A popular surfing instructor, QAnon, and an unspeakable horror

Matt Coleman lived with his wife and two small kids on a quiet street not far from the Santa Barbara beaches where he surfed. “We are dealing with all the emotions around knowing someone, trusting someone, and if they claim to be this in their faith, how could this happen?” said Tommy Schneider, the pastor of Santa Barbara’s Calvary Chapel, whose congregants include kids Coleman taught at his Lovewater surf school. QAnon “is a flexible a la carte menu,” he said, such that “angry people, dyed-in-the-wool extremists and those with emotional difficulties can all drink from the same well.” The result, Levin added, is that QAnon can free followers to “build their own hybrid type of motivation for violence.” Coleman was born in Santa Barbara and grew up surfing, spearfishing and sailing to the Channel Islands with his family, according to Lovewater’s website. Luismi Arribas, who became friends with Coleman in Spain and later visited his family in California, said he had thought of Coleman as a good person who was “really strict with his religion and his beliefs.” “The only thing he wanted to do in life,” Arribas said, “was to get married, get a family and surf, and that’s what he did.” Coleman remained in his hometown, working as a Spanish teacher and leading a local chapter of an organization called Christian Surfers, which met for Bible study, food and waves. “Everyone feels like they knew him because they’re a beautiful family,” he said, referring to photos Coleman posted of his wife and kids on social media.