Rick Sutera with his students
Rick Sutera (Cred, M.S. special Ed., 2005) is the founder of a company, Pure Vibes, a San Diego-based company that provides special needs children with therapeutic surf instruction.
Rick has spent his much of his life as an amateur and professional surfer, competing in both the the Eastern Surfing Association Championships and the National Scholastic Surfing Association Nationals. In addition to being sponsored by companies such as Rip Curl and Forever Stoked, he has also worked for Reef Brazil, Sticky Bumps, and several surf shops "as a Marketing Guru and Sales Associate."
The Solana Beach resident was diagnosed with a rare bone disease in 1997, which ultimately prevented him from becoming a professional surfer. He also grew up with a brother who was diagnosed with mild mental retardation, so in addition to his education at National University, Rick enjoys many personal qualifications for his current business that were shaped by life experiences. He is also certified by the American Red Cross in Infant, Child and Adult/AED First-Aid and CPR.
Rick works one-on-one in the water with children who have disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, attention deficit disorder or hearing impairments. He claims that surfing helps special-needs children to increase their strength, motor control, sensory integration, language and social skills, attention and concentration, balance and coordination and processing skills.
For more information about Rick or his company, please visit www.purevibessurfing.com or call 760-943-9342.
