The executive surfer

We all have the freedom to choose which wave to surf.

THE EXECUTIVE SURFER is a trilogy of stories related to personal development as told through the eyes of Jose Angel Navarro (a young management consultant who is passionate about surfing), and Frank Skyler, Master Coach and COO of one of the most important consulting firms in the world.

Both face challenges in the conference room, as well as the most challenging waves in the world on their search for enlightenment in order to transcend to different levels of consciousness.

This is my first foray into the genre of motivational surfing fiction. The idea came from a trip to Peru, where I went to train the IBM sales force. There, I met Igor Zlatar, VP of Sales and CEO of one of the largest technology companies in the country. He invited me to go surfing that weekend and we drove around the coast in search of the perfect wave, along with another surfer, the VP of Citibank.

Eventually we found the legendary wave immortalized in the Beach Boys’ song “Surfing Safari” called Cerro Azul. It was one of the most extraordinary surf sessions I’ve ever experienced. THE EXECUTIVE SURFER lives amongst all of us, it’s a metaphor for the hero’s cycle and I hope the message will inspire others to move toward different levels of productivity, abundance and growth. Here I present:

The afternoon began casting its long shadows across Santa Monica Boulevard. The driver of the BMW was completely focused on heading west and fixed his attention on just one thing—a single mission. Totally absorbed in the majesty of the moment, he began heading down towards the coastal highway and envisioned a scene that he’d seen a thousand times before, maintaining the same sense of wonder as the first time. While thousands of drivers were consumed in the stress of traffic, the man went into a trance, connecting with everything around him, watching the horizon, counting the waves and contemplating the swells that had arrived at the Californian Pacific coast.

The man was a surfer and this afternoon would be a special session. How many times had he been down this road? How many times had he entered his favorite parking lot and carefully waxed his board? How many times had he put on his wetsuit and stretched?

Today’s session marked a different path.

He decided to surf and set aside the reports and preparations of his next trip to think (or rather, to stop thinking) of the thousands of options and recurrent attacks of strategic scenarios. He knew that, this time, a common meditation wouldn’t be enough to calm his current uncertainty, and even though he understood that it wasn’t real and knew the practices to maintain peace and focus, the emotion caught hold like a stubborn tick.

He would need to shake it off at a surf spot.     

Interview with Reef marketing director –P.J. Conell

By: Mario Dillanes
Translation: Heido Sundstrom

Planeta Surf: How was Reef born?
P.J. Connell: Reef was the brainchild of two Argentinean brothers, Fernando and Santiago Aguerre, who had the vision of marketing sandals that represented a healthy lifestyle while, at the same time, offering good-quality, resistant sandals. They also wanted to find a way to be able to live the surf lifestyle, as they’re both passionate about surfing.
In 1984, they moved to San Diego, CA to continue living the dream of surfing every day (since that wasn’t possible in their native Argentina), and also to market their brand in the surf “mecca” that is California. Back then, the brand was called Reef Brazil because they fabricated their sandals there at first. Soon, their efforts began to pay off and before long Reef became the brand for surfing in California and worldwide.

PS: What does Reef represent as a brand?
PJC: Reef is a surf brand that represents a healthy lifestyle based on surfing and inspired by the natural beauties of South America. Its products are now sold in more than 100 countries around the world and Reef also sponsors events like surf contests, motocross events, snowboarding, etc.
Since they got their start, the Aguerre brothers have always sought to project their passion for the waves (and for the ocean) as an inspirational surf brand that represents what many people in the city are searching for: beaches, sun, bikinis and a healthy lifestyle.

PS: What are Reef’s plans for Mexico?
PJC: For 2013, Reef is coming with everything. We’re here to offer our quality products to the Mexican market, which the surfing industry sees as a “sleeping giant” and on the verge of exploding. We believe that Mexico has everything to be a very interesting market that we know already exists here. Our plans are to help it grow and become one of the favorite brands of Mexicans, offering quality products at a good price. We came to stay and become a part of this great surf community that’s showing promising growth. Reef will also have their own offices in Mexico, as opposed to using distributors like we did in the past. Starting this year, Reef Mexico will have its own team that will work closely and receive support and guidance from our San Diego corporate offices.
We’re confident that we’ll see some great results for Reef in Mexico.

