Introducing ASI Surfing Instructor: Milan Morky in Czech Republic

Milan Morky is an ASI level 1 surf instructor based at the Salty Lobos surf house in Spain. We caught up with Milan to learn more about he discovered surfing and went on to become an instructor with the ASI:

Hi Milani; tell us a bit about your background

“Hi. My name is Milan, I’m an ASI level 1 surf instructor and I’m from the Czech republic where we don’t have any sea or ocean. But that doesn’t matter, we have a very strong surf community back there. Lots of Czechs love surfing and more and more are becoming addicted to it every year. We even have Czech and Slovak surfing championships every year located in France. We also have a few Czech surf movies and surf houses all around the world. I hope one day we are even going to have Czech pro surfer!”

How did you get started in surfing?

“After school I started travelling. I always liked surfing but I have never thought I could try it myself but thanks to travelling I did. Firstly, I moved to London and then after some time I moved to New Zealand. From there I took short holidays to Australia and during the road trip I tried surfing for an hour, but I couldn’t even paddle properly. It was too hard. That was actually 13 years ago.

“After I came back to NZ I was talking about surfing with my friends and we have decided to move closer so we could surf. Funny story is that on the way there, we stopped at some field and my friend needed to pee so she went in the middle of this field and then she came back with an old surfboard, a Don Wilson.

We were so surprised and shocked that she found it there. It was like a miracle. And we took it like a sign and since then we have been surfing. We had one board for three people, but that didn’t stop us. And since then surfing has been my passion.”

Why did you become an ASI qualified surf instructor?

“After I came back from Canadian Vancouver island, where I got into surfing even more, I started to volunteer at a surf house in Spain. And when this surf house ended its activity, my friend asked me if I wanted to establish a new one on the north coast of Spain with him.

We took two more friends with us and started our surf house, Salty Lobos, in 2018. We had a lot of work to do and one thing was to find Czech instructors.

“We weren’t lucky and decided to do an instructor course in Sagres with ASI for ourselves. Firstly, I was sceptical and I thought I shouldn’t do it because I didn’t feel experienced enough. But it turned out it was one of the best things I have ever done and it helped me in my surfing as well.”

What are you doing right now?

“Now I’m still one of the instructors on Salty Lobos and I hope I will be for a long time. The house doesn’t open the whole year round, but in summer you can find me there. I love to spend winters on mountains and this winter I’m in Switzerland.

“Snowboarding is equally as important for me as surfing even though I found out that surfing lessons are much more fun than snowboarding lessons at least for me personally.”

What do you love about being an ASI SUP instructor?

“After the 107 lessons I did, I still like being an instructor as if it was my first day teaching. I have to laugh, when I imagine myself years ago, learning surfing by myself. It was so frustrating and I had to find lots of things about surfing the hard way (by myself). It took me months to make any progress. And the funny thing about it is that some people can stand and ride after their first lesson. I always say ‘where I could have been if I had an instructor at the beginning’.

“That’s what I like about it, watching people progress and having fun at the same time and, of course, the smiles from ear to ear when they catch a wave. I actually like the whole package, thanks to the surf house, where we also do surf camps, I'm able to spend the whole week with people, day by day.

That means we go on trips together to nature and to mountains, we cook and eat together. We are doing video coaching and we teach them surf etiquette and tell them how to behave in water and what’s good or bad for ecology and to respect locals. And all these things I love to do and I try to teach all our students to be responsible surfers.”

How has COVID and related restrictions changed how you operate?

“With COVID, I must say we were really lucky in Spain. There weren’t too many restrictions. We did have to wear masks on the way to the beach, but after that it was ok. Although We had less guests and students because of the current situation. But on the other hand we had more time for our activities – and for surfing. Nobody got infected thanks to our precautions. So I would say it wasn’t bad at all.”

Can you tell us about any memorable stories or situations that have happened whilst instructing?

“Well, I have a pretty bad memory for stories even though I know there are plenty of them. So I would say, don’t ask me, but that would be a boring answer, but I still don’t have any :)

“What was really nice and made my day, maybe even the whole summer, was when my students wrote me a poem on A4 about my teaching and the week we spent together, that I almost cried at. And now I’m going to work on my story memory. ”

Thanks so much for taking the time to give us some insight into your surfing life and recent experiences, Milan. The moral of the story is that you should always stop to pee in a field because it might change your life! We wish you all the positive waves as you ride into 2021!

If you fancy becoming an ASI surf instructor like Milan then click here to find out how to get started and make your dream job a reality!

 

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About ASI
ASI is a professional membership and training organisation and international governing body for instructors, coaches and schools in the outdoor recreation industry for surfing, stand up paddle and bodyboarding.

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