This fifteen minutes of reading will tell you everything that I wish I knew before I started surfing and lays out the lessons I learned the hard way. Over the past few years I've surfed around the world and have gone to surf schools in five different countries. I'm not writing this as an expert surfer, but rather as a student who has had the benefit of surfing lessons from countless instructors with varied styles and numerous techniques. My biggest take away from all this instructional experience is that 90% of these instructors are terrible at teaching beginners Language barriers aside, they are often too far removed from what it is like to be a beginner or don't have the ability to effectively communicate what has become second nature to them. The lack of good instruction turns people away from surfing and even worse, has caused terrible accidents due to poor safety practices. I myself have a permanent 6 inch scar across my chest from my second time surfing I decided to write this beginners guide as a collection of the best tips and lessons that I've received over the years. This guide is meant to be a short and easy read for beginner surfers and will dramatically increase the fun factor, help you actually get up on the board, and decrease your chances of getting hurt.