Read the original article here: https://foreseeablefuture.org/california-nonprofit-brings-the-joy-of-surfing-to-the-blind-and-visually-impaired/  

Founded after the COVID-19 pandemic, Blind Fitness offers numerous recreational activities, including an annual surf clinic.

​When Brianna Pettit established Blind Fitness in Santa Barbara, California following the COVID-19 pandemic, her goal was to provide fitness and recreational programs accessible to the blind and low vision community and reduce the challenge of accessibility.

Pettit, who previously worked as an orientation and mobility instructor, began with simple activities like beach walking and hiking. As time went on, the list has expanded to include bike riding, canoeing, yoga, and surfing. It even offers an O&M program, which Pettit oversees.

In just a few short years, Blind Fitness has reached about 100 participants ranging in age from teens to seniors. Pettit has been pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of support.

“This community has been incredibly welcoming to the blind and visually impaired,” said Pettit, a lifelong California native. “Any event, any sport we’ve wanted to do, we’ve made it happen. I’ve never been turned away.”

After receiving a BA in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s in special education from Cal State LA, Pettit worked for the Braille Institute before launching Blind Fitness. A lifelong lover of the outdoors, she coped with the pandemic by hiking, running and going to the beach. It was while volunteering for a Para surf competition that the idea of forming Blind Fitness began to take form in her mind.

“I kind of just dove off the deep end, not knowing how it was all going to work. I started just meeting people, one thing led to the next and I was building a nonprofit. I’ve had incredible support throughout the entire thing.”

Beach walking, gym classes, yoga and O&M are among Blind Fitness’s most popular programs. Instructors are mostly comprised of volunteers, although Pettit has paid several to conduct gym classes. All participate in basic training geared toward teaching the blind and visually impaired, such as when to offer verbal cues or walking as a guide.

An avid surfer, Pettit wanted blind individuals to experience the thrill of being on a surfboard and catching a wave. Inspired by her previous experience with the Para surf event, Pettit held a blind surf clinic in 2023.

Through a partnership with Surf Happens, a local group offering lessons and camps for interested surfers, Pettit had the equipment and instructors needed to conduct the clinic.

“They’re just great. They do it for a living. They have everything on the beach all summer.”

Pettit first became acquainted with Foreseeable Future Foundation CEO Griffin Pinkow through Richard Hunter, a blind athlete and advocate for physical activity. After hearing about the surf clinic, Pinkow agreed to provide funding for a second one in 2024. The money covered equipment, instructor fees and transportation.

The four-hour clinic took place July 27 at Santa Claus Lane Beach just south of Santa Barbara. A total of 15 blind participants donned wet suits and got on a surfboard, many for the first time.

After a short orientation, instructors helped surfers get into their wetsuits. One of the instructors then led a group circle to share his background and a brief history of surfing. Participants were put into groups of five and learned the basics of getting on and off a surfboard and going from a prone paddling position to standing.

Once on the water, instructors helped the surfers paddle out to the deep end one at a time. Those who waited their turn were given a play-by-play description of what was taking place on the water.

“There was a lot of cheering, laughing and play. It was great.”

A local lions club provided and served lunch courtesy of a local restaurant that supports people with disabilities. Some surfers chose to go back out for a second round on the water, while others chose to stay behind.

Having never been on a surfboard before, Daniel Broz had no idea what to expect. The 41-year-old Broz, who is legally blind from a genetic eye condition called choroideremia, joined Blind Fitness shortly after it was established.

Any trepidation he had vanished almost immediately after suiting up and getting on the board.

“It was mind-blowing,” said Broz, who wasn’t able to attend the first clinic in 2023. “Everybody was so nice and welcoming, (but) not in that condescending way some people are. I absolutely fell in love with it. I want to do it again.”

Bob Burnham, who serves on Blind Fitness’s board of directors, was born with glaucoma and wears prosthetics in both eyes. The 73-year-old California native had previous experience body surfing but had never been on a board.

Burnham spent most of the clinic body surfing but decided to try getting on a surfboard.

