Wave Goodbye to the 9-to-5: How to Become a Surf Instructor

From Wales to Morocco and the Maldives, Outer Reef Surf School is turning surfing into a career – and a growing crew of women are leading the way.

You know that moment when you catch a wave that's better than you expected, and think, what if I could always be doing this?

For a growing community of surfers, that thought is becoming a reality. They’re not pro surfers. They’re simply people who love surfing so much they made it their job to share it. Then it became a passport full of stamps, and a life built around the tide.

Since 1999, Pembrokeshire's Outer Reef Surf School has been a launchpad for women who want to make surfing and travel their world. What started as a place to learn to catch your first waves at Freshwater West in Wales, has grown into an ISA-affiliated, AALA-licensed training ground. And now, through Outer Reef Surf Travel, it’s a genuine route from qualification to a global surf career, with schools and placements stretching from France and Portugal to Morocco, Bali and the Mentawai Islands.

We caught up with co-founder of Outer Reef, Gemma, and two of her coaches, to find out what it actually takes to become a surf instructor and travel the world teaching and surfing.

Sound like your sort of lifestyle? If you’re looking for your next career move, take note.

The pros and cons of teaching surfing abroad

Ask any of the three what coaching overseas is really like, and the answer is never straightforward stoke. You have to leave things behind to travel – friends, dogs and your home community. But it’s worth it.

“Coaching abroad has enabled me to continue my passion for travel,” says Gemma, who is also the founder of Outer Reef's women's community, Salty Sisters. Part of the job she loves is, “seeing new places, meeting new people, sharing knowledge and good times with like-minded people.” And the worst part? “Probably missing flight connections, mosquito bites and leaving behind my dog.”

Sabrina's five years away from Germany reshaped her outlook on life. “Living and teaching abroad has pushed me far beyond my comfort zone. It’s made me more aware of different cultures, and more accepting of different ways of life. Keeping an open mind has been the greatest gift of this journey, alongside chasing incredible waves,” she says. But constant relocation has a cost: "Changing homes more than once a year makes it difficult to slow down, feel settled, or build lasting friendships." She misses her garden – and the tomato plants she's never stayed anywhere long enough to watch ripen.

Joel jumped into surf coaching straight out of university, and found "a real sense of community in Pembrokeshire with the Outer Reef team.” The biggest lesson it’s taught him? “To follow what you love to do and build your life around it.”

The training: make water time a non-negotiable in everyday life

“The instructor courses that we run are ISA and ILS level, which are internationally recognised. To become a qualified instructor you need to complete a water safety course and an ISA level one which we run together,” says Gemma. “It's a really interactive course, and there's lots of water work with swimming rescues and surfing.”

Sabrina swapped a university lecturing post in Germany for a wetsuit, and now teaches surfing in Wales and Spain. She remembers the nerves before her own surfing assessment – and how quickly they lifted. "In the end, it felt more like surfing with friends, and the feedback I received helped improve my own surfing." Qualifying meant logging coaching hours, keeping a reflective training diary, and passing a final assessment with her head coach.

Joel Snell puts the day-to-day at their HQ in Wales into focus: coffee, wetsuits and boards sorted, a first lesson at 10am, a lunchtime surf if the waves allow it, a second lesson at 2pm, and then the least glamorous part – washing a mountain of sandy, stinking wetsuits. "After the working day we may surf again or hit up the pub – or maybe even both.”

Best waves, anywhere in the world

Outer Reef’s home turf of Wales runs deep as a top surf spot for all three surfers – Gemma rating Freshwater West's many peaks and options, while goofy-footed Sabrina loves Broadhaven South's "fast and furious" left.

Further afield, the Canary Islands and Indonesia are high on the list of places the crew love to surf and teach. Gemma names Lobos, Yo Yo's and Nias amongst her favourite breaks. Sabrina keeps her favourite spot in Nias a secret. Joel puts Indo at the top of his list: “The ability to wake up without checking the forecast half the time and just getting in the surf just in boardshorts is heavenly for someone who has spent years of cold winters and howling onshore surf.” We’d agree with that.

Why women surf better together

Ask Gemma and Sabrina why the women-only sessions work, and the answer comes down to community over competition, every time.

"We are the best 'whoo-girls' for each other, cheering each other on for the smallest successes,” says Sabrina. “There’s no need to show off. We share stoke but we also share the doubts and worries.” She also lists the confidence boost in being in a group, post-surf coffee and chats, and permission to talk board colours and bikini bargains.

Meanwhile Gemma lists: happy vibes and big smiles, the “if she can do it, so can I” boost, and above all, "the feeling really happy together and included, no matter what your surfing level or experience.”

It's this energy that built Salty Sisters from a handful of summer sessions in Pembrokeshire into an international community, women-only retreats, and ISA instructor courses in destinations like the Maldives, Bali, Sri Lanka and beyond.

Ready to make the leap?

Whether it's time for your first surf lesson or you’re ready to take your ISA Level 1, Outer Reef's pathway is built to take you all the way from beginner to instructor to working surf coach – with real coaching hours, mentoring beyond the course, and a network of schools across the UK, Europe and Asia to land in once you're qualified.

Find your route in, or your next surf trip, at outerreefsurftravel.com