We’ve all seen those people out on Tempe Town Lake… boating, rowing, and standing up on a giant surf board looking thing. For the last few weeks, I’ve been wishing I was one of those people. I kept pushing my water adventures off though… but why? To be completely honest; 1. I was scared 2. I had no idea how to make it happen.


I finally decided that enough was enough. I was getting in that water, and I was going to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding. I convinced one of my co-workers to join me in this venture, and signed us up for Intro to SUP, one of many classes available through the city of Tempe!


Now that I've done it, I want to do it again and again! It felt great to try something new and step out of my comfort zone. If you haven't SUP'ed (am I making up words?) yet, and need a little push to try something new, I'm here to squash your top 4 excuses and get you out on the lake!


Excuse #1: I don’t know where to find classes and I don’t have gear.

The city of Tempe offers a slew of classes. Here’s a link to the stand-up paddle boarding classes, but there are a TON of others to check out as well! 

We took the Introduction to Stand-up Paddling and all of the gear was provided and included in the cost of the class ($30).

Excuse #2: It’s too hot.

We took the 7:00 AM class, so it was actually really nice! I was definitely feeling the heat towards the end of the class, which is why I highly recommend jumping into the lake at least once during the class. It felt SO refreshing!

Even at 7:00 AM, it's still bright and sunny, so don’t forget your sunglasses and sunscreen! 

Excuse #3: I don’t want to actually go in the water… what if I fall in?

There was zero doubt in my mind that I was going to lose balance and fall off my board and into the lake. To my surprise, I did not fall in, but a couple of others did (because other paddlers "crashed" into them, which is more hilarious than scary, btw). After seeing them fall in, how refreshing it looked and how easy it was for them to hop back onto the board afterwards, I voluntarily jumped off of my board and into the water… it felt AMAZING!

I recommend jumping in, but if you really don’t want to get drenched, you don’t have to! Chances are you will not fall in (it really is easier than it looks) and besides walking in to the lake up to your knees, you don’t have to get wet if you don’t want to.


Excuse #4: It looks really difficult… I don’t think I can do it.

This was the number one thing holding me back from getting in the lake; fear. I honestly thought I just could not physically do this! I can barely balance in my going-out heels, how the heck am I supposed to keep it together on a bobbing device in the middle of a lake?

I also wondered, balancing act aside, how do I actually get the board in/out the water, and how do I actually get on/off the board itself?

Let me tell you, our instructor, Ryan, did an amazing job of easing my nerves and answering all of my questions! From the info email (which explains what to wear, what to bring, where to park, etc) to the mock-boarding done on land before entering the lake, and even paddling next to us in the water, he was available for help and constantly giving us all tips. The entire process was broken down into very easy-to-learn steps, and to my surprise, I felt completely comfortable!

Long story short… YOU CAN DO IT!

Just give it a try... you will not regret it! Let us know how your first time on the board goes! Did you fall in? What was the best part? How about all of you SUP pros - have you tried SUP Yoga yet?  

PS. If you take the morning class, I highly suggest hitting up a mimosa spot in downtown Tempe afterwards! We felt inspired and overall just pretty darn good about ourselves after we got off the lake. We kept saying “I feel like I can do ANYTHING”, and a mood like that definitely goes great with champagne.