A surfing duo has turned their lifelong hobby into a business venture, launching the very first surf school in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Budding business entrepreneurs, Daryl Davies and Nic Howell both from Ogmore-by-Sea have set up Southerndown Surf School having received an overwhelming amount of interest from friends and family wanting surf lessons over the last two years.
The decision to launch the business came after the voluntary lessons they had been running reached full capacity, yet the duo still found themselves inundated with demand from children, young people and adults all wanting to learn how to surf.
To launch the new surf school, Nic and Daryl received funding through Axis 4 of the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The funding is administered by Creative Rural Communities the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Rural Regeneration initiative.
The duo which have over 50 years of both local and international surfing experience, having surfed across the globe including Australia, New Zealand and Europe, will operate from Southerndown and Ogmore-by-Sea beaches.
On launching the Southerndown Surf School, co-founder Daryl Davies said: “We decided to launch the school on the back of the success of running surf lessons voluntarily. Since launching these lessons we have received positive feedback from a number of children and parents who requested further tuition. Officially establishing the surf school will not only allow us to teach more children, young people and adults how to surf but will also help to promote the importance of leading a healthy active lifestyle.”
The school, which teaches people from the age of 8 up to the age of 80, is affiliated with the British Surfing Association (BSA) and offers high quality surfing lessons, weekend courses, one-to-one tuition and equipment hire to surfers of all abilities. The school will also accommodate group bookings for university groups, youth groups, team building days and stag and hen parties.
Nic, a former Welsh national surfing champion and a member of the Welsh National Team, said: “Using the BSA proven surf instruction course, we will teach complete beginners how to catch, stand up and ride waves in just one lesson. Full instruction is given on the beach so that students can get used to using their boards and practice their techniques on the sand before riding the waves. By appealing to a wide audience and providing good quality lessons to attract repeat customers we aim to make this a full time way of life.
“To be able to turn our hobby into a fully operational business is a dream come true for us. However, without the support of Creative Rural Communities and the funding we have received this would have not been achievable.
“From the funding we have been able to invest in quality wetsuits, learner friendly surfboards, high visible rash vests, and promotional material. Students are supplied with wetsuits and boards suitable for all conditions allowing lessons to take place all year round and our business to become a reality.”
Phil Chappell, principal rural regeneration officer, said: “As a regeneration and development scheme we have the opportunity to not only help business entrepreneurs like Nic and Daryl expand and grow their business but also help keep investment opportunities and employment high in the Vale of Glamorgan.
“New business ventures like this one are vital if we are to keep the local economy thriving. We are thrilled to have been able to provide funding to help Nic and Daryl turn their voluntary work into a business venture which will benefit not only the Southerndown Surf School but also the local community. We look forward to watching it develop further over the months ahead.”
