Indo Jax Surf School: Instructors

Jack Viorel

Jack Viorel is the owner/ operator/ and one of the surf instructors at Indo Jax Surf School, Wilmington’s newest and most unique surf school.

Jack is from California and cut his surfing teeth in the frigid waters and enormous surf of Half Moon Bay (home of Mavericks). He spent most of his life surfing some of the most humbling, if not deadly waves you can find anywhere. Jack can say this with confidence, because when not surfing his home waters of Nor Cal, he was off traveling the globe in search of great waves. He has been lucky enough to visit some of our planets most exotic locales and ride some of the world’s most beautiful and perfect waves. Besides the staple surfing trips like Baja, Costa Rica, and Bali. Jack has gone on some truly incredible surf safaris. Sumatra, The Andaman Islands, Ireland, Portugal, Fiji, Samoa, Australia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Barbados and the Philippines name but a portion of the places he’s traveled. Jack’s surf travel experience has even been featured in a couple books, Worst Case Scenarios Travel Edition, Worst Case Scenarios Extreme Edition and The Escape Artists by author Josh Piven. Simply put, surfing is his passion and he’s spent most of his life in pursuit of great waves.

“ I am thankful for my travels, not for all the incredible waves I’ve caught, but for what I learned on those trips. I learned to not only appreciate the things I have, but to be compassionate enough to share those things with others who have less.”

Jack Viorel

Jack attended the University of California at Davis, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in history and lettered in two sports, football and swimming. After graduating from UCD, Jack became a certified teacher. For more than fifteen years, he has taught children of all ages and coached several different sports. Jack also earned a Certified Personal Trainer certification and has since taught fitness skills to adults as well as children. With his extensive teaching background, Jack has developed his skill at educating children and adults alike. You’d be hard pressed to find a surf instructor with more qualifications than Jack. If Jack has a passion besides surfing, it’s teaching people of any age to ride waves, get physically fit, and build self-esteem. Whether its math, reading, fitness or surfing Jack knows how to make it fun!

About two years ago Jack, his wife Aileen, daughter Gabby and two Labs moved to Wilmington NC. California had become too crowded, expensive, and fast paced for their tastes. They were in search of a better place to raise a family. The friendly people, beautiful beaches, incredible weather, and pace of life made Wilmington everything they were looking for. Jack currently teaches first grade at St. Mary Catholic School in downtown Wilmington

The warm water and gentle waves make this area a paradise for learning to surf. Since moving here, Jack has taught his 4 year old daughter, 65 year old mother, and heaps of ages in between, how to ride waves.

The combination of his unparalleled surfing experience, and extensive teaching background, make Jack uniquely qualified to operate this one of a kind surf school. The word is out…If you want to learn to surf, and have fun doing it, there’s no better place than Indo Jax.

 

Kevin Murphy
Outreach Surf School Director

With our extensive charity programs, Indo Jax needed an outreach surf school instructor/director with unmatched aquatics experience. We found just that in Kevin Murphy!

Kevin grew up wakeboarding, swimming, and life guarding. Kevin attended St. Bonaventure University, received a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and lettered for their division 1 swim team. In his decorated college swimming career he went up against the likes of powerhouses Notre Dame and Syracuse. After graduation Kevin took his love of swimming and wakeboarding to the beaches of North Carolina where he quickly became an accomplished surfer in his own right.

Kevin spends much of his free time at the south end of Wrightsville Beach spear fishing, free diving, swimming, and of course SURFING!. He is a true waterman at heart and absolutely loves the ocean.

His second love is the environment. He has taken care of almost every reptile imaginable and loves to teach about all of our local wildlife. Kevin teaches conservation and preservation of the environment while teaching students to surf.

Kevin has been fortunate enough to surf in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and all up and down the North East Coast. Kevin’s favorite surf spot is, shhh it’s a secret, but maybe he will share it with you at a lesson this summer.

In addition to living the ocean lifestyle, Kevin is a fifth grade teacher at St Mary Catholic School in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. He coaches girls basketball and boys lacrosse. Kevin has over 5 years experience teaching elementary school and 8 years coaching swimming. He has coached swimmers ranging in age from 3 years to 88 years of age. Kevin has a deep love for sharing his aquatics experience with others and teaching swimming and surfing to people of all ages

Kevin’s favorite past time is giving back to the ocean and community that has provided him with so much. Indo Jax has brought Kevin on as our outreach surf school director and he will play a pivotal role in our charity programs this summer.

 

Liz Hauser
Surf Instructor/Team Rider

Elizabeth “LIZ” Hauser comes to Indo Jax as both an instructor and a team rider. In fact, Liz is Indo Jax Surf School’s first team rider, and will be in charge of our surf team as it grows. Liz is a local girl who grew up in the Wilmington/ Wrightsville Beach NC area. She has been surfing her whole life and is an active competitive surfer. Liz is off to an impressive start to her 2008 competitive surf season. Here is a list of her accomplishments to date.

