Gillian

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” Jacques Yves Cousteau

Adventurer, Athlete, Model, Stand Up Paddle Yoga Instructor, Owner of Paddle Into Fitness

Gillian is a Massachusetts native who developed a love for the ocean while lifeguarding on Cape Cod. After graduating from college, Gillian worked as a lifeguard in New Zealand, and then moved to San Diego to share her passion for standup paddle boarding and yoga through Paddle Into Fitness. Paddle Into Fitness offers SUP Yoga certifications, providing Yoga Alliance continuing education credits and water safety training for yoga instructors.

When Gillian isn’t busy teaching, she can be found competing in SUP races. Gillian placed first in the Waikiki Quiksilver Festival in the SUP Survivor Race and the Water woman Race, and also competed as a member of Team USA during the ISA World Championships in Peru. Gillian also shows her philanthropic side when she annually paddles 36 miles across the Cape Cod Bay to raise money for the Boston Children’s Hospital.

Gillian has a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management, is a certified Yoga for Surfer’s and Core Power Yoga Instructor, and is registered with Yoga Alliance. She has a decade of ocean lifeguarding experience and is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and Water Safety Instructor. Gillian is sponsored by Roxy, Ocean Minded, Kialoa Paddles, and 404 SUP. She has been a presenter at the San Diego Yoga Journal Conference and Wanderlust Oahu, and was featured on the cover of SUP Magazine and Yoga Journal Magazine.

For more info see www.gilliangibree.com

Mandy

SUP Yoga Certification Instructor

Mandy Burstein began her journey into the world of yoga on the beaches of Costa Rica and has been captivated ever since. She is deeply inspired by the strength and grace of the ocean and synchronizes her yoga classes to manifest that inspiration. Mandy infuses the rhythmic flowing of vinyasa with anusara-inspired attention to alignment, along with references to the 8 limbs of yoga and a bit of playfulness through storytelling to create her unique teaching style.

She encourages her students to begin “living their yoga” by incorporating elements of their practice on the mat into their daily lives. Through teaching yoga, Mandy intends to draw you back into the present moment, bask in all its beauty and send you away feeling relaxed, renewed and ready to shine your light on the world. Mandy feels grateful everyday to be able to fuse together two of her biggest loves: Stand-Up Paddle Boarding and Yoga into teaching SUP Yoga for Paddle Into Fitness.

Brittany

Orange County Head SUP Yoga Instructor

Brittany Slater first traveled to Costa Rica on a surf yoga retreat and found pure bliss while practicing yoga in nature. She eagerly began studying yoga and vowed to share the healing light she found with others. Growing up in Redondo Beach and loving ocean sports, she was immediately drawn to Stand Up Paddle Yoga and completed the Paddle Into Fitness certification to begin sharing her new passion. Brittany created PureSUP Yoga, an inspired eco-friendly stand up paddleboard company and writes for her blog, Eco SUP Yogi. She is thrilled to lead classes and workshops for Paddle Into Fitness’s Sunset Beach location and hopes to inspire her students to connect to nature and manifest their intentions while also challenging their bodies in a fun atmosphere!

Dave

Beginner Lesson & Water Safety Instructor

David has a strong background in water based sports, and the roots of this lifestyle began from his youth as a young swimmer. He competed as a Division I swimmer for Eastern Michigan University and worked as an ocean lifeguard for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Opportunities presented themselves to further broaden his horizons in regards to ocean sports. This lead to surfing, stand up paddling, and attending lifeguard competitions and prone paddle events as a fun goal to train towards.

In 2008, David made the transition from east to west coast and had been lifeguarding for the City of San Diego for several years. He has been training on both stand-up and prone paddleboards. In 2011, he competed in his longest paddle race to date, the Catalina Classic marathon paddle race. He has since set his sights on the crossing from the Hawaiian Islands Molakai to Oahu.

After attaining a Bachelor in Fine Arts and teaching degree, David has become a local artist focusing on
surf themes, and recently designed a promotional poster for a charity paddleboard race.