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Pro Surfer Turned Business Woman Shakes Up Dominican Surf Scene

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Surfer Carolina Gutiérrez can be spotted around town on her red motoconcho, surf board body bag slung over her shoulder, as she makes her daily commute to Playa Bonita in Las Terrenas, where her eponymous surf school has its headquarters. A flat brim hat with her school’s logo makes her look more like the junior elites who she coaches than business woman, but one gets the sense that she prefers it that way.

“Sometimes my friends ask, ‘Where are you? I haven’t seen you in weeks.’ And I say, ‘If you haven’t been to the beach, maybe you won’t see me,’” says Gutiérrez. “I’m either at my house or the beach.  It is my backyard.”

Growing up in the internationally famous kite surfing town of Cabarete in the Dominican Republic, Gutiérrez has excelled in many water sports, but surfing was always her real passion. Scoring her first sponsorship at age sixteen, the twenty-seven-year old has an array of accomplishments under her belt, including being named Athlete of the Year in 2004 for the Dominican Republic. Although she continues to train and makes a yearly pilgrimage to Costa Rica to work on her moves, Gutiérrez is now semi-retired from the sport, focusing on growing her business and inspiring the next generation of Dominican surfers.

“I don't like to take surfing like this anymore because I love surfing. It is my passion,” says Gutiérrez. Recently placing second in the strenuous Master of the Ocean watersport competition in Cabarete, Gutiérrez plans on entering contests only “when it feels right." She now prefers to work more “behind the scenes," organizing surf competitions for the younger set, like the CNU Triple Corona Competition held at Playa Coson in February.

“I have already all these accomplishments, I know what it is, the feeling of winning,” says Gutiérrez. “Now I want to do it for someone else.”

“Carolina is really supportive of us,” says Alice Gibin, a sixteen-year-old who is on the official Carolina Surf School team along with her thirteen-year-old brother David Gibin. The pair competes all over the Dominican Republic, placing in the elite rankings of their respective divisions.

“I train the surf school team for all the contests,” says Gutiérrez. “They are doing very, very well now in the rankings.”

However, her path from pro surfer to mentor was not always so clear-cut. In 2010, her then-employer Pura Vida closed their surf school in Las Terrenas and Gutiérrez was left without a job.

“I thought, why don’t I start my own surf school?,” says Gutiérrez. After its humble beginning with a few boards in the parking lot of Hotel Acaya, the Carolina Surf School is now a fixture in Las Terrenas.

“Every year I try to grow the business, try to do things a little different,” says Gutiérrez. “It is not easy, I am by myself.”

An oasis of surfer-cool, the school now takes up the whole yard in front of Hotel Acaya, boasting bongo boards and a tight rope to practice balance, large plastic boards laid out on the lawn for beginners to work on form, hammocks set out between palm trees for those who want to relax. There is always music playing from the office, a range from the Dominican bachata to reggae to hip-hop.

“I go slowly, little by little,” says Gutiérrez. “But I think this year, if I work hard, I can grow the business to where I want it to be.”

In addition to expanding her school, Gutiérrez hopes to receive a grant from the Dominican Republic’s Olympic Stadium of Sports, for her foundation, Wave for a Smile. Founded in 2013, Wave for a Smile aims to take kids from poorer neighborhoods in Las Terrenas and introduce them to the beach. Gutiérrez also collects clothing and hopes the foundation can eventually provide grants for school tuition.

“I want to focus on having the kids come to the beach and surf. When you are out on the road, you learn many bad things,” says Gutiérrez. “I want the kids to get out of this world, to bring them to the beach. On the beach, you don’t think about that anymore.”

“It’s called Wave for a Smile, because these kids have a big smile.  They are surfing, having a great day at the beach, having fun,” says Gutiérrez. “They never can have this, where they live.”

Alexandra Talty is traveling the world on a freelance journalist's paycheck. You can follow her articles on Forbes by clicking the blue "Follow" box under her name. She is also on Twitter and has a personal blog, The Middle Of Time. 

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