About Us

Gerry Kantor starting early
Gerry Kantor,
owner-instructor, when about 1 year old at La Jolla Shores in San Diego

San Diego Native

Leucadia Surf School owner/ head instructor, Gerry Kantor, is a native of San Diego.   He body surfed as a kid in the 1950’s, and started surfing in the early 1960’s. He wrote for Surfer Magazine (the Bible of the sport) in the 1980’s and is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego.

We started at Grandview Beach in Leucadia

Leucadia Surf School was started at Grandview Beach in Leucadia where owner Gerry Kantor had surfed and lived for a decade.

We are a low-impact surf school

Leucadia Surf School likes to be a low impact surf school, that is, unlike most surf schools, we try to keep a low profile and out of the way of the public.

We are not going to put up a tent with our signage on it on the beach when we are just doing lessons.  When we do our summer surf camps, we do have a small tent, way up north on Moonlight Beach, out of the way of the general public.

kid-holding-broken-board-an - Copy
Young test pilot for soft boards.

Soul Surfing

Leucadia used to be the city north of Encinitas Blvd to La Costa Ave, but was incorporated into the City of Encinitas in the late 1980s.  Originally Leucadia was known for soul surfing, that is, non-competitive surfing for the sake of surfing, and we like to keep it that way.

Gerry Kantor, Grandview beach, Leucadia, 1998
Gerry Kantor surfing Grandview, late 1990s. Photo by surf shot. Late afternoon, weekday, no one out, a few sets would occassionally pulse up out of nowhere.  Leucadia Surf School started at Grandview.  The original instructors were all people who surfed Grandview.

1960’s San Diego surf

The video and photos below are of Leucadia Surf School owner/head instructor, Gerry Kantor and his younger brother, Phil Kantor, surfing at South Mission Beach and Sunset Cliffs, both in San Diego, California, during the early sixties, when they both were between 13 and 15 years old. Note that there is no one else in the water, this is before the crowds.

South Mission Beach Jetties
San Onfore
Luscombs at Sunset Cliffs
La Jolla Shores – 1st annual Margo Godrey Menehune surf contest.

San Diego, California,  1961-1965

1960’s San Diego Surfing featuring Leucadia Surf School owner/instructor Gerry Kantor family and friends on youtube.

Early 1960’s surfing at the South Mission jetties with Gerry Kantor getting some waves.

Kantor family trip to San Onofre when it was a private surf club.

Gerry and Phil Kantor surfing uncrowded Luscombs at Sunset
Cliffs in the early 1960’s.

Gerry and Phil Kantor in the 1st annual Margo Godfrey
Menehune surf contest at La Jolla shores in the early 1960’s.