Surf Coaching in Manhattan Beach and El Porto
Catch more waves, read the lineup, and keep progressing. Our coaching is built for the intermediate surfer who loves surfing and wants community and progression, from surfers just off a soft top to people who have surfed for 20+ years.
Book Coaching
Your next session.
South Bay · $150
Weekly Sessions
Wednesday & Friday · 6:30–8AM
Wednesday and Friday mornings at El Porto. You're one of five surfers in a 90-minute session with one of our coaches. Your coach films you, gives feedback, and recaps what to work on next. After the session, we follow up by email with your footage and a breakdown made just for you.
El Porto · $250
Private Sessions
Monday–Friday · 8:30 or 10:30AM
One-on-one with one of our PAGAN coaches, outside the weekly sessions. Work in the water together or get filmed from the beach. 90 minutes, with personalized feedback. If you're filmed, you get your footage after the session. Your coach may be Matt, Casey or Finn, depending on availability.
Monthly · $500
Core Division
I run Core Division for surfers who want to keep getting better. Three coached mornings a month at El Porto, filmed, plus a video review with me each month.
- 3 coached sessions a month, Wed or Fri at 6:30am, filmed
- A monthly video review with Matt, plus one thing to work on next
- Extra sessions at $100 instead of $150
- The Core WhatsApp with Matt, Casey and Finn for forecast calls and questions
Email us and you'll hear back within 24 to 48 hours.
Your Coaches
Coached by a former pro, with a team behind me.
I've surfed El Porto for over 25 years. I started competing on the WQS in 2008, rode for RVCA, and still hand-shape every board under PAGAN USA.
The coaching that changed my surfing wasn't more technique. It was learning to read the conditions, make a plan, and adjust. Most surfers don't need more technique. They need better waves. So every session starts with the lineup, swell, tide and wind.
I coach alongside Casey Rutherford, who grew up surfing with some of the best surfers on tour today and has a rare gift for making complex things simple and attainable, and Finn Ketola, a local standout coached by some of the best in California who studies philosophy and breaks surfing into simple, buildable blocks. His own surfing is proof the method works.
That's how we run the Under Construction Surf Club at El Porto every week.
What We Work On
Four things move the needle. Everything we do, boards, coaching, the club, comes back to these.
Wave Count
Catching more waves helps you get more reps. It also helps you understand what waves you want to repeat.
Positioning
Learn how to read the lineup. Every beach break and point break has its own patterns, and some patterns apply to all of them.
Equipment
The right surfboards will keep you in the water every day. Learning the ins and outs of design helps you enjoy surfing no matter the size.
Intention
Show up with a plan. One thing to work on. 1% better every session compounds over time.
Surf Retreats
Everything we do, condensed. We head to a wave pool or a premier wave to speed up your progress, with the accountability of getting better together.
Next retreat: November 11, 2026 at DSRT Surf, Palm Desert.
Enquire About the Retreat