2000	Surf For C.F. Classic	Fort Fisher, NC	Girl’s	3rd
2007	UNCW Cape Fear Surf Fest	Fort Fisher, NC	Open Women’s	2nd
2007	East Coast Wahine Championships	Wrightsville Beach, NC	Women’s	4th
2007	Surfrider Clean Water Classic	Wrightsville Beach, NC	Girl’s Surf Shop Team	2nd
			College Tag Team	2nd
2008	Volcom Cooterfish Surf Series	Wrightsville Beach, NC	Girl’s	4th
2008	SNC-CNC Clash of Carolinas (SNC #1)	Wrightsville Beach, NC	Women’s	1st
2008	Onshore County Line Classic	Topsail Island, NC	Women’s Pro/Am	1st
2008	UNCW Cape Fear Surf Fest	Carolina Beach, NC	Women’s	2nd
2008	SNC #2 Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Contest	Carolina Beach, NC	Women’s	1st

Sponsors: Aussie Island Surf Shop, Etnies, Angel Eyewear, Indo Jax Surf School

Liz fits in perfectly with the Indo Jax culture, have fun and give back. She also brings great local knowledge of the area, community, and surf spots. Liz has offered her time to helping out at many surf contests, Christians Surfer Clean Water Classic, UNCW’s Cape Fear Surf Fest, and the East Coast Wahine.. Liz is also stoked about all the charity work that Indo Jax Surf School does in this area, and plans to be a big part of all the outreach.

Liz is a student at UNCW entering her senior year. Liz is majoring in Parks and Recreation with a concentration in commercial tourism.

As a member of the Eastern Surfing Association Liz plans to continue competitive surfing and help where ever she can. It’s hard to keep Liz out of the water no matter what the conditions!

 

 

Aileen Wu Viorel
Outreach Coordinator/Legal Consultant

Aileen grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia before heading off to California for college and great adventures. During her college years at Pomona College in Clarement, California, Aileen volunteered for Habitat for Humanity helping to build houses for low-income residents in Southern California and in Baja, Mexico. She also regularly volunteered at the People Place in Claremont, collecting food and clothing for those in need.

While attending law school at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, Aileen participated in the Environmental Law Clinic and worked for Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in San Francisco. After graduating in 1999, Aileen moved to Northern California, where she practiced environmental law and real estate litigation for several years. Tired of the corporate grind and the inflated cost of living in San Francisco, Aileen, Jack and their daughter fled NorCal for more affordable living and a higher quality of life in Wilmington, NC.

Aileen is currently an associate attorney at Shipman and Wright, LLP practicing in the areas of real estate and general business litigation and domestic law.

 

 

Will “Billy Boy” Eppes
Assistant surf instructor

Will began surfing 19 years ago when he moved to Half Moon Bay, California…and where he met Jack. During that period, he has been fortunate enough to travel frequently while surfing along the way. In addition to many trips to various spots in Mexico for weekly surf trips, Will has surfed in Hawaii (where he worked for 6 months), St. Croix USVI (where he lived for 3 months), Eleuthera, Portugal, and most recently in Australia.

Will “retired” in 2007, after practicing law in Tennessee and working in the legal publishing industry. His legal career involved criminal litigation and frequent “pro bono” guardianship work. He also taught business law at a community college in Tennessee, volunteered as a board member for an adult day health care center and was active in community theatre.

Jack spread the word throughout his California surfing circle that the Wilmington beaches are the place to be! So, Will visited last year for 2 months, fell in love with the community, surfed almost every day and made a big decision. He and his wife, Megan, moved here in May, 2008.

In the early 1980s, Will became very active in the scuba diving industry. For four years, he was a divemaster in Missouri (no, this is not a misprint) where he led tours in Bonne Terre Mine and in caves in middle Missouri. Bonne Terre was the cover story in Scuba Diver Magazine and Phillip Cousteau dove the mine during this time. In 2000, Will became an instructor and worked in St. Croix while also teaching his wife to dive. He frequently took his kayak and spear up and down the Northern California coast to fish and abalone dive. He has always loved the ocean and water in general; he has been swimming laps for decades.

The Indo Jax mission of giving back to the community attracted Will immediately and, of course, the fact that it involves surf instruction and surfing makes this the perfect combination. He is very excited to be a part of this unique surf school and looks forward to learning more from Jack and Kevin.

 

 

Austin Murrison
Assistant surf instructor

Austin lives with his family, including three brothers in Half Moon Bay, California. He attends Half Moon Bay High School as a sophomore where he enjoys sports like hockey and surfing. It was in middle school that Austin met Jack. Jack not only tutored Austin but also became his mentor and friend through it all. Their friendship has grown to share the love of the outdoors and the respect for others. “Jack taught me to believe in myself, for that I am grateful”.

As a little guy, Austin was always playing roller hockey with the kids in the neighborhood. As Austin got older, the opportunity came up to play roller hockey on a summer league team. Each summer Austin improved. So much that the high school hockey coach approached him after a game and invited him to play on the high school team. Austin at the time was only in 8th grade but he went on to become one of the highest scorers in the next two seasons for the HMB Rangers.

Austin also enjoyed attending a local summer camp. It is there that Austin experiences gave him the love of the outdoors. Now Austin attends as a counselor instead of a camper. “It’s great to mentor the kids as a counselor now”. Through the camp, Austin also earns community time, which is required to graduate.

Other sports Austin has grown up enjoying are snowboarding and skateboarding. Each has given Austin a chance to develop his skills in board sports.

His real love is surfing. Austin was introduced to surfing in Northern California and Costa Rica but it wasn’t until he visited Nicaragua with his family that he fell in love with it. Surfing became a part of his everyday life. He has gone on to join his High School Surf Team competing with other local coastal towns in California through the ISF (Interscholastic Surfing Federation). Surfing has given Austin a great respect for the ocean and sea life. Upon graduating high school, Austin is considering majoring in Marine Biology.