10 Reasons to Train as a SUP instructor
Posted: 1 October 2023
Stand Up Paddle Boarding is the fastest growing water sport. Why? It’s extremely versatile and one which offers many options. From downwinding, surfing, racing, SUP touring, SUP fitness and SUP yoga to name but a few.
The basics of SUP are also fairly easy to learn for everyone and so it appeals to all ages and abilities. It’s a great job, here are 10 reasons to train as a SUP instructor.
1) Travel
It allows you to travel. Follow the summer sun from one hemisphere to the other getting work. Delivering SUP lessons is often seasonal and so you can go anywhere in the world to work with the correct qualifications.
2) Outdoor Office
Not keen on being stuck in an office for 8 hours a day? A SUP instructor gets to be outdoors in nature every day. What could be better?
3) Health and fitness
Working as a SUP instructor means you are using your body daily to workout, stay healthy and get paid!
4) Wellbeing
Working in nature gives you a greater work/life balance and wellbeing. You get to see amazing wildlife, seals, dolphins, bird life, beautiful sunsets and amazing water-based locations.
5) On the Water Increases our Feel-good
Research has shown that being near or on the water increases our feel-good factor through the negative ions. Negative ions are most prevalent in natural places and around moving water. Negative ions increase your sense of well-being and mental clarity. They are often described as a natural anti-depressant.
6) Work with People
We are social animals. Working with people, teaching them new skills, allowing them to discover the benefits of SUP and have fun is a wonderful way to work.
7) Meet Interesting People
One of the joys of being a SUP instructor is you get to meet people from all walks of life. You will meet and make great friends along the way that perhaps you wouldn’t otherwise meet in an ordinary desk job.
8) Different Locations
You can be a paddleboard instructor virtually anywhere there is water. So, whether it’s on a lake, lagoon, river, estuary, reservoir, canal or on the sea, there’s a good chance that wherever you live you will be able to teach paddle boarding somewhere nearby.
9) Different disciplines
SUP Yoga, SUP tours, SUP fitness, SUP Surfing, Downwinding, flatwater paddling, open water paddling, SUP racing you name it. SUP is so versatile – you will never get bored having this career.
10) Take SUP Tours
You don’t need to stay in one location. Once trained up you can take people on SUP tours, a great way to see the landscape change along the coast or follow a river from source to sea. A fabulous way to travel and stop off for lunch to explore new places.
Will Anido is an ASI SUP Trainer and Instructor. He says: “Becoming a SUP Instructor has been the best job move I ever made. I saw the health and fitness benefits that could be gained from SUP - offering a great way to train, being outside, on the water getting fit and getting paid at the same time. It’s allowed me to travel the world, working and doing what I love, being outdoors, meeting great people along the way. It’s just the perfect job!”
So, there are 10 reasons to train to teach SUP. What other reason do you need?
Get yourself on a course and follow your dreams!
Courses listed on ASI website at: https://www.academyofsurfing.com/courses/search
