Meet Helina Beck of Wavehuggers Surf School

Today we’d like to introduce you to Helina Beck.

Helina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My sister is a professional surfer who taught me how to surf at a young age, and I have been infatuated with the sport ever since. When I was in high school, I started working as a Surf Instructor and realized how much joy I find in sharing my passion for surfing and the ocean with others. Teaching surf lessons grew my love for the sport, and by being so connected to the ocean through my personal hobby and work, I began to realize that the ocean environment was in danger due to the negative impact humans have on it. After bouncing around and working for different surf schools, I knew I wanted to start my own company to combine my passion for surfing and teaching and my dedication to taking an active role in preserving the environment. I decided to start Wavehuggers, an ocean conscious surf school.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting Wavehuggers was certainly not a smooth road. After working for other surf schools, I knew exactly who I wanted to hire as surf instructors, how to give high-quality surf lessons, and how to make this company different by establishing an eco-friendly aspect (through beach clean-ups, education, products made from recycled materials, etc.) among other things, but the behind-the-scenes aspects of the company are what threw me for a loop. Obtaining beach permits and proper licensing, and being able to afford those and our marketing strategy are just a few of the struggles I have dealt with. We have only been around for 3 years and I am proud to say it has been a learning experience and I have managed to get past them.

Please tell us about Wavehuggers Surf School.
Wavehuggers offers 2-hour, private and group surf lessons all over Southern California with surfboards and wetsuits provided. We offer a “we come to you” type service for people of all ages and skill level, and we operate all year long. We evaluate the skill level of our customers and cater the lesson to their skill level by scheduling them at a location and at a time that is both convenient and appropriate for them based on the conditions. If the customer doesn’t have the equipment, no problem! Our instructors show up to the beach with all needed gear. We offer lessons at so many different locations because we like to be able to give new experiences to our repeat customers by taking them to different beaches so they can experience different types of breaks in order to become a more well-rounded surfer. We also strive to give our customers a realistic surf experience. We don’t have a giant tent or signage taking up space on the beach. Our instructors meet our customers in the parking lot where they suit up together just like every other normal surfer, usually not even bringing anything down to the beach. We want our customers to get a taste of what being a surfer is really about.

Besides flexible scheduling with attention being paid to the surf conditions, multiple options for where to surf, the best professional surf instructors around, and our lessons being private and small groups (no large camps), what sets us aside from other companies is our ocean-conscious efforts. We organize monthly beach clean ups in Venice Beach. We recycle all of our worn out wetsuits that are no longer usable. We sponsor eco-friendly events where we donate free surf lessons and our eco-friendly merchandise. All of our products are made from recycled materials and bear some sort of eco-purpose (reusable bags, water bottles, etc.) We also educate our customers in the water about the importance of preserving our ocean, because, without the ocean, surfing would not even be possible.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Since the company has only been around for 3 years, there isn’t anything I would do differently so far that I can think of. I have big plans for the future and the direction I would like Wavehuggers to go in. But for now, I am pretty happy about how things have been going.

Pricing:

• Private Lesson: $109
• 2 Person Group: $99 per person
• 3 Person Group: $89 per person
• 4 Person Group: $79 per person
• 3 Lesson Package: $297
• 6 Lesson Package: $540
• 9 Lesson Package: $810

Contact Info:

• Address: We don’t have a store location. Shoot an email or give us a call!
• Website: www.wavehuggers.com
• Phone: (310)910-9099
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/wavehuggers
• Facebook: facebook.com/wavehuggers
• Twitter: twitter.com/wavehuggers
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wavehuggers-manhattan-beach-5