 300 feet tall, in Kissimmee FL.” The sky coaster ride was the closest experience to jumping out of a plane, besides jumping out of an actual plane. Upon being given the signal, from 300 feet high, the flyer pulls the rip cord, releasing them from the launch cable, and they begin to rapidly swing towards the ground at speeds reaching up to 80 mph. The overall feeling is similar to that of swooping along the ground in a hang glider, or that of skydiving.

But a more lasting adventure has been moving from Key Largo to St. Thomas with her
two furry children, her cats Luna and Gizmo. She moved here in 2021 to work for OS. “It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made!”

She loves running the downtown OS store as uses her more than 20 years in the service industry to deliver OS-caliber customer experiences.

“I help drive customer service excellence to every aspect of the store, including store appearance, display of merchandise, product placement, store layout and selling procedures. I address customer needs and resolve issues, ensuring positive and long-term customer relationships.

I also oversee and develop staff, in addition to fulfilling staffing needs for regular hours, as well as special events and high-traffic times.”

People like doing business with Ashley “because I treat others the way I would like to be treated in return. I’m kind, patient, funny, caring and I’m willing to go the extra mile to make customers happy and feel good about doing business with me and Ocean Surfari.”