NYC kids can learn to surf for free this summer thanks to Black Surfing Rockaway

Time Out

7 days ago

As the Atlantic Ocean's waves crashed onto Rockaway Beach on a steamy morning this July, Lou Harris gathered a group of about a dozen kids to look closely at the formation of the water as it formed riptides. Harris, founder of the Black Surfing Association in the Rockaways, doesn't just teach kids to surf; he also teaches them to learn safety strategies in the powerful water on New York City's coastline.
Affectionately called Mr. Lou, Harris teaches free surfing lessons to local kids, no matter their background or finances. Families can sign up here for free lessons that will teach their kids surf etiquette, how to pop up on the board and even how to catch waves. After the lesson on riptides, his legion of surfing newbies grabbed their boards, moved to a safer spot on the shore and paddled into the water to continue their training. Soon, kids were gliding atop the water with smiles on their faces and Mr. Lou's enthusiastic cheering in their ears.
Harris, a Queens native, learned to surf in 2007 under the guidance of other surfers in the Rockaways. Then, years later, Harris heard a news story in 2014 about a kid in Coney Island who set fire to a mattress inside a public housing complex because he was bored. That fire ended up killing a police officer who responded to the blaze. The story stuck with Harris, and he wanted to do something to help local kids beat boredom. He founded Black Surfing Rockaway in 2016 and has been teaching free lessons ever since. The program is fully volunteer-led, with donations coming from sponsors including Vans, Red Bull, Dryrobes, Chinook and actor Jonah Hill; anyone can donate here.
'I don't care what you are. You're part of the crew.'
'Even though it's called Black Surfing Association, it's all kind of kids—white, Black, Asian, Muslim, I don't care what you are. You're part of the crew. Gay, straight, trans, I don't care,' Harris tells Time Out New York.
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As a longtime baby sitter and camp counselor, Harris is a pro at working with kids—and both parents and students appreciate his encouraging energy. 'Once you yell at a kid, you lose them forever. I don't yell at them. I talk,' Harris says. 'I'm a big kid like them.'
Self-proclaimed 'surf mom' Suzanne Cope was so inspired by Harris's teaching of her son, Rocco, that she decided to learn how to surf, as well.
'His voice, when the kid catches the wave, you hear him cheering. It's really so encouraging. He's just such a super positive person. Whatever's going on in his life, he leaves it on the shore, and he's just 100% in the moment,' Cope said.
In addition to the thrill of watching her eight-year-old learn to ride a wave, Cope appreciates how Black Surfing Rockaway's lessons help kids learn to read the waves and how to spot rip currents. It's taught him intangible skills, too.
'It's like life. When you fall down, you get up again.'
'It really has taught my kid grit. Because you are doing a lot of work with very little reward. You're waiting, you're falling, your getting pummeled by the ocean. You could have an entire day out there and maybe stand up for a grand total of 10 seconds, and you still chase it. You still want to do better,' she tells Time Out. 'To have someone who is teaching you to keep trying and never give up and giving you that opportunity is really amazing.'
For Black Surfing Rockaway, the surf season runs during the summer months when kids are out of school. Cope estimates that most students range in age from about 7 to 13. Even when they're not on the water, the surf community Harris built gets together for activities like beach cleanups and Thanksgiving meal distributions.
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As one student said after his recent lesson, 'It's like life. When you fall down, you get up again.'