Star Beachboys Waikiki Surf School — Local services in Honolulu

We recently took a surf lesson with Star Beach Boys and unfortunately it was a frustrating experience. I told the instructor I took some lessons in California but that seemed to backfire on me.

I don’t know the name of the instructor because he didn’t tell us his name. He spoke to us in a condescending and irritated tone throughout. While he did give us a demonstration on fundamentals on the beach once we all moved to our boards on the sand, he walked away and told us to “practice,” even though we were all beginners. There was no hands-on help, no tips on paddling, popping up, or positioning. Seemed like there was an expectation that we’d figure it out ourselves. Sure, surfing is something you learn by doing and feeling but with a lesson you have that real time feedback as well, not by being left alone after a brief demo.

Things didn’t improve once we got into the water. The instructor started yelling at us as if we were supposed to be experienced surfers. He did give us some tips in the water but, the whole experience went from something that should have been fun to one that was stressful and discouraging. At one point he said I looked confused in the water, but I was actually paddling away from him because I had enough of the negative attitude and tone. I didn’t even care to catch waves.

Even after our lesson, the guy collecting our boards on the beach also spoke in an irritated, rude tone. I actually told him directly that he can’t talk to people like that and he should watch his tone. It was uncalled for.

Shout out to the front desk girl, she was the only nice employee I interacted with.

As someone who is born and raised in Hawaii I was disappointed in the way we were treated. I would not recommend beginners to take a lesson from Star Beachboys. Local or not, the staff needs a serious reminder that surfing is about having fun, and that treating people with patience and respect is the...

I had the worst experience with this company. I bought a 2-person surf lesson through Groupon, and my friend and I went yesterday for the class. We were assigned to have a class with Kai (I’m not sure if his name is spelled correctly). I mentioned to him that I didn’t know how to swim, and he said it wouldn’t be a problem. At the beach, he showed us the steps to stand on the surfboard, and we went into the water. He then got frustrated because I was having a hard time paddling, and he started to yell at me! He said that my problem was that I wouldn’t listen, even though I was listening and trying to get how to paddle, but he wasn’t even trying to teach me—he was just showing how to do it from afar. He kept yelling and saying that he wouldn’t paddle for us. I gave up 5 minutes in, I was shaking from being nervous and feeling overwhelmed. Plus there’s no way I’m going to let some random person yell at me in the middle of the water when they’re supposed to be TEACHING us.

So I told him I was paddling back, and he got SO mad. He started saying that we didn’t speak English (we are both Brazilian, but I’ve lived here for the past 7 years and have never had anyone complain about my English before) and because of that we weren’t supposed to be doing this, that I didn’t listen and that’s why I would never succeed, that I left my friend by herself in the ocean, and that if something happened to her, it would be my fault, etc. He continued to talk badly about me to my friend throughout the entire lesson. I definitely don’t recommend this place or this specific instructor. Don’t trust these amazing reviews—they take pictures of the people during the lessons and offer them “for free” in exchange for a 5-star review. They did that to my friend at the end of the lesson. Unless they change their methodology, I recommend finding another place for...

On a recent coaching trip in O’ahu, my twirling student and I had the privilege of taking a surf lesson with Kalani. It was the first time either of us had ever surfed. Kalani taught us about the historical surfing significance of Waikiki Beach and explained how special it was that we had this opportunity. Many years ago, only the Kings and Queens were afforded this privilege to surf the break we were about to try.

The surfing lesson started with a short on-beach and close-to-shore water demonstration of the basics, and after this we paddled out. Kalani expertly chose the best waves to ride and pushed us with the wave and gave directives on when to pop up on the board and where to look, etc. On the first wave, I stood up and surfed almost all the way to the shore! This was a direct result of Kalani’s incredible attention to detail and invaluable tips that he gave during his demonstrations.

Throughout the rest of the lesson Kalani helped to refine our technique, and also got us to the point of paddling and popping up on the board all by ourselves.

We finished the lesson on the beach by giving a piece of ourselves back to the ocean with a chant led by Kalani.

Kalani made our first surfing experience an adventure I will never forget. I highly recommend a surfing lesson from Star Beach Boys, as it is so much more than just a surfing lesson.

I can’t wait to get back in the water to surf once again. Kalani has inspired me to learn more about the history of surfing, to watch and study some of the best Hawaiian shortboard and longboard surfers on the WSL, and to research some workouts and tips to improve my paddling and pop up abilities while at home.

Mahalo Nui Loa Kalani and Star Beach...