Luke
If I’m honest I wasn’t too sure of what I was going to make of Ibiza… It was the last stop of a two month European tour and I had never been to the White Isle. I’d heard a lot about the clubs and the party scene and, although I like a night out my job involved a lot of entertaining so in my free time I wasn’t always ‘mad for it’. Arriving on the ferry that first time it was still dark so I drove Bruce, my beloved VW camper to the North East of the island for sunrise. The beach was empty and as the sun began to rise I took off my clothes and ran into the sea. Lying in the warm crystal clear water watching the sun illuminate the beautiful Ibizan coastline was magical. Ibiza is like that; magical… whether it’s the beauty of the island or the friendliness of the people, I’ve never felt such energy in any other place. It’s an island that invokes a desire to properly live life and experience the riches that we’ve been given on earth. I know that may sound a little rainbow but it’s genuinely true. Being here makes you want to get out into nature; go for a walk, get on a bike or dive into the sea. I was working in the City of London as a money broker for 15 years and probably spent most of my days dreaming of being somewhere else; skiing, surfing or my recently found passion of stand up paddleboarding. It wasn’t until I arrived on Ibiza that first time and experienced paddling over the incredible colours of the water that I realised I had found what and where I wanted to be.
My qualifications include St John Ambulance Sports First Aid, SUP Instructor Water Safety Rescue, ASI Level 1 Enclosed Water SUP Instructor and ASI Level 2 Exposed Water SUP Instructor.
A bit more about Stand Up Paddleboarding and Us
SUP began in the 1940/50s in the South Pacific. Some say it began when the Waikiki beach boys took a paddle out with their longboards to get the earliest glimpse of the oncoming swell and keep better watch on their surf class, others say it was to take photos of the surf tourists… whatever the origins it wasn’t until around the change of the century that the sport really began to take off. Since then it has quickly become one of the fastest growing sports of the millennia and as soon as you try it we’re sure you’ll understand why. Part of paddleboarding’s success is its ease of access; it’s easier to learn than windsurfing and not as scary as surfing but it still provides that amazing fitness and adrenaline rush. It’s a low impact exercise so it’s not bad for your joints and it provides a total core and cardiovascular workout. Paddle Ibiza is proud to embrace the sport for its health and spiritual/mental benefits and believes that as long as you can swim there are no barriers to its enjoyment.
Loving the ocean and it’s wildlife means helping to protect them is high on Paddle Ibiza’s agenda. We ask all of our friends and clients to join us in our efforts to keep the waters clean and any litter found when out on the board is always returned to it’s rightful place; the bin.
We have the best quality equipment from one of the most innovative brands around; Red Paddle Co. We use inflatable boards over the ‘hard’ board as we believe they offer the same rigidity but with more comfort and cause less damage to the coastline should any accidental collision take place.
