Meet the Founder
Chris "Stingray" Stiegler
Meet Chris "Stingray" Stiegler
Founder, Malibu Surf Coach
Chris "Stingray" Stiegler didn't move to Malibu to surf. He grew up here at Point Dume, where the Pacific is less a backdrop and more a way of life and attended Malibu High School when it was just formed and a bit rugged. He's been reading these local Malibu waves since before most of his students were born.
That origin matters. Malibu's coastline isn't one beach, it's a dozen different breaks, each one shaped by its own relationship with swell direction, tide, wind, and season. Knowing which break to choose on a given morning, for a given student, at a given skill level, is the kind of knowledge that only comes from decades in the water. Stingray has it.
The Path Here
After growing up on the waves of Little Dume and Point Dume, Chris took his surfing to Hawaii's North Shore, one of the most demanding surf environments on the planet, where big wave surfing taught him as much about humility as it did about skill. He completed his university studies in Hawaii, then traveled to Australia to pursue a degree in psychology, a discipline that has quietly informed his coaching ever since. It was during his time in Australia that Chris met Shaun McGrath, with whom he would later help launch Summertime Surf School on the East Coast of the United States, a friendship and professional partnership that speaks to the kind of community surf has always built around him.
His professional coaching career took shape in the Canary Islands, where he served as Head Coach and General Manager of the Quiksilver Surf School, one of the most respected surf schools in Europe. Six years running that operation gave him a foundation in the high-volume coaching world without losing the precision that private instruction demands.
Back in California, Chris coached the Malibu High School Surf Team and founded the Venice Beach Westside Boardriders, building surf culture from the ground up in two of LA's most iconic communities. He spent more than a decade running youth surf programs across the South Bay and Los Angeles, working with thousands of students from first-timers to competitive junior surfers and large camps.
In 2015, he founded Malibu Surf Coach, a private lesson operation built around one conviction: that great coaching is always personal.
Recognized in the Community
Over the years, Chris has given lessons to celebrities, executives, and public figures who value privacy as much as they value a good wave. The beach has a way of making everyone a beginner again and that's exactly the point.
In July 2025, the Los Angeles Times featured Chris by name and photograph in a story about the impact of the Palisades fire on Malibu's surf community. His decade of presence at Broad Beach and his commitment to the water, even during the most uncertain months after the fires, reflected what his students already know: this is someone who shows up. Read the full story
Chris has also been featured in a MotorTrend branded content production, a long-form piece built around a real surf lesson at Malibu, with Chris coaching on camera and Malibu Surf Coach named throughout. It's the kind of feature that happens when a brand wants authenticity, not just a location. Watch below.
What He Believes About Teaching
Chris studied psychology because he was fascinated by how people change. That curiosity never left. Every student who walks onto the beach carries something with them, nerves, skepticism, a bad experience in the water, or just the genuine desire to finally do this thing they've been putting off. Reading that person, not just the waves, is what separates a lesson from a breakthrough.
He's been in the ocean almost every day for thirty years. He still finds it worth getting up for.
Book a Session with Stingray
The Surf with Stingray Experience is the only way to guarantee a session with Chris personally two to two and a half hours, one-on-one, at Malibu's best breaks, with video analysis included. It's not a lesson. It's the fastest way to change how you surf.
[Book the Surf with Stingray Experience]
Featured on MotorTrend
When MotorTrend came to Malibu, they needed the real thing. Chris was cast as himself — named on screen as Malibu Surf Coach, coaching the talent on the beach, taking them into the water, and surfing these breaks on camera. Because there's no one more qualified to show what Malibu surf culture actually looks like.
4 CORE PRINCIPLES
1: SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE OCEAN
The ocean has so much to offer. One of the benefits of spending hours on the water is getting to deepen our understanding of the ocean and learning everything she has to teach.
2: A GOOD LIFE IS A HEALTHY LIFE
We believe a good life is about growth, and when you're healthy, you can push yourself to your full potential and surprise yourself with how much you can grow.
3: SURFING SHOULD ALWAYS BE FUN
Many of our students come to us because they want to go into the competitive scene. Even then, we try to make sure they never forget that, at its essence, surfing is all about having fun.
4: A HUMBLE SURFER IS A SAFE SURFER
Mother Ocean has her bad days. We teach with patience and humility so our surfers learn to stay safe - whether with us - or on their own.