“One time, I wiped out and flipped off the board,” Burnham said. “But I hung onto it as I rode into shore. I was laughing; I thought it was fun. A wipeout didn’t discourage me or make me feel like I failed. I was having too much fun.”

For Pettit, seeing people like Broz and Burnham eager to try something new is what makes Blind Fitness fulfilling.

“It was so fun to watch people like (Dan and Bob) out there having a blast in an activity I personally find so much joy in.”

​I am so grateful to have been able to participate in my first Surf Clinic with Blind Fitness this year, as a bout with Covid forced me to cancel my joining our first Surf Clinic a year ago.
 
​Santa Claus Lane Beach was a great spot to host the clinic; the waves were well-formed and powerful, and the weather was a perfect, sunny day. One of the more challenging tasks for me was walking from the parking lot to the beach through a rugged and “unblind-friendly” path; it was uneven, with humps, dips, jutting rocks, and extremely narrow in places, requiring that I walk closely and directly behind my guide, and he helped me exactly and carefully where to step. A particular treacherous area was navigating the railroad crossing, stepping over the rails and either onto the ties or the dirt between them, and I am fascinated how the tracks have been constructed along this stretch so close to the ocean.  If this is a popular surfing beach, I am somewhat surprised that a safer and more accessible path has not been created.
 
That said, all the preliminaries were well-planned, and the tents were in place upon the arrival of us participants and volunteers. I was captivated by how much detail goes into preparing us to hit the water, let alone atop surf boards, and how quickly I had forgotten how SAND invades EVERYTHING! I already was aware of the challenge maneuvering my arms and legs into a wet-suit, but it’s actually a fun challenge, and  I received lots of help and encouragement from volunteers on the surf team. Before we hit the water, Chris from Surf Happens gave us a talk about embracing nature, the ocean and its waves, and our bodies as we interact with water, wind, sun and sand, and I am so impressed by him, and his entire team, and how knowledgeable they are of wave formation, angles, size, shape and overall flow according to the type and size of a specific beach. They were so patient and helpful to me, and to all of us participants.
 
When it came to my turn to hit the water and surf for the first time, I was gun-shy about climbing onto the board, and chose to lie down both times and not stand, as my balance now has lessened than in my younger days. With the movement of the water, I did not feel comfortable riding on it, either lying down, or propping myself up on my knees, it felt really awkward. The volunteers did a great job holding and guiding the surf-board, so the discomfort really was on me. I was humbled to hear that there were some stud surfers standing up on their boards,  out there on the water, WAY MORE advanced than I probably will ever be.
 
Regarding balance, I even discovered this when body-surfing, as I used to be more sure-footed walking along the sea-bottom and dodging waves when paddling out to catch another wave in. Since body-surfing is probably my favorite participatory sport, I dove into the water and waves literally head-long. I had the most fun body-surfing as I have had in probably 40 years, as the waves were bigger and more powerful, and I again got to embrace the ocean and feel its might, enjoying the ride of a wave; hearing a wave breaking directly ahead of me, then ducking under to dodge it as it rolled over me was thrilling! I felt so liberated going out onto the water again, with a new realization how powerful the ocean and its waves are.
 
The real high-point of my day had nothing to do with surfing, body-surfing or the ocean, but the chance I got to meet and talk with Frankie for the first time. I took the opportunity to encourage him, tell him how capable he is and will be to adapt to his sight loss, and so proud I am of him for his growth and ability to adjust and regrip his life since I first met him in our Braille Institute Men’s Support Group probably more than a year ago. I look at Frankie and realize how much more he has suffered than I have, and with all the blessings and opportunities I have been given through my entire life, I am called to pass those blessings and opportunities forward as much as I can to a brother like Frankie.
 
In summary, the surf clinic was a blast, and I’m so grateful I was healthy this year and able to attend and participate. I deeply appreciate the hard work all our volunteers put in to enable the entire surf clinic to run so smoothly,--to the Goleta/Santa Barbara Lions Clubs and Kyle’s Kitchen for providing our lunch, Surf Happens, . . and any other partners or organizations I inadvertently have omitted.

​Respectfully,
Bob Burnham