NEW SMYRNA BEACH
The JLSA Team
The team at the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy are all experienced surfers, including current, former and future pros! Many of our team started by surfing in the JLSA summer camps!
Jimmy JL Fast Lane
Director Jimmy Lane moved to New Smyrna Beach as a teenager and took up surfing as his new sport to go along with football, basketball, track, and skateboarding. He was also on the swim team and became a VC beach lifeguard. Jimmy was quickly successful in amateur surf contests and made the decision to go pro. He travelled around the world on the ASP tour and won many pro events, spending a month ranked as the number one surfer in the world! While surfing and living in Australia, he attended a certified judging school and has since been a judge for many pro and amateur events. Jimmy has met and surfed with many other professional surfers and board builders and as a world-renowned surf artist himself, has airbrushed thousands of surfboards over the last thirty years, carving out a niche as one of the fastest artists in the industry. Several of his murals can be seen around New Smyrna Beach, such as the one on Red Dog Surf shop.
Jimmy opened the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy over thirty years ago and his summer camps have been the official camps for the New Smyrna Beach Leisure Services Department. He is a spectacular artist and dad. Jimmy is very active in the New Smyrna Beach community and the NSB Museum of East Coast Surfing. Jimmy's wife and daughters have been part of the Academy every year since the start, and the team of coaches are just like family as well. The JLSA Summer Camp Program has been called a rite of passage in this area... and is a vacation destination to many from all over the world!
Joe Surbaugh is a lifelong resident of New Smyrna Beach and Head Surf Coach for Jimmy Lane Surf Academy. Joe has been surfing since the age of 4 and has competed in amateur and professional surfing competitions for over 25 years. He has traveled extensively, surfing and competing over the years in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Tortola, Mexico, France, Spain, Barbados, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and all over the US.
Coach Joe always loves being in the ocean and has worked in the surf industry for many years. Joe has a wealth of knowledge about surfing and knows what board you will need and how to get you riding on your first lesson as well as what you need to grow and progress as you improve, whether you are beginner, intermediate or advanced surfer.
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Joe enjoys sharing the knowledge from his surfing experiences and using them to teach our students to stand up and ride a wave for the first time and beyond!
Joe Surbaugh
Gus Hultgren
Gus is a competitive surfer who is sponsored by the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy. He started surfing when he was just five years old at this very camp. He currently competes in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) and USA Surfing Prime East. During the past 3 years Gus has qualified to compete in the national championships in both NSSA and USA Surfing Prime. In 2022 he was asked to be part of the USA Surfing Junior National Team coached by Asher Nolan and Ryan Simmons. More recently Gus placed 4th overall at the NSSA East Coast Championships in the Open Boys Division. He rides for Red Dog Surf Shop and local shaper Greg Geiselman on Orion surfboards. When Gus isn't surfing he can be found fishing with friends or on his e-bike looking for the next secret spot.
Coach Ray is a former high school health/PE teacher and wrestling coach for over 20 years. As a lifelong soul surfer raised in Virginia Beach, Ray has experimented with many shapes and styles of board while surfing 8 different countries and relocating to New Smyrna Beach 10 years ago. Ray now prefers the old school point stylish longboard surfing as he progresses in age. In addition to teaching and coaching surfing with the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy, Ray is an avid grappler and a former Virginia State Champion Wrestler in high school, a 2x Conference Champion, and a 2x NCAA Division I National qualifier in college. While coaching high school wrestling, two of his programs went on to win State Championships in both Georgia and Virginia during his career. He currently coaches a National Elite level wrestling club in addition to being a surf instructor. Ray truly has a passion for coaching!
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Instructors Mary Lane and Taylor Lane-Wise have literally grown up in the surf! These sisters have spent every summer at their dad's surfing academy learning by hands-on experience the art of surfing and teaching. They hopped on the surf bus every morning and together they headed into mother nature's classroom. Instructors and soul surfers by choice, they help keep the camp organized and running smoothly. Taylor shines with delight as she works with the youngest set of beginner surfers. A 2019 Smyrna Surfari Club Scholarship Winner, Taylor has pursued a degree in Business Management. Mary, a vet tech specializing in farm animals and equine, is also our head girls' instructor and our "camp biologist" as a side hobby. She shares her knowledge of marine and land critters with our campers as she finds (searches for) interesting species. With their keen eyes both Mary and Taylor watch over their students, facilitating their learning and pointing out the next sets about to roll in. From their life-long experience they explain the ocean conditions and weather patterns. Mary and Taylor not only love to surf in their free time, but they have dedicated themselves to continue the legacy of Jimmy Lane's passion, the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy.
Ray Baldwin, Mary Lane, Taylor Lane-Wise
