Viking Surfboards has been present in Guatemala and Central America since 1997. In Guatemala, our first visit happen short after their Civil War ended in 1995. In my first visit, I learned that there were only about 50 surfers in the entire country, five of them were the original pioneers but only 3 still lived and surfed in Guatemala. Within the Original Pioneers, I met with Mario Estevez, locally known and respected as Mario Waimea for his big wave surfing. for many years, I surfed almost alone in Guatemala, Mario and a few others were the only ones to be around the lineup. Viking Surfboards and Viking SurfSup have been present and investing in the surfing industry in Guatemala for 17 years now. We have promoted competitions, sponsored young athletes and donated boards and equipment to local talents. Viking has also produced text, photo and video reports and documentaries about the country, its surf scenario and the people. Mario Waimea, a 16 year collaborator passed last year, this was a great loss for the local surfing community and for Guatemala. Mario was well known for his big wave riding but he was also an Ambassador for his country, he promoted Guatemalas surfing and its culture. Mario always welcomed foreign visitors, he never used localism and even discouraged this behavior wherever it showed signs of evolving. New talented surfing promises were always supported by Mario, he would help to get them equipment and sponsorships. Marios contributions and vision about Surfing in Guatemala will not be forgoten. During the Months of October and November 2013, VIKING SURFSUP returned to Guatemala and later to El Salvador to promote a In Memorium competition in Sipacate. During the Sipacate Event, we also set the ground work of the newly formed Mario Waimea Foundation, to support young needing athletes into the sport of surfing. MArios Daughter Melanie and Son, Emerson, delivered three surfboards donated by Viking Surfboards/SurfSUP, these boards were formerly used by Viking Team riders and were in excellent condition. This kind of action will continue to exist supported by Viking SurfSUP. We later followed to El Salvador with the whole Viking Surf Team to compete there on a Viking SurfSUP sponsored event in la Libertad. Enjoy the short video on this trip and events.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 05:27:51 +0000
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