About Surf Simply
At SurfSimply we have a very specific surfing and business philosophy which we believe has been the root of our success as an internationally respected surf coaching center and as a small business.
Our Surfing Philosophy
We believe that surfing has been misrepresented to the world as an exclusive lifestyle instead of as an accessible sport. Core sports skills such as cross-training and good wave riding technique have been overshadowed by clothing brands, cultural stereotypes and even philosophical ideals. This is not what surfing is about and, more importantly, it’s not where the fun is. When you surf you reap all the rewards of any fun physical endeavor which requires time, consideration and hard work. The more you put into it, the more you achieve and the more fun you have. So we would argue that surfing is a sport, no more and no less, and as such it can fit in to any lifestyle and is accessible to everyone.
The people we teach are often entrepreneurs, scientists, politicians, professionals, artists, analysts, athletes, programmers, engineers and academics… to name but a few. Some are complete beginners who cannot even swim, some have surfed their entire lives and some are competitive surfers. They are highly motivated intelligent people who have no interest in conforming to, or being labeled with any stereotypes. They are simply motivated by a desire to surf or surf better.
Our role is to break surfing down into logical, obtainable skills sets. Each taught simply, clearly and concisely. These skills then build upon one another to create a complete understanding of the sport and an enthusiasm to continue to learn and improve. With this methodology we strip away all the mystique to make the sport, we love, accessible to anyone.
Our Business Philosophy – A Surf School Blue Print
We passionately believe that every successful business has two important responsibilities: One is the responsibility to its customers and the other is the responsibility to its environment; not just ecologically but also economically and philanthropically. We believe that fulfilling these responsibilities is as important a measure of a business’s success as it’s profitability.
At Surf Simply we do this by making sure that every aspect of our guests is the best that it possibly can be. Whether it is the food, the accommodation or the quality of the surf coaching they receive. Surf coaches must be more than just qualified surf instructors and beach lifeguards. They must be teachers who are carefully trained in how to analyze and communicate surfing. A great coach and a great surfer are not the same thing.
We also minimise our impact on the beach: group sizes are kept small and there is no form of advertising on the beach or road side.
Surf Simply also funds and mentors locally owned businesses, like the newly opened Nosara Tica Surf School. The concept of helping your competitor with their business is an important one. We believe that any economy, small or large, is a social and financial ecosystem in which no one business stands alone. It therefore makes good sense for businesses to support, rather than compete with each other. For example, the process of helping the local surfers in rural Costa Rica become successful business owners can have the affect of changing attitudes. When people see their peers succeed, it makes them realise that they can strive for more too.
Surf Simply also works alongside the Surfing Nosara Foundation on an ongoing basis towards the improvement of local schools.
Our Story
Surf Simply began life as Innocent Surf School and was founded by Ru Hill and Gem Yates. The journey began in the late ’90s when Ru, coaching at the time in Europe was becoming increasingly disillusioned with the traditional surf school model. The “push ‘em into waves and get ‘em to stand up” type of surf school which focuses on getting a high volume of clients and has a quick turn over of untrained instructors is still common today. Ru has always been more interested in creating a new model for surf schools and coaching rather than turning over a profit.
Ru and Gem met and fell in love surfing together in Indonesia. They then set about searching for the perfect location to set up a center of surf coaching excellence. After several thoroughly enjoyable years scouring the globe, they discovered Nosara. The beach in Nosara is the perfect surf classroom. Safe, consistent surf which rarely gets too big. Playa Guiones offers us an uncrowded line up and of course warm water, not to mention being as beautiful place to live.
To begin with Ru & Gem had three boards and worked out of their car in the beach car park. Fast forward a year and they had grown into a store where they were training new coaches. In 2009, the dream of a self contained surf coaching resort became a reality thanks largely to the amazing team now working with Ru & Gem in Nosara.
