Poseidon Paddle and Surf School

I have been paddling in flat waters for few years and got tired so decided to try paddling in the ocean.
So after researching the net and reading reviews, I decided to give a try with Poseidon.
Went to the store and 10 days before the lesson date, I made the appointment and paid thinking everything was fine. I made my schedules around the lesson so that I have a pleasant Saturday morning while doing some work on the afternoon. And then things started going bad.
Irritation 1:
The instructor calls me a day before the lesson and says that the schedule on my appointment time is not available and time available is from 1pm to 2l30 pm. I thought about postponing it since I have 3pm appointment with a client in LA but I decided to go ahead due to the fact that I had ski trip planned for next 2 weeks, thinking reduce my lesson time from 1pm to 2pm and I can return to LA by 3pm. (bad mistake)
Irritation 2: I got to the scheduled location by 12;30 so that we can start the lesson at 1pm sharp and finish by 2pm. Well, he did not show up until 1;25 pm and by the time we were ready to hit the water was 1;35.
Irritation 3: I paid for private lesson, expecting private and undivided attention during lesson time like I have with golf, tennis and ski private lessons. The instructor showed up with another guy on tow, BSing that he is there to just to tag along but he was paying attention to him and when he had problem with leash, well more precious time went to the oven.
By the time I hit the water, I was about as irritated as one can get. Now, my preoccupation was trying to figure out how to get lesson done on time so that I can make myself back to LA on time. And not being on the wave for long time, I started feeling nauseated, so made back to the beach.
After 15 minutes, I felt better and felt like going back to the water by then instructor was in the waves and it was almost 2pm. There went my lesson.
Overall, it was total waste of my money, time, gas and emotion. It was great way to spend $ 150.00 and get pissed off.
Being professional and be on time and ready to teach is something that is out of my control.
Paying and ready to learn is my job.
Anyone who is taking private lesson from this place should be very clear about time and private means private. don’t try to squeeze more people.
As for the quality of lesson, I don’t know… since I never had one. Just paid

You simply cannot go wrong with a surf shop named after Poseidon. I had no idea this surf shop existed until I attended the Santa Monica Pier concert series and happened to park directly in front of this location. I figured this was a sign to walk in and check it out so that is exactly what I did.
I walked in and found an amazing selection of everything SUP (Standup Paddle Boards). I have driven to the beach on several mornings totally stoked to surf some waves only to find the Ocean flat. When the Ocean is flat that does not stop the SUP’s from still getting an amazing workout. I have been surfing for 35 years and never once stepped foot on a SUP so when I observed a Living Social deal for SUP lessons I knew that was something I wanted to explore further and fell in love with it.
After speaking with the amazing knowledgeable staff here I discover they not only offers SUP lessons but they offer everything SUP from boards, to paddles, to board bags, to leashes and even offer package deals so you can purchase everything all at once and that is exactly what I did.
I ended up purchasing the Poseidon SUP package which includes a 10’6″ x 32″ board, a Poseidon board bag, a Poseidon zuma 95 paddle and a Poseidon leash for a walk out the door price of $ 999. I could not be happier with my purchase.
I could not be any happier with the staff here. They were on the ball, immediately knew the answers to any question I had and even hooked me up with a couple of stickers.
If I need anything further than for my SUP I know exactly where to go and that spot is Poseidon!!!
If you are looking for a board, a package deal or simply just want to take some lessons while visiting Santa Monica look no further than this place. Poseidon is literally located within walking distance of the Pier and during the summer months you can find this shop with a stand already setup on the beach for easy access.
I am truly stoked I found this place.

Took a lession with Poseidon in MDR, instructor was amazingly helpful and really made the experience great. Clean high end gear and a super personable and helpful instructor. Can’t say enough good things about Poseidon.
If you are thinking about taking a lesson I would highly recommend them!

great shop to get any of your gear. the owner is very friendly and helpful. I got a great deal on a killer sup and paddle. check em out.

Killer shop run by great guys. Knowledgeable and down to earth. They shaped an 8 foot custom for me, and it’s the best board I’ve ever ridden. I get compliments on it every time I go out.

Had a great experience with the Stand Up/​SUP lessons. Great Malibu Instructors, Fair Price, Excellent Credentials, should’ve gone to these guys first before going to some of the other lesser experienced meat head instructors in the local Malibu area.

I’ve been going to Poseidon for all my SUP gear since they opened. The greatest guys and vibe. I’d go nowhere else.

Matt & Christian, and the other staff, run a wonderful shop that helps unite the SUP community. I always feel well taken care of by their expertise, warmth and respect. I feel they truly listen to serve my needs.

I am in love with SUP! It’s my favorite sport for the summer. Chris is really nice. Tyler is a great instructor! On my 2^nd day, I was in the water with 4 dolphins!!! I couldn’t have asked for a better experience! Way to go Poseidon!

I cannot say enough about Poseidon SUP and the way Christian runs his shop. He is truly a «stand-​up» guy in both senses of the word. Accessible, courteous and full of integrity. I just wish I had more money and storage for the quiver of Poseidon boards I wish I could build
You will not be disappointed.

