About Conatus Surf Club

WHO I am

Dr. Dion Mattison, PhD  

I was born in Monterey, CA in 1980, and have been surfing since I was 1 year old. I hold a BA in Religious Studies from UC Berkeley, an MA and PhD in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research. I wake up early. I’m vegan, and have a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from the T. Colin Campbell Institute at Cornell University. My favorite color is navy blue. I have a terrier mix named Pita, a partner named Sophia, and a brother named Andrew. I love surfing all surfboards, but I especially enjoy riding fishes. I’m goofyfoot, and my favorite place to surf is Rockaway Beach, NY!

Conatus (kuh-nah-tus) is a latin word that means, “the force within all things that endeavors to persevere.” It’s that force within all existence that strives to persist in its existence, no matter the costs. Conatus manifests differently in each kind of phenomenon. In human beings it manifests as a drive for homeostasis and flourishing. We never fully achieve complete or perfect homeostasis and flourishing, but we are able to experience it in glimpses by doing things that increase our powers for agency and human freedom. At the same time, we can also launch ourselves into things that we perceive to increase our powers for acting when in fact they do the opposite. The key is in knowing the difference. The only way to know the difference to lean upon the experience of those who have more experience in whatever realm we’re trying to navigate.

I have spent the last 20+ years becoming an expert in all things to do with the surfing practice. I take a holistic view of surfing. I care about surfing’s history and politics. I care about oceanography and forecasting weather patterns for swell. I care about surf-specific diet and fitness regimes that will enable sustainable and consistent life long practices. And I care about facilitating a physical and online community for intellectually oriented surfers to share their experiences with one another. In this way I can truly say that Conatus Surf Club has become a self-supporting ecosystem with many tiers of engagement and possible ways to participate in it. There are three main points of engagement:

  1. The simplest, quickest, and most affordable is through online club memberships. An online club membership entitles you to weekly and monthly newsletters, discounts on all virtual and in-person coaching products, exclusive tip videos, surfing content that I never share on Instagram or YouTube, first head’s up about retreats and surf trips, insights into surfing history and board design, links to podcasts and texts that mutually inform life and surfing, and philosophical pointers for better surfing. Weekly and weekly plus members have eligibility for the private online Skool community, weekly forecasting class, and monthly book club meetings.

  2. SurfReady365 online surf specific coaching for surfers of all levels. The SR365 method is designed to help busy surfers optimize surf specific fitness and nutrition so that they can maintain consistency and progress in their surfing no matter how many reps they’re able to get in the water. Each program is custom fit to each individual surfer. I won’t put you on restrictive diets or give you workouts that do not fit into your schedule. Everything is tailored to fit your lifestyle and your practice. While you’re in the program you’ll recieve 24/7 text and email support from me. This will ensure that you stick with your program and get results and habits that will enable you to flourish in your surfing and in every other aspect of your life. No more yo yo diets and workout routines. You will get results that last forever.

  3. Private and semi-private coaching in the water in NY and internationally. I coach all levels from complete novice to advanced expert. The more advanced you are, the more we lean on video to help you improve. For novices, I provide boards, but not wetsuits. My headquarters are located in Rockaway Beach, NY. The main places I surf are Rockaway, northern New Jersey, and parts of Long Island. Since it’s just me and the ocean, space is limited for 1-1 coaching in the water. I take on new clients on a rolling basis.

If you want to learn about pricing or more about how to be involved with ANY of this, please CONTACT ME!!!