A job, a hobby, a pastime, a profession, a passion?

Between those who declare that surf instructors are cool, town councils who tap surf schools in the wallet in exchange for the right to work on the beach, and students who ask you why you don’t surf during the surf lesson, I think the time has come to explain the job of surf instructor and the management of the activity.

First of all, it’s an unspoken rule in the business that 99% of surf school managers are also surf instructors and therefore experts in their field before being businessmen.

For me, the spirit of surfing is about enthusiasts first, entrepreneurs second, and not the other way around. Which explains why, for the time being, the pizza salesman isn’t offering surfing lessons, but remains in his field of expertise, catering.

Dad, I’m going to be a surfing teacher when I grow up!

It’s true that there are some fun aspects, counterbalanced by some less pleasant ones, as in any profession.

As with other seasonal activities, surf instructors can take advantage of the winter period to pursue other activities, both professional and leisure.

By contrast, the peak of the season lasts three weeks, during which they have to work like five. The tide only allows them to teach part of the day, enrolments are limited to 8 pupils and days cancelled due to bad weather make it difficult for them to earn money.

Another positive point: working outdoors rather than behind a desk. However, staying 5 to 7 hours in a row in full sun at 30 to 40°, being chilled by the north wind, walking in the sand with the current constantly pulling you sideways, maintaining a constant level of vigilance to keep an eye on your pupils and other surfers, all of this generates fatigue and wear and tear.

Some old surfers have damaged skin, as if they’d spent a lifetime on the water. Others have bad knees, back problems or eye damage caused by exposure to the low-angled sun. I even knew a surf instructor whose cornea was irritated because a baby oyster had settled there.

Teaching surfing is not surfing

The job allows you to be as close as possible to the waves, yes and no.

Teaching surfing and surfing are two totally different actions. Beginners glide in the suds on the shore, and a serious surf teacher doesn’t abandon them to take waves offshore, except for a quick trip back and forth to help a student or give a demonstration.

It’s easy to see how teaching surfing can lead to the frustration of not being able to ride the beautiful waves in the distance.

However, when students are able to catch waves from the bottom, the instructor accompanies them and can catch one or two waves to return to the shore, which is already better than nothing.

A typical day in the life of a self-employed surf instructor

I’m going to describe a day at the height of the season, in August.

• 7am-8.30pm: loading of equipment (boards, wetsuits, lycras) into the minibus.
• 15 minutes: journey from house to beach.
• 08:45-16:00: day at the beach to set up three surf lessons: loading and unloading the truck, fitting out the groups, dealing with latecomers, repeatedly crossing the dune, surf lessons, possibly rescuing a bather, communicating the next day’s schedule and returning home. 20-minute lunch break.
• 15 minutes: back to the beach.
• 4.15pm-5.30pm: equipment rinsing and preparation for the following day.
• 17:30-18:30: bookings and schedule adjustments.
• 6.30pm-7.30pm: last-minute cancellations, reminders from students, attempts to fill vacant slots.
• 9-10pm: accounting and network communication.

Total: 14 hours of almost non-stop work.

A job for enthusiasts

If you dig a little deeper, you’ll realize that teaching surfing isn’t about basking in the sun with your feet in the sand and sipping a pina colada. At least not in France, where the activity is highly regulated by the state.

The ocean changes from hour to hour, day to day, as do the students’ profiles. The challenge for the teacher is to exploit the pedagogical potential of ocean conditions to enable everyone to progress.

No two sessions are the same, thanks to the variety of human and environmental parameters.

Unless, of course, you’re content to just push around, sending students off like pizzas without much thought. See the article on this subject.

It was a short overview of the surf instructor’s job, as it’s true that clichés are hard to get rid of when it comes to surfing.