Carving Social Club: Our Story

Carving Social Club was born in Madrid in 2011 around a fairly simple question: how can you keep improving your surfing when the sea is hundreds of kilometers away?

We started by looking for answers out of the water. Surfskate, specific training, pool, physical preparation, technique and movement. At a time when training for surfing far from the ocean still sounded strange to many people, we were already trying to transfer surfing sensations to asphalt and training.

But the goal was never to replace the sea. Quite the opposite. We wanted to arrive at the water better prepared, better understand 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 to train for surfing without the ocean in front of us. Surfskate ended up becoming one of Carving's most important tools and also one of the ways many people began to know us.

We gave classes, organized training sessions, and created a series of surfskate tutorials to explain everything from the first steps and pumping to movements increasingly linked to surfing. We tried to convert sensations that were difficult to explain into concepts that could be understood, replicated, and then taken to the water.

Our store also grew around this movement and became the number one in sales for some of the main surfskate brands we worked with. This allowed us to test many different models, systems, and configurations for years and get to know a tool that was then just beginning to become popular among surfers.

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

Over time, we expanded that work. We developed our Surf Training in Madrid, combining pool and gym to work on aspects such as paddling, standing up, breathing, endurance, and coordination. The idea remained the same: use the time away from the sea to arrive better prepared for the next session.

Everything had to end in the water

In parallel, we started organizing trips and Surfcamps. It was the natural continuation of what we did in Madrid: train out of the water and then have several days to take it to the sea.

Surfcamps added something that couldn't be trained on asphalt: reading the sea, choosing waves, dealing with different conditions, and repeating sessions for several days. And another part also appeared that is still fundamental for us today: sharing surfing with other people.

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

El Palmar eventually became home

After years moving between Madrid and the coast, we moved our base south. El Palmar allowed us to have in front of us what we had had far away for so long: the Atlantic every day.

Being close to the sea 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 on what made sense out of the water, and go back to surf.

Our Surfhouse in El Palmar was born around this idea. We didn't just want a house to sleep in. We wanted a base from which all the things that surround a few days of surfing could naturally happen: getting in the water, coming back, resting, discussing the waves, analyzing a session, training, sharing a meal, or deciding when it's worth going back to the sea.

A different way to approach surfing

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

We don't believe that everything is solved by accumulating hours in the water, nor that there is a single tool capable of making you improve. The sea remains the center of everything, but there are things out of the water that can help you make the most of it.

Video analysis allows you to see details that you often can only feel while surfing. Surfskate allows you to repeat movements many more times than a typical session in the sea offers. 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 you have in front of you.

We don't use these tools because we have to fill an activity program. We use them when they can help you get back in the water with a clearer reference.

Not everyone needs the same thing

One of the things we have learned most during these years is that teaching surfing is not about doing the same class for everyone.

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

That's why we organize groups by levels and adapt the work to each person's current stage. For someone who is starting, progress might mean standing up with more confidence. For another surfer, it could be learning to choose a wave better. And for someone with more experience, discovering why a turn isn't working as expected.

We don't believe there is only one way to learn or one answer for everyone.

Miguel Rodríguez and the next step

The incorporation 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 part with surfers who already have autonomy and want to dedicate time to analyzing their surfing, correcting certain patterns, and working on specific aspects in the water.

From this, our Technical Improvement programs were born, where we can pay more attention to elements such as board positioning, speed generation, turns, wave reading, paddling, wave selection, and decision-making.

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

And then there’s everything that can’t be measured

Over the years, we also understood that a good Surfcamp is not only remembered for how much you've improved a pop-up or a turn.

It is remembered for shared sessions, conversations after the water, a barbecue that lasts long, someone who arrived alone and ends up making friends, or that session where for a moment we stop correcting and simply go back into the water together.

That's why within our Surfcamps we leave space for Free Surfing. Instructors and participants share the session without exercises or corrections, looking for the spot that best fits the conditions and the group's level, and, whenever we can, where we have more space and fewer people in the water.

Learning matters. Enjoying why you started surfing also does.

Today we continue to do the same, but by the Atlantic

Many things have changed since 2011. We have moved from the asphalt of Madrid to the Atlantic, from the first surfskate trainings to having our own Surfhouse, and from looking for ways to train far from the sea to being able to analyze a session and go back into the water a few hours later.

But the question remains practically the same: what can we do to help you make the most of the time you spend surfing?

Today we try to answer it from El Palmar with Surfcamps for different levels, surf lessons, Technical Improvement programs, and a Surfhouse that you can also use as a base to come, surf, and organize your days your own way.

If you want to spend several days with us, you can also book weekday accommodation at the Surfhouse.

And if you don't know which option suits you, write to us using the WhatsApp button on the website and tell us what you're looking for.