Being raised in Lahaina in
the 70's was fun, to say the least. Everything was happening,
the building boom, the tourist industry, the waves, Maui
was becoming a world class destination. With my family being
heavily involved in the building industry of the late 60's
and into the 70's and 80's I could see that things where
changing fast. Life is full of compromises, but where do
you draw the line? Leaving Hawaii was mine. After surfing
through high school at Lahainaluna and moving to the Big
Island for two years at UH Hilo I finally made it to Oahu
and the University of Hawaii. Three years later and lots
of surf, I was back on Maui ready to make a name for myself.
Having come to the realization that surfing for a living
was out of the question (the pros at that time made less
than waiters) my mom convinced me that to have a real-estate
license couldn't hurt. 1982 seems like a life time ago now
but you know what they say "always listen to your mother".
Real-estate has been good to me. What other
industry can you work in that mandates fun. I used to joke
that I made my best contacts while in the water. Guess what,
its true. I have been blessed with meeting some of the most
incredible people through my work and having the pleasure
of helping them purchase their dream properties. Don't get
me wrong, I have a strict business ethic, WORK HARD PLAY
HARD. After setting up my own office in 1991 I soon learned
the down side of being the boss of a real-estate firm, if
you spend all your time keeping your sales people busy you
don't have time to make any sales. You may remember the
early nineties were not that friendly to realtors, or any
one for that matter. Back to basics, I downsized my office
and started doing what I love, meeting fantastic people
and helping them purchase their dream.
It sure is easy to fall into that rut called
reality. Home, office, cars, mortgages, kids (love the Kids)
and all the responsibilities that come with "success".
Is there still time to surf? Oh Ya, you make time. Having
made a yearly migration chasing the big ones through the
South Pacific and the Indian Oceans I can tell you from
experience that nothing motivates me to work harder than
a good surf trip.
Where am I now? I still spend most of my
time helping friends, new and old, buy into the dream here
on Maui, but I have been spending more and more time on
Molokai "The Most Hawaiian Island". Just remember
the next time you are in the waters of Maui or Molokai and
see a guy with a big smile on his face you might be looking
at the SURFER THAT SELLS REAL-ESTATE! |
