Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave French.
Dave, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In 2011 I was in between careers at 34 years old and decided to take a break from the corporate world, so as a life long surfer, I thought,” I should teach surf lessons this summer!”
Indo Jax surf school was hiring, the owner, Jack Viorel called be back after seeing my resume, and I started right away with a very cold, but very rewarding Spring Break surf camp for kids.
That first summer was incredibly eye opening. The summer camps in the morning was the first time I had really worked with kids. Their energy and curiosity was the opposite of the office life I had just left. It was amazing!
However, when things drastically changed for me was when I got to be an instructor for the Visually Impaired Charity event we host each summer. I nervously took a 14 yr old girl named Sammy surfing. She left her seeing eye dog on the beach, her mom and grandmother anxiously watched us enter the ocean and I paddled the board with both of us on it out through the breaking waves. While out there we talked about surfing and everything else we could think of. We went for a couple of waves, but that first hour was her getting to trust me, and me learning how living her life without sight shaped her.
Those events are 2 hours each evening, for 3 evenings. By the second evening she had mapped out a rhythm the ocean hides beneath the waves and she was telling me when good waves were coming before I even knew. Sammy stood up on several waves throughout the event, Sammy, who cannot see, surfed in the ocean! It changed her life, the way her family saw her capabilities and the way I saw my own.
That was the first time I saw, felt the power that the ocean and surfing had, but it was far from the last. That summer I surfed with non-speaking kids, kids who were surviving cancer, kids from Belarus who had radiation poisoning, kids from our own community who had never been able to make it to the beach. Although the kids were very different from one another, we had all shared a common bond by playing, laughing and surfing in the ocean together. I ended up working half of the next summer too before reluctantly returning to a “real” job. But I thought about those days on the beach all the time. Whenever I was in Wilmington I’d ask Jack to volunteer at the charity events. Years past, I got married, we had a son. When our son was a little over one year old we found out that he has a very rare chromosomal disorder called Teratsomy 18p. He would be delayed for the rest of his life. Just as my wife, Megan and I were trying to process that, we got news Megan was pregnant with our second child. In two short years, we were a family of 4.
My job at the time was amazing, but it required me to travel a lot. I knew that it wasn’t sustainable with 2 new humans at home. I was scrambling in my mind to figure out how to support my family but not travel.
One day Jack and I were talking, he had mentioned wanting to sell the surf school so he could be free to travel with son, Finn who was a rising surf pro.
After a few months of talks, I very fortunately found someone to help me purchase Indo Jax and I officially took over March 2021. We’ve kept all the things that makes Indo Jax great and have tried to build beyond what we do each year.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Owning a business is not the ease and freedom most think it might be. Taking over a brand built by someone has advantages for sure, but pressure as well. Personally being friends with the old owner it was mandatory that I did great job, in a job I had never done; operate a mid sized surf school for kids. Managing the instructors, learning the vendors, their timing, and building report with the families that already knew and trusted Jack. Typical struggles of working outside as well, storms, and of course hurricanes.
A year after taking over the surf school, I also took over the surf non profit, and the struggles really began.
COVID had all but destroyed what took 10 years to build in just a few months. Sponsors moved on or forgot about the work we did, a whole new population had moved to the area with no knowledge of our outreach. It was difficult to find funds for our events, and keeping the events free would never change.
The first year with the charity we more than doubled our attendance and added a new event, Chromosomal Difference surf experience.in honor of my son. We had four 2 day events, with 50 participants total! The events were all financed from the profits of the surf school. Since that first year the charity has gotten better at fund raising with events like our annual Crocathon, a pledge per mile walk around the famous Loop on Wrightsville Beach, and personal donations from people around the country who can see the value that these events have on kids and their families. The struggles exist, but seeing each event happen every summer makes it worth while
We’ve been impressed with Indo Jax Surf School and Charities , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Indo Jax teaches surfing to anyone who wants to learn, from ages 4 on up, including kids and adult with different needs, medically fragile kids/adults and kids from underserved communities. We’ve been doing this on Wrightsville beach for 19 years, as well as around the world in places like California, Panama, India and Iceland. I take the most pride in our instructors! Every summer we have an inspiring team of instructors from high school kids to school teachers having a summer job to Moms and Dads, all in the water working towards our shared goal; empowering people through learning to surf.
The fun of being at the beach, the excitement of learning to ride waves is how we get to instill confidence in everyone who surfs with us.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Our instructors. The team of pro instructors and volunteers make Indo Jax a special experience for every one who surfs with us. Their work ethic, knowledge and passion for sharing the ocean makes them standout year after year. We currently have instructors entering their 10th plus year with us, and more that have been with us for over 5 years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://indojaxsurfschool.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indo_jax_surf_school and https://www.instagram.com/indojaxsurfcharity
