Six Coaches, and You Will Meet One of Them on the Sand
You are about to hand somebody your morning, and possibly your child, in moving water. Reasonable to want a name first. There are six instructors, and five of them learned to surf on this coast as kids rather than arriving for a season and picking it up. That matters for one concrete reason — wave selection. Which corner of the break is working on this tide, whether the wind is about to ruin it, whether to move you twenty feet down the beach. Get that right and you catch more waves in 1.5 hours. Get it wrong and you spend the morning paddling.
Quick Details
- Kevin Sullivan — owner and instructor. Learned at Honolua Bay, World Qualifying Series in 2008, WSL World Tour since 2009.
- Mario Menze — Napili-born, taught by his father Tony. Rides tandem with keiki, so he is the one for small children.
- Nick Heradia — on island since 2001, teaching since 2003. The longest teaching record on the team.
- Taylor Vicar — caught his first wave at eight years old at Guardrails, the break your lesson runs at.
- Cole Millington — 24, lives in Lahaina, first waves at Breakwall around age eight. D.J. — born on Maui, has chased waves across several continents.
KEVIN SULLIVAN
Owner & Instructor
Kevin grew up on the west side of Maui, in Lahaina, and learned to surf at Honolua Bay.
His cousin taught him the basics there, then how to prepare for competition — which is a different education entirely, and the reason a first-timer here is being coached by someone who has spent seventeen years reading waves under competition pressure. He entered the World Qualifying Series in 2008 and has been on the WSL World Tour since 2009, which has taken him around the world and back. When he is not on tour he teaches here. A competitor at that level spending his time on first-timers is unusual, and it sets the standard the rest of the team coaches to.
“If you spend a few days riding the surf with me, you will immeasurably improve your skills. You will also begin to understand why it can be hard to be away from Maui for too long!” – Kevin Sullivan
Mario Menze
Favorite Surfer: Andy Irons
Instructor
Napili born and raised. Mario learned to surf from his father, Tony Menze, who competed professionally for years.
He is a Lahainaluna graduate and still lives on the west side. Outside lessons he surfs, hikes and rides tandem with keiki — the exact skill that makes him the right instructor for a small child. Riding tandem well is harder than it looks, and it is the thing that turns a frustrating morning for a six-year-old into the story they tell at school.
“Surfing changed my life and I feel extremely blessed to share that love and respect for the surf with visitors every day!”
– Mario Menze
D.J.
Favorite Surfer: Kevin Sullivan
Instructor
D.J. was born on the Valley Isle and grew up surfing it, which fine-tuned his reading of this water early.
Since then he has traveled across several continents looking for waves, and he brings that back to the beach as a wider frame of reference for what a wave is doing and why it is doing it, which is more useful to a nervous beginner than it sounds. Useful when somebody is nervous and cold and has just fallen off for the fourth time running.
“I look forward to sharing my passion with our guests!”
– D.J.
Taylor Vicar
Instructor
Taylor was born in Hilo, on the Big Island, and moved to Maui at four.
He caught his first wave at eight, alongside his brother, at Guardrails — the same break your lesson runs at. Nobody else can say that. It means his coaching is built on a couple of decades of watching that specific wave behave, which is the difference between being told to paddle and being told exactly when.
“Every time I teach a lesson I’m stoked to share my love and passion for the sport with others. See you all in the water, AAAAAloha!!!”
– Taylor Vicar
Nick Heradia
Favorite Surfer: Rob Machado
Instructor
Nick has been on island since 2001 and started teaching surf lessons in 2003.
Twenty-three years. That is the longest teaching record on the team, and it shows most in how he handles somebody who is frightened of the water and would rather not admit it. He is also a musician and a father.
“My favorite part about teaching surf lessons is the initial push, when the student looks back at you with the biggest smile on their face. Allowing others to feel the power of surfing is the best job in my book!”
– Nick Heradia
Cole Millington
Favorite Surfer: Torren Martyn
Instructor
Cole is 24 and lives in Lahaina. He rode his first waves at Breakwall around age eight and has not stopped since.
Surfing runs through the rest of his life too. He has a hot sauce company named after his favorite break, which tells you roughly everything. Fun first, technical second — which is the school’s whole operating principle, and he is the clearest expression of it.
“Surfing is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world and I love sharing that with others, we are gonna have a blast!”
– Cole Millington
Hannah Erickson
Photographer
Hannah Erickson and her team of photographers shoot on the beach, and that is booked as its own add-on rather than bundled into the lesson.
Worth knowing in advance, because it needs arranging ahead of your session rather than decided on the sand. If you want the morning documented properly, sort it when you book.
Local Knowledge Is the Actual Product
What separates a good beginner lesson from a mediocre one is wave selection, and that is entirely local.
Which corner of the break works on this tide, whether the wind has come up, whether to move you down the beach or simply wait ten minutes for the set to clean up — a coach who learned here makes all of those calls without appearing to think about them. Hawaii’s surf is strongly seasonal — swell reaching south-facing shores arrives about once a week in summer, with the north and west coasts peaking in winter — so the judgment changes month to month.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will be teaching my surf lesson?
One of the six instructors above. Which one depends on the day, your group size and the ages in your party — Mario, for instance, is the tandem specialist for young children.
Are the Local Pros Maui instructors local to Maui?
All six are Maui surfers. Taylor Vicar was born in Hilo on the Big Island and moved here at four; Nick Heradia has been on island since 2001.
How experienced are the surf instructors?
Nick Heradia has been teaching since 2003. Kevin Sullivan has competed on the WSL World Tour since 2009. Cole Millington and Taylor Vicar have both been surfing since around age eight.
Who is best for teaching young children to surf?
Mario Menze rides tandem with keiki, which is how children too small for their own board still catch waves. Every instructor teaches children.
Do the instructors teach experienced surfers too?
Yes. Advanced lessons are available for surfers who already ride and want to work on technique rather than learn the basics.
Book Your Lesson
Local Pros Maui · 10 Hoohui Rd #110, Lahaina, HI 96761 · www.localprosmaui.net
Tell us who is coming and how old they are, and the right instructor gets put on your session.
Rated 5 Stars by Happy Customers
