A surfing instructor at the Jersey Shore is still out in the water giving lessons, even though it is the dead of winter.

News 12’s Brian Donohue caught up with instructor Robbie Nelson one February day in Avon-by-the-Sea to see how the lessons were going.

“I'm totally frothing my head off right now because, look at the waves. They're going mental,” says Nelson.

Nelson is the founder of Pro Surf Coaches, a surfing business that keeps surf classes going long after other surfing schools and summer camps have ended. He’s been at it for 20 years. He says that dealing with the cold weather is part of the lesson and a good indicator of who can hack it on the waves.

Student Laura Navotny started surfing a little more than two years ago at age 50.

“It’s the best thing I ever did. It really is. It's the best thing I ever did, it's the best thing for your soul,” she says. “There is nothing better. And now my life revolves around the next time I get out. It really does.”

While Nelson's lessons are full of techniques, he almost never stops talking. Students say that this enthusiasm is part of his charm. There's an old saying among surfers that the best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun. And this certainly pertains to Nelson.

Nelson’s clients are mostly adults. But he also gives lessons to children and teens.