Stab Magazine | Confessions Of A Former Surf Instructor

Live Now For All — Episode 1 of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

376 Views

Confessions Of A Former Surf Instructor

Are we shooting ourselves in the foot? 

style // May 13, 2017
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

I once spent a summer teaching surf lessons.

I didn’t think much of it at the time. As far as I was concerned, it was decent money for swimming around and occasionally bodysurfing. Saw a tit once too. That was pretty cool.

I’ve been thinking about those days a lot lately. The people I’d teach. The spiel I’d give. But mostly about the impact surf schools have on our culture.

Right now, I live somewhere with a wild amount of surf schools — picture the most ridiculous amount your logic and imagination can agree on. Then triple it.

There are multiple camps at every beach and a bunch of people who have vans and the license to operate anywhere they please. On a sunny weekend day, some lineups look like a fluorescent foam party in Ibiza (with notably fewer Persians). It’s interesting.

Reflecting on it all: The good. The bad. That titty. Here are some thoughts and confessions from a former surf instructor.

Surf schools give a lot of very good, very core surfers the opportunity to earn a dime doing something they love. Some even make enough to centre their lives around it.

They also give a lot of not very good, not very core surfers the opportunity to make money off of surfing. Ever seen the blind try lead the blind?

There was probably a time when surf schools were thought of as immoral. When people figured it was a direct commoditization of something that had so much soul. I still think there’s something to be said there.

It’s cliché as fuck, but there really is something cool about teaching a kid who gets flat-out into it. Maybe it’s because kids approach everything they do — digging a hole, throwing a rock, anything trivial — with 100 percent enthusiasm. They don’t think about how you should be doing this, or how other people do that, or what might be considered cool. They just do it. That’s the way that surfing is meant to be approached.

None of that happens when you teach an adult. Even if they’re picking it up quick, it feels so fucking dorky. Like they’re trying to solve an algebra problem or something. I’m not saying that adults shouldn’t learn how to surf. I am saying that, without having a good friend to teach you, there’s no smooth way to start.

There’s nothing worse than whoring surfing out to someone who you can tell has no interest in it.

A good lesson will teach you etiquette. I always did. If someone goes through a proper system, they’re going to end up way better off than someone cowboying it on their own. Not all surf schools teach with proper systems.

Wave pools pose no threat to surf schools. They are two separate things. And they will always be two separate things to all levels of surfers.

Lineups are getting more crowded due to surf schools, but not by all that much. Most people want nothing more than an hour to fill during their day at the beach. And the people who take a lesson, fall in love and dedicate themselves to surfing obviously aren’t a problem. People who take a bad lesson and leave with no understanding of how things actually work can be a problem though. So can Ibizan foam parties.

In short: Teaching a surf lesson comes with a lot of responsibility.

Indulge in jokes about my career, face, writing, contributions to society, etc below.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Stab Interview: WSL Tour President Graham Stapelberg On The Changes And Challenge(r)s Of The Post-Cut Era

Maxing Pipe, Triple Crown realities, Jordy Smith, sponsors up the yin-yang, and more.

Jun 16, 2025

Was That The Best Day Of Performance Surfing In 2025?

Kerrupt flips, double airs, and a cornucopia of 9 point waves.

Jun 15, 2025

Watch: Albee Layer Drops His Second Stab Edit Of The Year In 4 Months

And we dare say "Less Than Easy" is even better than the former.

Jun 13, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 1

Our first loser goes home in this "king of the hill" showdown.

Jun 12, 2025

How To Convince A Bunch Of Small Town Floridians That They Need A Wavepool

Warren Smith is creatively diversifying the tourism portfolio of his hometown.

Jun 12, 2025

Italo And Filipe Lost, But Surfing Won Today

No shortage of excellence on Day Two at Lowers.

Jun 11, 2025

Opinion: Griffin vs Filipe Was A Masterclass In Surfing & Judging

And the exact reason Lowers is on tour.

Jun 11, 2025

How Politics Canceled A WSL Pro Junior Event In The Basque Country

The Israel-Palestine conflict hits surfing.

Jun 11, 2025

Wait, Is Lowers A Left?

Day One of the Lexus June Gloom Pro is wrapped, and Kelly's free for drinks.

Jun 11, 2025

Stab Interview: The Secret Lives Of Keith Malloy

On surf films, big waves, sibling bonds, and stunt-doubling for Matthew McConaughey.

Jun 9, 2025

Why Kelly Slater’s Favorite Wave Isn’t Producing More Pro Surfers

A critical analysis of the Soup Bowl surf community.

Jun 8, 2025

CT Watch: Jacob Willcox And Francisca Veselko Rattle The Cage

Where you begin is where you return: The Newcastle SURFEST.

Jun 8, 2025

Stab High And The Unfortunate Inevitability Of The C-Word 

Does surfing have a culture after all? 

Jun 8, 2025

Jordy Smith Is World #1, Kelly Slater Is A Wildcard, And… Ethan Ewing Is Trying Californian Surfboards?

Your 2025 Lower Trestles CT preview.

Jun 7, 2025

Tom Lowe Suffers Second Near-Fatal Injury at Teahupo’o In 14 Months

Sage Burke and Kala Grace tell the story straight.

Jun 6, 2025

The Return of Surf100: Raw, Unfiltered, Serialized

Seven challenges across California before the OG 100 minute final.

Jun 5, 2025

Snow Bros, A Former WSL CEO, And The Multimillion Dollar Fight To Govern Surfing In America 

"This decision could have massive, cascading, and irreversible consequences," says the CEO of USA Surfing. 

Jun 4, 2025

Everything You Need To Know About The Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

8 surfers. 8 challenges. $100,000.

Jun 4, 2025
Advertisement