SUP Instructor, Writer, and Community Builder
Hi there! I’m Jordan-na Belle-Isle, a Toronto-based expert in all things related to stand up paddleboarding (SUP). I’m a certified instructor, freelance writer, and community builder who SUPs and surfs the Great Lakes year-round. I am a proud team member of Taiga Board, a brand ambassador for ROXY, and a co-organizer for Lake Surfistas.
A passionate paddleboarder since 2013, I’ve worked with some fantastic people, organizations, companies, and brands including Surf the Greats, ROXY, Patagonia, Brown Girl Outdoor World, Destination Canada, A Greener Future, Thurso Surf, Toronto Island SUP, and Explore Magazine.
I love connecting with people, putting ideas into words, and encouraging others to get out on the water. I’m particularly interested in fostering a SUP and surf community and industry where everyone is welcome, represented, and supported!
Click Contact to get in touch if you need some writing, want to learn how to SUP, or are looking for innovative ways to connect with the SUP community.
Explore Canada ad in Globe & Mail
Breakfast Television live appearance
Surfskating in Toronto
Tourism Canada website
Surfing in Oshawa - photo by Antonio Lennert
Teaching SUP - photo by Zach Baranowski
Image from Bronze Cross certification - photo by Antonio Lennert
Toronto Indoor SUP Race - photo by Dan Lim
Cleaning up the Toronto Islands
SUP Connect Live appearance - photo by Zach Baranowski
SUP surfing in Toronto
SUP surfing in the winter with Shazia Mazhar - photo by April Beatson
SUPing in Lake Ontario
SUP surfing in the winter - photo by @davicory
SUP surfing with Diana Lee - photo by Diana Lee
SUPing the Scarborough Bluffs - photo by Diana Lee
Lake Surfistas Beach Day
SUPing in the winter - photo by Diana Lee
Icicles after a winter surf
ROXY bikini shoot - photo by Rob C
SUPing the Humber River - photo by Mark Orchard
In the Media
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Paddle Adventurer's "Paddle Boarding Toronto Islands" YouTube video (October 2022)
Featured on the Paddle Adventurer’s YouTube channel, as I take host and content creator Marybeth on a tour of Toronto Island Park.
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Swim Drink Fish "Breaking Water" Interview (July 2022)
Featured in Swim Drink Fish’s “Breaking Water” series which “highlights members of our incredible ecosystem.”
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PBS "Great Lakes Now" episode 2203 (March 2022)
Featured on PBS monthly award-winning docuseries “Great Lakes Now” as part of their segment on Lake Surfistas. Also interviewed live for their Sneak Peek Watch Party (March 29, 2022).
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SUP Connect Live Interview w/ Kristin Thomas (May 2021)
Interviewed by Kristin Thomas on #SUPConnectLive on behalf of Thurso Surf, discussing the SUP industry, paddling the Great Lakes, and Thurso Surf’s lineup of inflatable paddleboards.
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International Women's Day w/ Lake Surfistas - Breakfast Television Toronto (March 2021)
Interviewed live on Breakfast Television Toronto by Nicole Servinis for International Women’s Day with the Lake Surfistas. This was one of three segments.
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The Women Surfing Ontario's Great Lakes in Freezing Temperatures - Daily Hive News (February 2021)
“Have you ever wanted to catch a wave, but in Toronto, and in the dead of winter? It might be too intense for some, but there’s a dedicated group of women surfing the Great Lakes and showing their prowess in the cold waters of Ontario.”
Full Bio
Jordan-na Belle-Isle is a Toronto-based SUP instructor, lake surfer, and writer. Born in Montreal, she has been sporty her whole life and discovered stand-up paddleboarding in 2013. Since then, she has been active in the SUP scene, paddling and surfing the Great Lakes year-round.
Jordan-na is a patient and encouraging instructor. She obtained her first SUP instructor certification in 2017 and has been teaching ever since. She has worked with Surf the Greats and Toronto Island SUP, running everything from group classes, to one-on-one training, to winter SUP safety clinics, to team-building events for clients and partners such as Google, Brown Girl Outdoor World, L’Oreal, Swim Drink Fish, and Ryerson University.
A recognizable face in the Great Lakes SUP and surf scene, her image has been used in a national campaign for Tourism Canada and she has been interviewed by several media outlets such as SUP Connect, Breakfast Television, Daily Hive News, and the Toronto Star. She was also the subject of a short documentary film titled ‘In Winter.’
A skilled writer with a masters degree from the University of Toronto, her work has appeared in Explore Magazine and she is a regular contributor to the Thurso Surf blog and Surf the Greats Journal.
She is a team member for Montreal SUP company Taiga Board, a brand ambassador for ROXY, and a co-organizer for Lake Surfistas, a grassroots group that connects, empowers, and educates women who surf and SUP the Great Lakes year-round. Through them, she has worked on projects with Patagonia, Fjallraven, and A Greener Future, and has created an ongoing partnership with heritage surf brand ROXY.
She currently holds an Advanced SUP Instructor certification with Paddle Canada and is Bronze Cross certified with the Ontario Lifesaving Society.