Debbie Ashley’s SUP Story

For as long as I’ve been passionate about SUP, I’ve been following John. It’s amazing that he’s visited so many countries and paddled there and I always look forward to seeing where he’s going next

My own SUP story started in 2018 when I found myself facing my 50th birthday. I was overweight, my marriage was failing, and I was feeling very frumpy and sad. I faced my travelling fears and visited my sister in Perth, Australia and it was there that I tried SUP for the first time. My brother-in-law was a paddler, and we were on the beach one day. I was the girl who sat on the beach minding the bags. He came back and threw the paddle to me and said, “Your turn”. My response? “But I’m nearly 50!”

I was absolutely in love with SUP the moment I stood up on that board, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I lost some weight and joined a stand-up paddle club. A year later, I trained with them to become an instructor.

Since qualifying with the Academy of Surfing Instructors in October 2020, I’ve totally changed my life, and I attribute that to SUP. I left the failing marriage and started my own little sup business.

I’ve probably taught over 300 people this wonderful sport now, and I hope to be paddling for a long, long time yet.

I feel so humbled when older people say to me that I’ve given them confidence they didn’t know they had. I feel I’m just passing on my love of this sport; I guess my passion is catching! I recently taught a police detective who needed an outlet from a stressful job. She reminded me what sup can do to relieve stress, enhance well-being and give a sense of calm.

Thank you, John, for sharing your stories and your passion for this fantastic sport.