We offer year round surf & stand up paddleboard (SUP) lessons, classes and marine tours in Santa Cruz, Capitola and the surrounding California Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. All ages, levels and physical/cognitive abilities are welcome!
We also offer weeklong overnight Costa Rica winter surf & yoga retreats. Your adventure awaits!
Note: To our former summer campers and those who are looking to do our Santa Cruz Surf Camps, we are currently not offering our summer surf camps at this time. We will be 100% focusing on surf & SUP lessons during the summers for now. We appreciate all the good times (28 YEARS) surfing and camping with you!
Learn to Surf!
Lessons for all ages and abilities. From first-timers to advanced surfers. Sign up today!SUP Classes!
Go on marine tours around the picturesque Santa Cruz / Capitola shores. Sign up today!Winter Retreats!
Weeklong surfari in exotic Costa Rica. Fun in the jungle, sun and warm blue waters. Sign up today!Through his years of teaching and experience as a professional surfer, Richard developed the Schmidt Guarantee, which guarantees that one will stand up and ride down the face of a wave in their first lesson. (Read more about the Schmidt Guarantee by clicking on the next tab.) His calming character and unending patience makes learning to surf an unforgettable and enjoyable experience. Especially, when you have the added benefit of him or one of his trained instructors riding along side of you and literally lifting you to your feet!
Since that time his instructional surf-based programs have grown to include year round surf & stand up paddleboard lessons, SUP marine tours, ocean safety classes, winter surf & yoga retreats in Nosara, Costa Rica, the “Learn To Surf & Ocean Safety” instructional (online) video touted by Surfer Magazine as “the best how to (videos) ever released.”
“Since 1978, I’ve introduced people to surfing from ages 3 to 70. I’ve found that, with the teaching techniques I’ve developed, the only prerequisite for learning to surf is knowing how to swim. I guarantee it!… Don’t hold back — let me or one of my qualified instructors introduce you to the sport of kings.”
– Aloha, Richard
I started lifeguarding for the City of Santa Cruz in 1978. That summer I started teaching a surfing class through the local City Parks & Recreation Department. I believe you could have counted the number of surf schools in California on one hand back then. Lately, surf schools have become quite popular. Years back there seemed to be mostly a select crew of hardcore individuals who surfed. Nowadays surfing is enjoyed by people from all walks of life.
Personally I think it is awesome so many people are now enjoying the surfing experience. For young kids, there’s no better way to release all that energy and have a positive way to focus it. For adults caught up in fast-paced lives of the new millennium, surfing is the ultimate way to get back into touch with nature which in turn helps to alleviate stress. Surfing requires that you focus on the moment. And as a result, all the stress from that fast-pace life is left on land.
A lot of surfers are not to keen on the population explosion in the water. There’s no doubt that crowded days in the lineups can be frustrating. However, common sense reality is that surfing should be available for anyone who wants to try. We as surfers need to share. So as a result of catching a few less waves, there will be more people in the world with a stoked smile on their face that only a good day’s surfing could bring… And what could be so bad about that?!?!
Watch the Richard Schmidt Surf School in action!
Learn more about Richard, the Richard Schmidt Surf School and the proven teaching methods we use to help beginner surfers learn how to “walk on water!” Click through the video slider on the left and watch all three videos.
You can also find more on the Surf School and Camps on our YouTube & Vimeo channels.
- Our past TV commercial – by the Richard Schmidt Surf School
- Surf Legend, Richard Schmidt – a short documentary by Steve Kern, a 4-time Emmy award-winning director of photography and editor
- How to Surf with Champion Surfing Instructor Richard Schmidt on “The Buzz” – by Outside Television