I'm a coach
I'm a surfer
Vladimir Montoya
Santa Teresa Puntarenas Province Costa Rica
The key to teaching is making people feel good, empowering you. Not everyone is the same and I work to understand your psychology and physiology to customize your lessons. I started surfing when I was 10 years old and am ISA and Lifeguard Certified.
I still remember catching my first fresh wave at only 10 years old. I was walking down the beach to get to school and found a board on some rocks and it didn’t have a leash so I said “wow I have a board!” My parents were one of the first families in the area but they weren’t used to the sea and for them it was impossible for me to surf because they thought I was going to get hurt. They thought surfing was a waste of time and only the backpackers do it. I surfed on the white waters for a week until I got caught. My parents grounded me but then my brother saw how sad I was so he offered to take me to surf. Once we arrived he took me straight to the lineup and left. I was scared because I never went that far but I knew I had to take a wave because that’s the only way to get out. I paddled and it was perfect, I made it!
After that, I began competing in competitions. Now I like to share surf because it’s good for the mind, body, and spirit. I like to make my students feel like friends, make you feel comfortable, high-five you when you fall, and cheer you on!
Surf is therapy for me. It’s meditation and peace by disconnecting from everything. It’s sometimes pushing yourself past your limits, and I hope we can do it together!
Choose your lesson
3 lessons
Beginner Surf Lesson
Solo • Public group • Private group
It takes 4 steps to catch your own white waves. After a quick warmup & stretching session, the first step consists in learning how to properly lay and stand up on the board; starting on solid ground on the beach, then in the water. Next, you’ll learn how to regulate your speed and ride a wave as long as you can. Once this is mastered, it’s time to learn how to manoeuvre your surf board and turn sideways. After following this sequence, you’ll be ready for the last step: paddling and catching waves by yourself.
Beginner
English • Español
1.5 hours
from
$75
/ surfer
Intermediate Surf Lesson
5.0Solo • Public group • Private group
Take your surf to the next level! The goal of this lesson is to improve your surfing skills in order to reach the line up easily and enjoy catching and riding green waves. After being introduced into the ruleset inside the water and at the line up, we’ll work on your skillset to reach the line up (paddling, duck dive, turtle roll), as well as how to read and catch green waves properly. This includes positioning, timing and techniques for clean manoeuvres. With these tools, you'll ride the best waves and have a blast!
Intermediate
English • Español
1.5 hours
from
$80
/ surfer
Advanced Surf Lesson
Solo • Public group • Private group
For this lesson we will go to the best point breaks in order to have plenty of quality waves with no crowd. After a proper warmup, we will do some assessments to check your technique. This helps me to create a tailored program for improving your surfing skills. We will paddle out together to analyse your surf directly from the water and give you accurate feedbacks. The Advanced Surf Lesson will take your surf to the next level and help you to perfect your surfing style.
Advanced
English • Español
1.5 hours
from
$80
/ surfer
5.001 review
Very friendly and patient coach. Very good equipment. We surfed the first green waves in the pacific ocean with his coaching and help. Thank you Vladimir
Akef Felix