LOVE, LOVE this place! Poseidon has the most nicest, friendliest people ever! SUP is my favorite sport! Summer, winter or fall, I’m always down!
I have 4 vouchers, purchased for $ 35 each, for sale. I’m going out of town and would hate to see these vouchers go to waste!
Willing to sale for $ 30 includes SUP & SUP lesson. Any takers please text me at 626−524−0404. Vouchers expire November 6…

You guys made SUP much easier for me when you had the boards on the beach of Santa Monica. The convenience is excellent and the service is fabulous. The selection and the availability of the board is workable. Keep up the good work.

My friends and I took lessons from Stacy Lynn through Poseidon. She was awesome. Great teacher. She is also a personal trainers. She was so enthusiastic and fun it would have been hard not to have a good time. Two of us brought their daughters and she took them both out on her paddle board. The people on the phone back at the shop were also great to work with. I highly recommend this place and request Stacy!

Nice people but it’s a free for all when it comes to getting boards or making reservations. The guy at the shop said we should have no problems getting boards but when we walked down to the beach were the paddle boards were supposed to be, the spot was harder to find than described and there were no paddle boards available.

This review is for SUP rental at the Marina Del Rey location. The point of the story is they do NOT guarantee reservations but probably won’t tell you that. Have a backup plan!
I purchased a deal on Amazon Local along with a group of friends and we decided to use the deal on Saturday ⁸⁄₄. I emailed them ⁷⁄₉ indicating I would have 9 or 10 people and wanted to be sure they would have enough boards. Matt responded the same day and said they could accomodate us as long as I contacted him a few days in advance with the final number.
I emailed Matt on Wednesday ⁸⁄₁ letting him know that we had 10 people and would show up at 12:30pm (our vouchers were for a full day rental). I did not receive any response so I called the store on Friday ⁸⁄₃ to make sure they would have 10 boards available for us at 12:30pm. The guy on the phone took my name and number and said he would call if there were any problems.
I’m sure you can see where this is going… Saturday ⁸⁄₄ at 12:30pm, my group shows up on the beach (it’s pretty tough to find Poseidon) just as Jake was giving out the last boards. Matt showed up later with 5 boards so we broke into two groups and the second 5 waited for more boards to come in.
Jake pointed out that we were required to have life jackets on the board but they didn’t have enough so some of us went out without them. Apparently they are not allowed to do «demos» on the beach so we did not get any instruction on how to hold the paddle or how to paddle. It wasn’t that hard to figure out but would have been nice to get some pointers. Especially since the way back was against current and VERY difficult to paddle against.
Overall we had a fun day DESPITE Poseidon. They seem to be running a shady operation considering they cannot take payment on the beach, cannot give demos, and don’t take reservations (although they’ll let you think you have one). I would definitely do SUP again, but not with Poseidon. They just don’t seem to care much about their customers.

Went to Santa Monica to SUP for a couple of hours. We rented two boards and asked if it was too windy to go out. The nice man at the shop said it was ok. Unfortunately the waves were so big that we couldn’t get the boards past them and were not able to SUP at all. We returned to the shop where they reluctantly gave us back $ 20 of the $ 60 paid. However, an honest opinion of the weather would have avoided this huge waste of our money.
A few weeks later, we reserved boards at the MDR location. They promised me the boards would be ready for us at 11:30 for 2 hours. I prepaid for all 3 boards. When we arrived, sure enough, there were no boards available. We had to wait an hour until some boards arrived. I have called Poseidon 3x to get refunded and still have not received my refund. I do not recommend Poseidon, even though they are very nice people, their professionalism is lacking.

These guys are fantastic! Super friendly, professional, and knowledgable.

Great and helpful staff! Just went in for a quick peek at their new location in santa monica, after speaking to the guys there i’ve decided that i’m 100% buying my board from them…
The new location is on ocean avenue… opposite that shady bar Chez Jay

On a whim, I met my friend for a demo day in Marina del Rey. I got a chance to watch a few people paddling and to see the different kinds of boards that are out there. The Coreban board that I tried my first day out (with short 2 min. instruction) was very smooth and easy to maneuver. I had a much harder time balancing and turning with the board I rented for the day. Maybe that’s why those other boards are $$$! Regardless, the owners of the shop seem cool and the girl at the rental desk was super sweet. You can bet I’ll be back when the weather warms up a bit more.
TIP: I highly recommend going to a demo day when they have one. It was nice to talk to others that are really into the sport and try boards that are much higher quality than rentals. :-)

Stand Up Paddling is SO MUCH FUN!!!
I have had 2 lessons with one of the owners of Poseidon now. Both were so much fun. And what a cool workout! That was the appeal to me. I can go as hard as I want or just take it easy and enjoy being out on the open water with all the sea life.
I LOVE this new sport! And they made it super simple to give me a chance to get my feet wet with it!
I’m definitely a loyal customer now!
Thanks Poseidon!