Ventura Surf Shop - 88 E Thompson Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001 - VISIT SITE
FCD Surfboards - 43 S Olive St, Ventura, CA 93001 - VISIT SITE
Laguna Surf & Sport - 1088 S Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 - VISIT SITE
Our Ventura Surf Club hosts full-day, all-inclusive sessions at The Cove, C Street, Ventura. The team welcomes kids of all ages and abilities and adapts the surfing experience to each child's needs. The sessions are a LOT of fun!
Pure Stoke also runs a wetsuit recycling program. Drop off your used wetsuits at The Ventura Surf Shop, 88 East Thompson, Ventura to support your community.
Go to our Home Page for 2024 dates
2021
Exact surfing times will depend on the tides and wave conditions, but we're usually at the beach from 9am until around 2pm each scheduled day. Just keep in mind that we can’t control the weather so in the event of a
storm or other poor conditions, we may have to change the times slightly or cancel altogether. We give as much notice as we can on the (rare) occasions that this happens.
Location
Surfer's Point (C Street)
450 E Harbor Blvd
Ventura, California 93001
We’ll have a couple of pop-up tents set up on the beach and should be pretty visible!
Parking and Accessibility
There’s some free parking and a public lot next to the Crowne Plaza hotel, and ADA public restrooms on the promenade. If you need assistance getting across the sand to us, just let us know!
Our Coordinating Instructors
Anthony Corral is a Ventura entrepreneur who’s been surfing the local breaks since he was a child. He’s also a long-time volunteer instructor for several other surf therapy non-profits and has taken more kids and adults out than anyone can count! His ‘when I become an adult’ dream is to surf with children… which says everything you need to know about his commitment and all-round loveliness.
He's been the driving force behind creating a local surf club just for Ventura to share his passion for surfing with as many kids as he can.
Chris Thomson, also called "Big Chris" has been tandem-surfing with children for the past 20 years and is well known in the surf therapy world. We are very happy to have him on board as our main safety instructor.
It's not seldom that he'll do some acro-yoga on the beach or lift up a female partner above his head while catching a wave.
What You Need to Bring
We provide all the equipment, from boards to wetsuits, helmets (recommended but not mandatory) and life jackets to tents (for shade, not surfing). Children should come in loose clothing that’s easy to put on and off. Don’t forget sunblock (we keep supplies just in case), towels, and a blanket and picnic/snacks. We want to keep waste to a minimum - we provide drinking water but ask that you bring reusable cups or bottles to fill, and think about plastic-wrapping- free snacks (fruit works ...)
ROSARITO
Carlos and his team give regular surf lessons to children from underprivileged backgrounds, and surf therapy sessions to kids with extreme special needs.
Carlos owns the local surf shop and banned plastic bags a long time ago, and he also leads regular beach and ocean waste clean-ups.
We're now expanding the environmental components of this program, and providing extra, sustainable equipment so that more kids can participate.
Locales Surf Shop
Pure Stoke is proud to have teamed up with the local chapter of Olas Mágicas, which is driven by this moto: " El Surf y las Olas son para Todos. Viva la Vida, No Necesitamos Permiso para ser Libre..." (Surf and Waves are for Everyone. Hurray for Life - We don't Need Permission to Be Free...). The Rosarito team is led by Locales surf school owner Carlos Luna, and ably supported by a team of volunteers (many of whom started out having lessons with Carlos and are now giving back by volunteering with him).
From modest beginnings to having significant impact...
Carlos started surfing with children from low-income backgrounds and children with special needs in 2014. He began with one 12’ surfboard and now provides more than 600 free surf sessions every year (and he has a few more boards, too!).
Sessions range from weekly to bi-monthly depending on the groups and the season, and kids come from far and wide to participate.
Carlos also started the “Make our beaches more beautiful” initiative and so far has decorated 25 beach trash cans with beautiful designs (which makes them nicer to look at and more likely to be used!). He's all about neighborhood engagement and leveraging local resources, and has received many rewards from the Rosarito community for his work with children and for the environment.
Pure Stoke's next steps
We've been going down to Rosarito with equipment and extra volunteers for a while now, and have loved sharing ideas and plans with Carlos and his colleagues. Pure Stoke has now officially teamed up with Olas Para Todos to support their efforts to grow ideas of inclusion and surfing in Mexico, and increase the impact of their environmental approach. We're looking forward to building upon each other's strengths going forward.