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References / Quotes
Rated #1 by NewJersey Magazine 2005
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"Best in the North East" by the Surf Guru Hawaii
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"Best at the Shore 2006 " Philadelphia Magazine
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"We loved Atlantic Island Surf School, at Brighton Beach Surf Shop, Mike, welcomed us with open doors. A tour of his shop showed us what surfing history is all about. This shop knows surfing!"
Northeastsurfing.com
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If you are in the northeast try the place I learned. Long Beach Island N.J. There are many nice beach breaks along its 18 miles of beach. My personal favorite. You can rent or buy a used board from Brighton Beach Surf Shop and learn to surf.
The recommended shop in NJ soul-surfer.com
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By MATT KATZ
Courier-Post Staff Article
Like a wet, massive personification of my childhood fears, the wave nears, rumbling and growing as it gets closer. I sit belly-down on an 8-foot-6-inch blue foam board. I have a leash attaching my ankle to the board. And I have a guardian angel, instructor Michael Lisiewski, pushing me.
The waves lift me. I jump to my knees, holding on to the sides of the board. Then I cautiously lift up one foot, pulling it between my hands.
Finally, I stand.
A half-second later, I crash into the water. My surfboard flies to points unknown, and I swallow salty water.
"I just surfed!" the big smile on my face screams as I hobble to the shore.
A one-hour surfing lesson turned me - a land-lubber with chronic water paranoia - into a real surfer (at least for a split second). A Jersey tradition
The Jersey Shore might not have the surfing notoriety of Hawaii. It might not be mentioned in the Beach Boys' "Surfin' U.S.A." But surfers here say that it has respectable waves and is certainly a good place to learn a sport that epitomizes cool.
"People don't realize how good it gets here," said Beach Haven resident Lisiewski, my teacher at Brighton Beach Surf Shop on Long Beach Island. "They try it and say, `Damn, that's a lot of fun.'
Delran native Lisiewski, who owns the Brighton Beach Surf Shop with his family, rents wet suits and surfboards for the price of a lesson.
After one exhausting hourlong lesson, I am certainly not ready to roll with the women on MTV's reality show Surf Girls. But Lisiewski teaches all levels, as long as you can swim.
The learning curve with surfing is steep. Beginners can quickly learn to stand on their boards. Learning to catch a wave takes a little bit more time. But after a few lessons, novice surfers can rent or purchase their own board to try out tricks. Rental prices are as low as $8.50 and new surfboard prices begin at about $180.
There are restrictions, however. Certain beaches are devoted exclusively to surfing, but others only allow it in the early morning and early evening.
Age shouldn't be a hindrance to surfing. Children who are strong swimmers have an easier time, because their muscles are easier to train. But Lisiewski said he has taught those ages 6 to 72. Relearning the waves
Lisiewski also teaches return surfers, like Tim Bauer of Naperville, Ill., who vacations each summer at Long Beach Island. The 44-year-old surfed on the shore as a teenager and picked up a board again last summer when he introduced surfing to his three sons.
"I'm just trying to get my sea legs back," Bauer said. For his lesson, Lisiewski and Bauer practiced hopping on the board on the beach beforehand.
Bauer believes in getting lessons before trying to surf. "It's not practice makes perfect, it's perfect practice makes perfect," he said. "I'm a big advocate of learning to do things the right way the first time."
Lisiewski himself learned to surf at age 10 from his father Richard, who can now be found donning shades outside the family surf shop. Richard made his first surfboard during World War II before heading to California to learn how to do it professionally.
Later, he opened a surfboard manufacturing plant in Riverside, which has since closed.
"It's a family thing," Michael said. "I can't wait to teach my (3-year-old) daughter. That's the lesson I'm looking forward to." Getting started
Lisiewski is a patient teacher. First, he explained the build of a surfboard to me on the shore - pointing out the three fins on the bottom and the leash that attaches to your ankle.
Then, I practiced riding a board on the shore. Finally, we went into the water. First, I learned to lie on the surfboard on my stomach. Gradually, I lifted up to my knees. Lisiewski would eye the waves and push my board so I could catch them.
I initially had difficulty balancing, which landed me in the waves a number of times. Each time I resurfaced I was on the verge of hyperventilating - a persistent problem for me in the water, a result of childhood fears about the ocean. Once, the surfboard smacked me in the face as I resurfaced. But through it all, Lisiewski was supportive.
"The good thing about surfing," he said, "is there's always another wave."
By MATT KATZ
Courier-Post Staff
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Ocean County Library
Once again a wonderful program about surfing.
It is one of our most requested of the summer.
Its fun and informative and both the parents and children
really enjoyed it.
Jacque Resch
Youth Service Librarian
OCL/Barneget Branch
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LOCAL YOUTH CENTER
St Francis Center
INTRODUCTION TO SURFING
Instructor: Michael Lisiewski
Ages 6 & up
Max: 10 Min: 5
$50 Member
$70 Non-Member
Soft surfboards will be used for this indoor clinic. Michael owns a local surf shop. He has been teaching surfing for 17 years. Safety tips will be covered as well as how to choose the right surfboard, where to surf, wetsuits, etc. Basic skills of surfing will be taught.
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