Ivan Tripp has been a lead surf instructor and surf therapist for Gnome Surf since 2019. He supports Founder Chris Antao in out-of-state surf therapy events as well as new instructor training. This past summer, 2023, Ivan was appointed Assistant Program Director for Gnome Surf at Horseneck Beach in Westport and served as the lead instructor on weekday camps, lessons, and new instructor trainings at that site.

An avid surfer, Ivan grew up on the beach and has surfed throughout New England, Puerto Rico, California, North Carolina, Australia, and Hawaii. A senior at Moses Brown School, Ivan is dedicated to the ocean – not just to surfing and open water swimming, but to water safety and sustainability. In the fall of 2021, Ivan spent a semester at the Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute, focused on marine ecology and experiential learning. As a graduation requirement, he trained for and completed a four-mile open water swim and was certified as a PADI Open Water Diver. Ivan is also Red Cross CPR/First Aid Certified and a trained ISA Adaptive Surf Instructor through AmpSurf.

Ivan has served as a lead instructor and volunteer coordinator for Gnome Surf’s partnerships with Life Rolls On in Narragansett Rhode Island in September, 2022 and October, 2023. In May, 2023, he was a lead instructor at Gnome Surf’s inaugural Come And Surf It event in Port Aransas, Texas. He was also a lead instructor at Gnome Surf’s Integrated Surf Competition in the fall of 2023 that served 70 child and youth athletes of all abilities. In addition, he serves as a surf therapist and lead surf instructor for Gnome Surf weekend camp partnerships with local and regional organizations including the Epilepsy Foundation of New England; the Down Syndrome Association of Rhode Island, The Wolf School, the Boston Higashi School, Boston Medical Center, and others. This December, he is traveling to Puerto Rico to present at the International Surf Therapy Organization conference and to help lead a surf therapy camp for local families in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He will also be participating in a safety training video for ISTO to help create global safety standards in surf therapy and adaptive surfing.

At Gnome Surf, Ivan works to support Founder and Executive Director Chris Antao training new and junior instructors as well as water safety volunteers. But most of all, he loves to provide surf therapy and surf instruction, and to share his passion for the ocean with the athletes that he serves.