The Stand Up Paddle Guide to Los Angeles by John Gabriel

Located in the southern state of California, on the Pacific coast, Los Angeles is an attractive city especially through film production in Hollywood, but also with its large watersports community. John Gabriel, SUP Racer, teacher, and coach in LA, tells us about his city with its conditions, SUP spots, and riders.

Hello John, can you introduce yourself and your background with SUP?

Hello, my name is John Gabriel and I am a school teacher, lacrosse coach, and SUP athlete residing here in Los Angeles, California (more specifically Long Beach). I come from a more traditional sporting background, playing both lacrosse and soccer from a young age all the way through college. I started SUP around 6 years ago and quickly fell in love with the racing side of the sport. Since then, I have been all over the place paddling, surfing, and racing.  I am so grateful for some of the opportunities this sport has given me!

What is your history with LA?

I was born here in Los Angeles County way back in October of 1989 but spent most of my life growing up in the suburbs of New York.  I moved back to LA when I was 22 years old and don’t plan on moving anywhere else! I do most of my teaching and coaching in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, so I spend a lot of time exploring these parts.

What are the weather conditions like throughout the year?

The weather we have in Southern California is ideal for year-round SUP. With a mild-to-hot and a mostly dry climate, it is classified as a ‘Mediterranean climate’. Southern California does experience winds all throughout the year, making for great downwind conditions. Mornings are often on the cooler side when paddling, so layers are sometimes your best bet.

What are the best spots for SUP race training, SUP surfing, and Downwinding? And what are the main circuits to do in SUP?

Los Angeles and its surrounding areas have so much to offer when it comes to SUP and paddling in general.  You can literally find all conditions here, and depending on the time of year and location, certain conditions can be found more often. When the winds pick up and if it’s blowing in the right direction, the Southern California coast can offer up some amazing downwind runs. With the right help from the wind, locals, and a little bit of planning,  you can surf open ocean bumps for hours on the right day!  When it comes to surfing, I don’t want to blow up any spots so you’ll have to ask a local for that one 🙂  But you can take my word for it that LA and its surrounding areas have some absolutely amazing spots for SUP Surfing!  Marina Del Rey, Long Beach, and Newport Beach (to name a few) have some perfect harbors for flatwater paddling as well.

What and when are the main water sports events in LA?

With Covid-19, events have been on pause for the last year. With vaccines rolling out, we are hopeful that the summer will have racing again. When we are not in the midst of a global pandemic, you can find SUP races happening every weekend within a 2-3 hour drive of LA, pretty much all year round.

Can you talk about what the local SUP/watersports community is like? And who are the big names in the area?

The Los Angeles region has a vast water sports and SUP community and continues to grow each year.  In Redondo Beach, you can find SUP legend Danny Ching training year-round with his Outrigger/SUP training club.  In Long Beach, you’ll find the Long Beach SUP Racing Club run by myself, Jake Graham, Rich D’Souza and Kenny Kwong training year-round as well.  If you drive just a bit south towards Newport Beach and Dana Point, you’ll find the world-class youth development team ‘The Paddle Academy‘ run by Mike Eisert (Mike has and continues to coach big names like Tyler Bashor, Jade Howson, Erika Benitez and many others) as well as the adult paddling club Performance Paddling run by Anthony Vela.

Where would you rent your SUP and Foil gear or take classes?

Renting gear varies from harbor to harbor but you can guarantee that each place (Marina del Rey, Long Beach, Venice, Santa Monica, etc.) will have specific places where you can rent gear, get lessons and take classes!

And as a tourist, what things to do and places to see in and around LA would you recommend?

There are definitely a ton of things to do around here if you are a tourist.  Disneyland, Dodger Stadium and all of the iconic beaches and piers are hot spots, just to name a few things. If you enjoy hiking as I do, Malibu has some unbelievable hikes with ocean views, as well as places like Palos Verdes. If you want more of a mountain trek, head into the mountains of Malibu or head to the other side of town and hit the San Gabriel Mountains.

To follow John Gabriel

https://www.instagram.com/jfg4/