Carving Social Club: Our Story

Carving Social Club was born in Madrid in 2011 from a simple question: how can you keep working on your surfing when the ocean is hundreds of kilometres away?

We started looking for answers outside the water. Surfskate, specific training, pool sessions, physical preparation, technique and movement. At a time when training for surfing far from the ocean still seemed strange to many people, we were already experimenting with different ways to transfer surfing sensations to asphalt and training.

But the aim was never to replace the ocean. Quite the opposite. We wanted to be better prepared when we got into the water, understand more clearly what was happening on the board and make the most of every opportunity to surf.

Madrid was our laboratory

During those early years, we tried many ways of training for surfing without being near the ocean. Surfskate eventually became one of Carving's most important tools and also one of the ways many people first discovered us.

We taught classes, organised training sessions and created a series of surfskate tutorials covering everything from the first steps and pumping to movements increasingly related to surfing. We tried to turn sensations that are difficult to explain into concepts that could be understood, repeated and later taken into the water.

Our shop also grew around this movement and became number one in sales for some of the leading surfskate brands we worked with. That allowed us to test very different models, systems and setups over the years and develop a deep understanding of a tool that was beginning to become popular among surfers.

But selling surfskates was never the final goal. What really interested us was discovering what each tool could contribute to surfing and how to teach it in a useful and meaningful way.

Over time, we expanded that work. We developed our Surf Training in Madrid, combining pool and gym work on areas such as paddling, take-off, breathing, endurance and coordination. The idea remained the same: use time away from the ocean to be better prepared for the next surf session.

Everything had to lead back to the water

At the same time, we began organising trips and Surfcamps. It was the natural continuation of what we were doing in Madrid: training outside the water and then having several days to take that work into the ocean.

Surfcamps added something that cannot be trained on asphalt: reading the sea, choosing waves, adapting to different conditions and linking sessions over several days. They also brought another element that is still fundamental for us: sharing surfing with other people.

Over the years, we organised experiences, training sessions and trips in different parts of Spain and Morocco. Each one taught us something and, little by little, the ocean began to take up more and more space within Carving.

Over time, El Palmar became our home

After years of travelling between Madrid and the coast, we moved our base south. El Palmar gave us something we had spent so long having far away: the Atlantic every day.

Having the ocean nearby changed many things. We no longer had to separate training from the surf session. We could go into the water, observe what had happened, work outside the water on what made sense and surf again.

Our Surfhouse in El Palmar grew from that idea. We did not simply want a house to sleep in. We wanted a base where all the things surrounding a few days of surfing could happen naturally: getting in the water, coming back, resting, talking about the waves, analysing a session, training, sharing a meal or deciding when it is worth going back to the sea.

A different way of working on surfing

Since 2011, we have been looking for ways to improve surfing both in and out of the water. That path has led us to develop our own way of teaching and training, combining technique, preparation and reading the sea.

We do not believe everything is solved simply by accumulating hours in the water, or that one single tool can make you improve. The sea remains at the centre of everything, but some things can be worked on outside the water so you can make better use of it.

Video analysis lets you observe details that you often only feel while surfing. Surfskate lets you repeat movements many more times than a normal session in the sea allows. And learning to interpret swell, period, wind and tides helps with something even more important: knowing when to go in, where to position yourself and what kind of sea is in front of you.

We do not use these tools because we need to fill a programme with activities. We use them when they can help you return to the water with a clearer reference.

Not everyone needs the same thing

One of the most important things we have learned over the years is that teaching surfing is not about giving everyone the same class.

We work with people who have never touched a board, people learning to catch their first waves, surfers who are already independent and people who want to go much deeper into their technique.

That is why we organise groups by level and adapt the work to each person's stage. For someone starting out, progress might mean standing up with more confidence. For another surfer, it might mean choosing waves better. And for someone with more experience, understanding why a turn is not working as expected.

We do not believe there is one single way to learn or one answer that works for everyone.

Miguel Rodríguez and the next step

The arrival of Miguel Rodríguez, a former competitor and coach with more than 15 years of experience, has been a natural evolution of this way of working.

His experience allows us to go deeper into the technical side with surfers who are already independent and want to spend time analysing their surfing, correcting specific patterns and working on concrete aspects in the water.

From there, our Surf Coaching programmes have grown: from a focused Surf Coaching Session to Online Surf Coaching, 1-to-5-day Intensive Surf Coaching and the Surf Coaching Camp. The format changes, but the objective is the same: identify what is holding your surfing back and work with clear priorities on areas such as board position, speed generation, turns, wave reading, paddling, wave selection and decision-making.

His arrival does not change what Carving was. It is the continuation of the same idea we started with in Madrid: to keep looking for ways to surf better.

And then there is everything that cannot be measured

Over the years, we have also understood that a good Surfcamp is not remembered only for how much you improved your take-off or a turn.

It is remembered for shared sessions, conversations after surfing, a barbecue that runs late, someone who arrived solo and ends up joining the group, or that session where, for a while, we stop correcting and simply all go back into the water together.

That is why we leave room for Surf Libre sessions within our Surfcamps. Instructors and participants share the session without drills or constant corrections: it is a chance to try what we worked on in the class, video analysis and Surfskate, but also to share waves and enjoy the water together. We look for the spot that best suits the conditions and the group's level and, whenever possible, somewhere with more space and fewer people in the water. These sessions often coincide with the last hours of daylight and end up becoming one of those special moments of the camp.

Learning matters. Enjoying the reason you started surfing matters too.

Today we are still doing the same thing, but next to the Atlantic

A lot has changed since 2011. We have gone from the asphalt of Madrid to the Atlantic, from the first surfskate sessions to having our own Surfhouse, and from looking for ways to train far from the sea to being able to analyse a session and return to the water a few hours later.

But the question is still almost the same: what can we do to help you make better use of the time you spend surfing?

Today we try to answer it from El Palmar through Surfcamps for different levels, surf lessons, Surf Coaching in several formats, and our Surfhouse as the base for much of Carving's activity in El Palmar.

Carving Social Club is an association dedicated from its beginnings to the promotion, teaching and practice of surfing and board sports. Today that same idea continues from El Palmar, both in and out of the water.

And if you are not sure which option fits you, message us using the WhatsApp button on the website and tell us what you are looking for.