PS: Is there any special strategy for Mexico?
PJC: We came with the purpose of making Mexico a huge market for the brand and believe that it’s everyone’s job to make more Mexicans head to the beach. Mexico has everything to accommodate more surfers in the water: incredible waves, warm water and organization as a sport.
We also plan to support Mexican surfers and Reef will have its own Surf Team for Mexico. We already have Jimena Ochoa, Jose Manuel “Yuco” Trujillo and Angelo Lozano, and we’ll be constantly keeping our eyes out for new talent. We also plan to organize and develop top quality surf contests, like the Reef/ALAS Classic Mexico that will be held in Mazatlan, Sinaloa on June 5th – 9th, which will be giving away $155,000 USD in prizes that will include a “Miss Reef” competition. We’re going to support the community and are looking to get involved in projects that will benefit everyone in the Mexican surf community.
To help us get the word out about our new plans, we had a big media launch in Mexico City this past February 20, 2013.

PS: Tell us about Reef’s ecological side...
PJC: For Reef, it’s one of our highest priorities to promote a more ecological attitude and to promote the care and protection of the oceans. We use recycled paper for our calendars, as well as recycled material to make a large majority of our products. We hope to get involved in actions like beach cleanups and protection, and the care of Mexican beaches in general.

PS: What makes Reef different than other surf brands?
PJC: That we’re 100% authentic. We live this lifestyle and everyone, from the CEO on down to the people that help with maintenance, practices surfing and that’s what’s reflected in our products—our passion for the waves.

PS: Any shout-outs to the Mexican surf community?
PJC: Whenever I come to Mexico, I always have a great time and honestly, the community here is incredible. I’ve always felt super welcome when I come and I hope to get the chance to surf more frequently in Mexico. I know a few spots, but there’s still a lot to discover; I feel like I’ve just barely scratched the surface.   

4th edition of Punta Sayula Classic of Sup and the table long 2013

Sayulita, Nayarit-the fourth edition of this classic table of rowing and table long took place days 8, 9 and 10 March in Sayulita beach. Clear this, Sayulita can be considered the Mecca of the rowing table at Mexico, by the large number of fans and athletes of this municipality, in addition to here have been held the national selective given fruit since the national table of rowing team is the third worldwide to win at the last World Games SUP of the ISA held in Peru last month.

The fourth edition of the Punta Sayulita Classic, was introduced by the Secretariat of tourism of Riviera Nayarit, which attracted some of the best surfers and stand-up paddlers in the world: Hawaii, Brazil, Canada, Japan, California, North Carolina, Florida, Acapulco and the medallist of copper in our country, from Sayulita.
There was surf clinics and SUP by Jimmy Gamboa of the Organization THERASurf, foundation ECO-Warrior, with cleaning of the beach and fair environmental education with the participation of project save our Surf and all over the world, art with artist Treva Dea ECO-clases, signs autographs with professionals and music concert with MISHKA.

 
Picks REIKO ALLEN

Mexico wins bronze medal at the World games Sup and the ISA in Peru 2013 Paddleboard

The “bronze race” was reborn in the spirit of Mexican athletes who competed in Playa Miraflores in Lima, Peru for the second world paddleboard games, in which a total of 23 countries from the five continents came to compete on March 2^nd – 24^th, 2013.

The third place bronze medal earned by the Mexican team was not gained by chance or by luck, but by the physical and mental preparation of the athletes who, under the command of Alfredo Salafranca, went through a training program that began in August of last year and lasted until a week before the championship. Their rigorous training and strong teamwork resulted in this historic bronze medal-win, placing them just under Australia and South Africa.

Paddleboarding has really started to take off around the world and this year marks the second world championship put on by the International Surfing Association (ISA). Like last year’s competition, this year’s event was also held in Peru.

The Mexican SUP team was primarily composed of athletes from the state of Nayarit, which favored the kind of work needed for the competition. The concentration was there, and everyone gave their best; visualizing, dreaming big and all with the same objective: to be amongst the top four places competing for first place.

The objective was met and the bronze medal was well earned by everyone’s effort, giving Mexico the recognition and respect from the entire international SUP community. Mexico gave proof of its ability, hard work, discipline and the ability of its athletes. It is with great pride that we proclaim Mexico as the third-ranked country in the world for this sport and, to give honor where honor is due, a big thank you to the 2013 Mexican SUP Selection: Fernando, Risa, Karen, Martha, Hector, Javier, Diego, Guillermo, Antonio, Alfredo, Veronica, Jose Luis Caselin, Ryan Helm and Horacio Garcia; as well as the sponsors and the Mexican Federation of Surfing (the FMS, for its initials in Spanish).

Fernando Stalla was dubbed the ‘man of the hour’ by winning the bronze medal in the Long Distance SUP Men’s Race, facing difficult conditions, a dense fog that covered Playa Miraflores during the competition and just mere seconds separating him from the gold medal.

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