South Padre Surf Company owner and instructor Gene Gore, a native Texan and lifetime dedicated surfer, ocean lifeguard and former City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety Officer, has dedicated his life to surfing and lifesaving, yet one of his greatest thrills is still seeing someone ride their first wave. Gene has accumulated an extensive history of accomplishments in his field while pursuing his passion for surf. He worked for the Hawaii Water Patrol, trained in heavy surf rescue with jetski/rescue sled, 3 time winner of paddleboard races on the North Shore of Oahu and several U.S. National Surfing Championship Paddle races, along with the Harpoon Barry Bay to Gulf Paddle Race, selected to the 6 man Hawaiian World Lifeguard Team, former Texas State longboard champion and Allstar team member, 6 time U.S. Lifesaving Association National Competitor with medals in paddle racing, paddleboard rescue, and 2 mile beach run, winner of the Diamondhead Biathlon, Galveston Beach Patrol (where he met his wife and surfing partner Rachel) Senior Lifeguard and Marine Rescue RHI pilot and Jr. Lifeguard Instructor, and Corpus Christi and Port Aransas Beach Patrol Lifeguard. Gene has hundreds of documented surf rescues, assisting and treating injured beach patrons and performing CPR in many real life incidents, as well serving 8 Years as a Licensed Texas Emergency Medical Technician and volunteer ambulance/fireman, competed in over 100 surfing competitions both amateur and professional in France, Spain, Mexico, California, Florida, New Jersey and Hawaii, and hand shaped nearly seven hundred custom longboards, and competition director and judge for the Texas Gulf Surfing Association. Gene has taught over 10,000 private and group surfing lessons, through Galveston College and G.C. Kid's Camp, Moody Hospitality Institute, San Luis Resort, Surfside Surf Camp, and South Padre Surf Co. He authored the first book on surfing in Texas "Surfing the Texas Gulf Coast". He competed in the ILSA World Lifeguard Championships in Italy with a team of elite guards from Galveston where he captured 4 medals and was the top ranked American competitor! In 2004 Gene and Rachel paddled the entire length of the Texas Gulf Coast, 404 miles in 19 days, as a fundraiser for Surfrider Foundation's coastal education program. Gene is working with the South Padre Island Fire Department Beach Patrol as a surf rescue technician and trainer, after many years of pursuing an Island lifesaving program. Gene works with the National Weather Service in developing new coastal marine forecasts, rip current guidance packages, and coastal hazard and warning advisories for public safety during tropical storms and hurricanes. Gene's daily beach and surf report is a very popular resource for all beachgoers, he has been forecasting surf conditions as an ocean lifeguard since 1986.

Rachel Gore can always be found on the biggest and best waves when she isn't teaching surfing! Although Rachel grew up in Tennessee, it was on her annual summer vacations to visit her grandparents in Florida that she discovered where her heart was...with the ocean! To become the watergirl she always dreamed of, she moved to the Texas Gulf Coast where she graduated from Texas A+M Galveston with a degree in Maritime Admininstration, surfing the local lineups day and night, before and after classes. Rachel has been surfing for 17 years now, and with every session her love for the sport and the ocean grows,along with her stylish smooth surfing. Although not a competitor, Rachel is widely known as the top female surfer in the state (she surfs better than most of the guys too!). (on her honeymoon Rachel entered into a women's longboard pro contest on the North Shore at Sunset Beach, and she took second place!) She worked as a lifeguard for the Galveston Beach Patrol, and was chosen as a team member for the USLA National Lifeguarding Competition. Rachel has been teaching surfing for 12 years, teaching through Galveston College, the Galveston College Kids Camp, The Moody Hospitality Institute, San Luis Resort, Goreboards Surfside Surf Camps, and South Padre Surf Co. Rachel has won first place in numerous surfing competitions. She won first place in the women's division for the 8 mile Harpoon Barry Bay and Gulf Paddle Challenge, and recently finished 3rd in the Hawaiian Paddleboard Championships. Her favorite thing about teaching surfing is being able to share her knowledge of the sport with people who have the same dreams she did, and watching their "stoke" as they stand up and ride their very first wave.

Rachel finishing 3rd at Hawaii Paddleboard Championships 2007 with
Gene, Micah and Melia escorting her to the finish line!

Your Surf Instructors Gene and Rachel were married on their surfboards in 1998
in the gentle waves of Surfside Beach, Texas.
CLIP 1 - CLIP 2 - CLIP 3
(Kids Surf Video Clip)

PADDLE TEXAS 5/1/04 to 5/19/04

WE DID IT! 404 miles of Texas coast in 19 days, through the worst weather possible in May with hurricane force winds on Day 1, cold, rain, headwinds and longshore currents, torturous choppy conditions, countless blacktip and bull sharks and one vicious attack on the board by a good sized mako shark (all just north of Port Mansfield, ask Rachel AKA "Sharkbait") constant neck and back pain, hunger, food raiding coyotes, lack of sleep, incredibly strong wild rip currents at some of the major passes and jetties, it was much more difficult and dangerous than we imagined but the people we met along the way were great and getting to see every inch of the vast mostly undeveloped Texas coast was unforgettable, not to mention some of the great waves we caught along the way and a few new surf spots. Thank you to all who contributed to both the Surfrider Foundation fund raiser (you can still donate) and elsewhere in hopes of a brighter future for our coast. Check the Surfrider website for a detailed daily journal. - News Story

Gene and Rachel recently received the Surfrider Foundation Board Appreciation National Award in honor of the Paddle Texas event.