When it comes to working out it's all about incorporating the latest trend. And a special shop in Omaha is offering a great workout using surfboards. While working out at this shop may make you feel like you are right next to the ocean the feel is about so much more than catching the perfect wave.
This may seem like your typical workout class, but there's a twist. Everything is done on a surfboard. Neighborhood Offshore started six years ago when owner Kristen Macdissi, owner and founder of Neighborhood Offshore decided to bring the coast to the Midwest. "I noticed that there was a little bit of a lack of outdoor activities that are easily accessible,” said Macdissi. So, she brought the outdoor activities indoors. "You definitely don't have the ocean and the waves you are worrying about…so a lot of the moves that we do on the boards do try to mimic those that you would use, those muscles groups, while surfing,” said Macdissi.
She describes her store as a lifestyle store, one offering more than the latest workout trend. "The heart of the company is really outreach,” said Macdissi, “all of the brands that we carry have a purpose." Profits from their sales benefit things such as water way cleanup and community projects within national parks. They also offer retreats to Costa Rica and Colorado for people to practice the skills they learned in class.
One outreach program especially close to Macdissi is Expedition Omaha a five-day full day summer camp for the youth in the community. “They otherwise wouldn't have had that opportunity to go sailing or to go climbing so it's such an unbelievable opportunity to provide that to them,” said Macdissi.
She says at the end of the day it's all about teaching the next generation. "We're so small in the grand scheme of things that if we're not incorporating youth they're not going to be involved in caring for these things."
