Here in Nosara we are super fortunate to meet all kinds of amazing people who love our community. Since 1998, G Love has been coming to Nosara and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. In fact, for the previous five years, G Love (Garret Dutton) has been headlining to Nosara Acoustic Roots Festival. Each year we try to have this festival the weekend after Thanksgiving and it seems to be growing. The show is to benefit the Nosara Security Association and is the biggest fundraiser of the year.
I got a chance to sit down with Garrett and talk about Nosara and hear some stories about his friends Jack Johnson, Kelly Slater, Donovan Frankenreiter, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, the Malloy brothers and more. We also had a chance to detail some of his musical influences and motivating factors and life on the road and staying motivated. G shares a story about losing a deal to Beck and much more info you’ll just have to hear in this episode.
I hope you enjoy this one getting to know G Love and appreciate you checking it out.
Everyone has their issues. One of mine happens to be surfboards. My wife Aimee likes them only slightly less than I do… So when Olo Alaia opened up right next to Surfing Nosara it changed our lives. The owner and operator of Olo Alaia (OA), Robbie Vickers, made a commitment to bringing the highest quality surfboards he possibly could with an emphasis on equipment which functions well in Guiones surf. It’s not just surf though… OA is a brew house for coffee and focuses on providing the highest quality craft beer he can find in Costa Rica. So essentially between surf, coffee, and beer Robbie has a pretty good gig going. After all, 2 of the 3 are recession proof and the 3rd is a way of life and his neighbor is a surfboard addict. I sat down with Robbie to have a conversation about his personal journey from Ireland, to New York, and ultimately to Nosara and how his vision for OA formed into what it is today.
In this episode we discuss:
Robbie’s life in Ireland and finding surfing then life in New York
First trip to Costa Rica
How Robbie met his wife
His personal business here
How OA formed
How OA is an experience, not just a shop
Surfboards
Robbie and Rich bicker over his choices of top 3 surfboards for life
Robbie on a good wave testing out some new equipment
Bing is cranking out mid lengths like this one which is one of OA’s top selling boards
For those who may not know already, in Guiones our surf is extremely consistent but it is a soft wave which is great for beginners and intermediates but not ideal for high performance surfing. Of course there are local rippers who shred out there and can make any wave look good… But the reality is for 90+% of people in the water are on the wrong equipment.
Rich is riding a custom OA Lightning Bolt on this wave
Rich’s Lightning Bolt finishing up at the factory
I like to tease Robbie about he is doing good and bad for the world by crowding surfing lineups with people riding the right boards. Here is what I mean by this: Currently in our area about 90% of everyone out there are riding the wrong board. This is fantastic because there’s lots of waves to be had still even though the lineup in Guiones is crowded. With OA Robbie is now helping everyone get on better surf equipment which is terrific but there’s a whole lot less waves to go around. Of course I’m kidding, but I do think I’m right.
If you’re coming through town stop in at OA. The experience Robbie has created is top notch, and extremely uncommon in Costa Rica. The coffee is fantastic, the beers are top-quality, and the surfboards on hand are a far higher level than most anywhere else in Costa Rica.
Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with my good friend Mr. Mike Streda to dig into his story a bit for your listening pleasure. This is definitely one of the more interesting conversations you’re going to hear from anyone in Nosara and I want to thank Mike for sitting down with me and sharing such powerfully personal information. Most of you know Mike as the owner of Beach Dog Café… However, there is so much to him that most people would never even be aware of.
Watch & listen here by clicking this link:
Quite frankly: Mike is a powerhouse of a personality and a constantly evolving human being. We discuss everything from plant medicine to Martial arts to owning and fighting so very hard for success with his business in Nosara. All of this is in addition to a massive, radical personal transformation over the past couple of years.
Really fun times at UFC fight night watching Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov battle. Luckily, I picked Khabib and Mike took Conor. This photo was taken in Round 3 and Mike is looking worried 🙂
We actually had a really tough time editing this because there’s so much… In fact, we actually ignored our entire first recording because the information is so controversial and we’re not sure people are ready to hear it. So we’re probably going to do a part 2 to this episode because the most intense and detailed stuff I’m a bit too chicken to publish just yet.
Lori, Mike’s better half, is a driving force in the ‘new’ Mike
So we hope you enjoy this appetizer of an introduction into Mike. Stay tuned and know there’s a bunch more on the way… Mike is a super interesting guy and there’s more to come in the future. Make sure when you’re in town get into Beach Dog Cafe for a great meal or 2 and enjoy the newer setup.
PS – After this conversation was recorded, I did take Mike up on his challenge to get into BDC and taste his new vegan, bacon infused mini burgers and now I have to admit it, Mike was actually right… They were really good. So Mike I apologize for the ‘vegan food tastes like a shoe’ comment, Mike. You’re onto something and I’ll be back for more!
