Huntington Beach Debuts Adaptive Surfboard with Rocky McKinnon

Huntington Beach knows how important it is to offer accessible ways for all to experience the destination’s most famous activities. Widely known as Surf City, USA , the challenge was how to make surfing a more-inclusive sport, which is exactly what Rocky McKinnon set out to do.

A former pro-surfer, McKinnon recently developed an innovative, 15-foot “chair board” so those with physical disabilities are able to experience the thrill of catching waves.

Now a surf instructor and board shaper, Rocky McKinnon is changing the way people surf in Huntington Beach, California. He runs McKinnon Surf & SUP Lessons and offers an adaptive surfing program, the first big push for this sort of inclusive surfing. With new boards designed for more than one rider, people with physical and/or mental disabilities are able to take surfing lessons and ride the waves, as supported by both McKinnon and the city as a whole.