Introducing ASI SUP Instructor, Pete Smith, England UK

ASI SUP Instructor, Pete Smith lives near Bude, Cornwall, England UK.   He tells us why and how he got involved in SUP and how he became a SUP instructor.

Why you became an ASI instructor
I was surfing my local break in Cornwall and chewing the fat with a mate in between sets when Big Dave went past on what looked like a huge oversized surf board with an even bigger oversized canoe paddle. "Whoooaa what is that" I shouted above the breeze at Dave! "It's an SUP" he shouted back his words lost on the wind. He caught a wave long before it had really developed any size and I was hooked before I'd even worked out what "SOUP" was (it was a windy day)..
I bought my first SUP about a month later and have been hooked ever since. I qualified as an instructor some years ago and have enjoyed the same look on people's faces as mine that day when they catch their first ankle high wave in the bay.

Where you are currently working or travelling as an ASI instructor
I live and work in Cornwall running my own adventure sports business Saltwater Safari. I run both small group SUPing coaching sessions and beginner SUP surfing. I introduce customers to SUP on flat water progressing onto small waves as well as journeys.
What you like about your work.
The biggest enjoyment for me is meeting people and giving them opportunities to succeed. A lot of people start by telling me "I'll be rubbish" or "I have no balance", and the subsequent enjoyment they get when they realise they can do something and do it well puts a big smile on my face too.

Funny / unusual incident
I was teaching a guy to catch waves on an SUP in the bay and we were doing little loops onto small waves and loving it. I noticed a guy (the sea was really cold) in shorts in a rip tide on an upturned surfboard (fin out of the water), so I gently paddled over to him and asked if he was ok? In a broad Irish accent he said he was great but not catching many waves.. "Perhaps if you turn the board over and try over there you might be more successful" I suggested pointing to the waves. "Yes" he replied "that's a great idea"..
"Or maybe have a lesson" I suggested...
"Don't you worry about that" he said "I've had about 10 lessons.... they tell me that the next one is when I get to find out what to do"!
I never saw him again......



 

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