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Sean Brody and students in Surf Education Academy, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Trenton Badillo Photography
It goes without saying that surf culture is built into the DNA of many in Southern California, including local resident and founder of Surf Education Academy, Sean Brody. With that connection to surfing and the community that comes with it, Brody has always understood what it means to be part of something larger than himself, even if he didn’t know what that was when he started attending San Diego State University.
Like many college students, Brody entered SDSU with lots of question marks, but what he did know was he loved surfing. So much so that halfway through his college experience, he decided to take time off to surf around the world and figure out what he wanted to be when he ‘grew up’.
When he returned, Brody felt stronger than ever that a surfing business was his calling. Surprisingly, he convinced SDSU to let him complete his master’s degree in Hospitality Tourism Management, with an emphasis in sustainable surf tourism, while studying in West Africa.
(Sean Brody, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Sean Evans)
“I figured there were ways that, as surfers, we could travel to these amazing destinations and be more conscientious about how we spend our time, how we interact with the local environment and how we spend our money,” said Brody. “There are always little things you can do to make sure that you’re supporting the right businesses to help preserve culture and protect the local environment and community.”
After coming back to the U.S., Brody decided to put everything he learned while studying around the world into starting Surf Education Academy.
(Sean Brody, Surf Education Academy Student, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Trenton Badillo Photography)
Since its inception in 2016, Surf Education Academy has not only offered premium surf instructions for everyone (including special populations and people with disabilities), but they also prioritized bettering their local community through volunteer efforts with local nonprofits like Challenged Athletes Foundation, at local surfing events and through their Adaptive Surfing program.
(Sean Brody, Surf Education Academy Student, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Sean Evans)
The Adaptive Surfing program provides surfing instruction to individuals living with disabilities. Brody specifically specializes in working with adaptive surfers as he is the Head Coach of Team USA’s Adaptive Surfing Team and has coached the team to three consecutive world championship titles.
(Closing Ceremony Team USA, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Jersson Barboza)
“Working with the best surfers with disabilities in the country is an honor,” said Brody. “They are all incredibly empowering and watching each of them has been remarkable. But more importantly, watching these young kids that they’re inspiring realize that there’s a pathway to surfing is the coolest thing.”
Because of these collective efforts to help those in their local community, Surf Education Academy was recently approved byBetter Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest to become a BBB4Good verified business in San Diego. Surf Education Academy is already a proudBBB Accredited Business, andBBB and Empower by GoDaddy business accelerator graduate, so adding this additional trustmark felt like the next step.
(Sean Brody and group in Surf Education Academy, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Sean Evens)
BBB4 Good is a new community-forward program that enables trustworthy, purpose-driven businesses to become “verified” by vetting their activities against both BBB Standards for Trust and BBB4Good Standards of higher purpose, community engagement, authentic marketing, and social and/or environmental impact substantiation.
The program focuses on the belief that better businesses create a better community. Studies show that consumer expectations for companies to lead with purpose has continued to rise, but Brody has not had to adjust his business model because they have always put their core values at the forefront.
“Family and community are at the top of our list of core values. So, when those are my filters for how I make business decisions, we’re designed to make a positive impact,” said Brody. “In short, becoming a BBB4Good verified business in San Diego truly shows that we care about our community.”
(Sean Brody and student, Permission Sean Brody, Photo Credit Val Reynolds)
Businesses interested in BBB4Good verification can apply atbbb.org/bbb4good.
