About Aquaholics in Maine
Who we are:
Nanci Grenier Boutet is a lifelong beach lover and outdoorswoman (not necessarily athletic, just persistent), who started out body boarding in 1986 with her husband, Marc and two sons; Matt and Dustin. By 1991, Marc and Nanci were experimenting with the wrong surf equipment, taking a beating but loving it. Dustin and Matt fared a little bit better. After four years of getting up VERY inconsistently, Nanci and Marc started to get the hang of it. That's right, four years!
We believe learning to surf should be a fun, painless and rewarding experience, thus, the focus on the proper equipment. With the right equipment, any healthy person can learn.
While Nanci was studying for her business degree at The University of Southern Maine, entrepreneurism was a required class. As part of a term project, Aquaholics Surf Shop sounded like a feasible business idea. The rest is history.
- Attended High school in Los Angeles
- Beach Volleyball Competitor
- High school dropout who went on to earn a college degree (Like we said, persistent!)
- Home mom to two grown sons
- Cosmetologist for 24 years (this explains the hair!)
Aquaholics Instructor Background
Sue Pennell (Su-Z-Q, Surfin' Susie) is the Senior Instructor (that doesn't mean she's the oldest) at Aquaholics and has been surfing since she was thirteen growing up in Seal Beach, California. Sue was a National Amateur Surfing champion in 1977, and surfed competitively with some of the world's best in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Sue is a fourth grade teacher at the Mary Hurd School in North Berwick in. Su-Z-Q currently is a long boarder, but will eventually ride a short board again if we harass her enough.
Tom Wiley, "The Ice Man", has been surfing since the summer of 1964 and has been in countless articles, pictures, papers and certain publications including Surfer Magazine. Tom is a passionate surfer, who is a living example of the fact that surfing is truly a "fountain of youth". Tom is fit and sharp, even though he's an old guy (don't tell him we said so). Tom is a favorite at Aquaholics because his stoke is contagious. He is a coach to the core, often attempting to "coach" everyone in the lineup (Tom is a Kent State graduate with a degree in Physical Education with a focus on sports coaching). Tom has been riding exclusively Quad fin short boards so long they're back in style. Having been one of the first instructors at Aquaholics, Tom is part of the Aquaholics original staff.
"Huge" Eugene Cole is a SHREDDER long boarder who will go anywhere anytime, any temperature for good waves (provided he has gas). Huge has a reputation as a "wave magnet". He always gets the BEST waves. Huge is an artful photographer who loves to take pictures of surfers (among other subjects), but has difficulty peeling himself away from his desire to do the surfing himself, instead of documenting other peoples' waves.
Huge has been an instructor with Aquaholics since the beginning, briefly owning his own store in O.O.B., "Huge Surf". Check out his blog...hugesurf.blogspot.com.
Mark Nesvig- a.k.a. "Moondoggie" was a beach boy in Waikiki in his teens, having worked in the outrigger surf club, he was cool by association. Mark has some pretty interesting "surf story" to share in your 1½ hour session. Mark has been a popular instructor at Aquaholics since 2003. The teen students love him because they feel like they can relate. Mark took third place in the New York State Senior division Longboarding event in 2003. Mark is also very involved in the Kennebunk Coffee House Music series. Mark rides a long board and enjoys surfing with his teen daughter Suki, who is also an instructor at Aquaholics. (See her bio.)
Frances "Lefty" Lefkowitz is our etiquette specialist. Her motto: Polite but firm. (Or is that firm but polite?) Frances is a well-published writer in San Francisco in the off season, when she's not gallivanting in some Latin American country. Si usted habla espanol, Francesa es la maestra para usted. Frances has been a long boarder for seven years, but will ride any board she can get her hands on (or rent). Frances has been with the Aquaholics crew since 2003.
Chris Mone is a Clearwater Beach, Florida transplant, working his way through med school at UNE. Among Chris's many talents is Guitar Rock and Rolling, winemaking, and thrashing the waves on his "Bat Board". Chris is a short boarder and has been with Aquaholics for two years, he splits his time between bartending at Grissini's Restaurant, the Old Orchard Beach Aquaholics and teaching lessons through the Kennebunk store. Chris has been surfing for 13 years, and looks forward to making it into Ripley's record book by being the first surfer to play an electric guitar while riding a wave.
Suki Nesvig rides a (beautiful) long board, and is an up and coming competitor on the North East Coast circuit. Suki has been surfing with her dad since she was 7, and they have taught many of Suki's friends how to surf. Suki is a very popular and frequently requested instructor. Hmmm... is it because she's so CUTE?
Ellie Arseneault is a young (fourteen years old) up-and-coming, go-for-it short boarder who seems to be fearless in the water. Ellie's dad has been surfing for many years, but had taken a hiatus until Ellie and a friend stuffed him into a "new-tech" wetsuit. They now surf together, although Ellie can make the hairy drops better than dad now. This is Ellie's first year as an apprentice instructor.
Aquaholics has an abundance of previous students coming up the ranks as instructor apprentice volunteers. Keep your eyes on them, they're really starting to rip!
Customer Raves
