Instructors

Tommy Ostendorf
Partner

Competitive Longboarder and top Shortboarder from Manhattan Beach. Tommy learned to surf in Manhattan Beach in 1996, started competing in 1999, and has been teaching surfing with us since 1998. He is certified in both CPR and First Aid. In 2005 Tommy was the National Collegiate Longboard Champion and California State Champion. He finished Top 10 overall in the 2002 Professional Surfing Tour of America. His Surf travels include Hawaii, Bali, the Mentawai Islands, the Bahamas, Baja California, Mainland Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, France, Portugal, Spain, Florida, and Virginia. Tommy recently graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in Business Administration, where he was Captain of the Surf Team for three of his four years. He has competed in several professional competitions with the world’s top longboard surfers. Tommy’s been with us since the beginning and is a fluid surfer in and out of the water. Contact Tommy

Mark Gerold
Partner

Born and raised in Manhattan Beach, Mark was a Junior Lifeguard for 6 years and has been teaching surfing since 1999. He competed on the Mira Costa Surf Team and graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a Business degree. Surf travels have included Hawaii, Baja California, Mainland Mexico, South America, and the California Coast. Mark loves to surf and spread the joy of the lifestyle. Mark has been with us from the beginning and in recent years has taken over logistical operations for our Ocean Therapy program run by the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation. Contact Mark

Jason Napolitano
Head Instructor

Jason was born in Hawaii on the Island of Maui and has been surfing for 18 years. For the past 6 years, during the spring and summer months, Jason has been teaching surfing at Campsurf in Manhattan Beach. In the fall and winter he works as a Lifeguard and Boatman in Fiji at the famous island surf resort of Tavarua. Jason’s surfing travels include Europe, Indonesia, Central America, Fiji, and Africa. Jason is an awesome surfer and waterman with a passion for sharing his knowledge and love of the sport with others.

Dayton Silva

“Dayto” was one of our youngest instructors ever, originally joining the Campsurf staff as a freshman in high school. He was raised in the South Bay, grew up surfing with his dad, and now they both love to teach. His entire family surfs and the Silva clan has become very involved with our Ocean Therapy program, which is run by our charitable arm, the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation. Dayton was a member of Mira Costa’s surf team in 2009 when they captured the National Championship. Dayton is now attending college and is currently the #1 ranked surfer in the NSSA College division. We are extremely stoked to have Dayto as part of the Campsurf family.

Jamie Meistrell

Jamie is a 27 year old who loves surfing to the extent of childish screams of joy when teaching surf lessons.Surfing for over 20 years, Jamie was born and raised right here in the heart of the south bay. He is a long time competitive surfer and all round water enthusiast. Jamie has taken his joy for the sport all over the world- Fiji, Australia, Bali, Jamaica, Hawaii all over Mex just to name a few.
During the winter months Jamie manages his family surf shop, Dive N’ Surf and likes to surf every big swell that hits the south bay, especially the Redondo Beach break wall. When summer rolls around Jamie turns into an amped, lively, fun, and enjoyable surf instructor for us here at Campsurf. Jamie is the day to day manager for our summer surf camp and also does our private lessons upon request. If you’re looking for beginner lessons or professional tips for more experienced surfers, Jamie is your man.

Kyle Denitz

Kyle grew up in Carpenteria, just outside of Santa Barbara and just one mile from the famed pointbreak, Rincon where he began surfing 20 years ago. Kyle was fortunate enough to live with his grandfather on Maui, before moving to Oahu to earn a degree in business. While at UH, Kyle also played volleyball for the Rainbow Warriors. He has traveled all over California and the Hawaiian Islands, South America, Central America, England and Indonesia. Kyle is also great with kids and a big hit with our female clients-sorry ladies, he’s taken.

Chris Wells

We are extremely excited with the addition of South Bay legend Chris Wells to the Campsurf family. Wellsy has been a top local talent since the PSAA days back in the ’80′s. He was a member of the NSSA National team and a two-time finalist in the United States Surfing Championships. Today, he is surfing better than ever and still carries the stoke of a young grom. Chris is excited about sharing his love of the sport and his wealth of knowledge will enable even beginners to view the ocean with a surfer’s eye.

Taylor Hein

Taylor was born and raised in Manhattan Beach and basically grew up in the water and has over 22 + years of Surfing/Ocean knowledge. Taylor surfed competitively on the Mira High School Surf Team and also in college on the UC Irvine Surf Team. His travels include Mainland & Baja Mexico, Hawaii, Indonesia, and all over Cali. Taylor has been involved with the company for 7+ years with hundreds of successful surf lessons under his belt. Surfing is not just an amazing sport for him, it is his passion and his lifestyle.