Nothing seems coincidence in the life of Fernando Aguerre. Since that first tournament that he organized, in the Torreón del Monje, in the summer of 1978, in the midst of the military dictatorship, when surfing was frowned upon and even prohibited on some beaches. Almost 39 years later, dressed in a classic Hawaiian shirt, silk tie and straw hat, the father of Olympic surfing stands smiling at the corner of Gurruchaga and Russel streets in the heart of Palermo Soho, awaits the arrival of one of his great friends, the singer of Catupecu Machu, Fernando Ruiz Diazto celebrate the opening of what he called “the embassy of the waves.”
It happens that it was in surfing that Aguerre found his personal brand. he was the creator by Reef, a project that transcended borders and managed to position itself worldwide as one of the most emblematic surf brands that it later sold. But he did not stop there. To her credit was her beloved Ala Moana, brand that he created in 1979 with his mother and brother Santiago, who went through critical moments that he managed to overcome and today opens his first surfshop in the Buenos aires city.
a life of surfing
He is one of the pioneers of surfing in the country. And nothing is coincidence. Everything that happened to Aguerre in life has to do with being “a practical idealist.” This is how this surfer, businessman and sports leader defines himself, who achieved what no other Argentine leader even tried: and that is that he was the mentor for the sport he loved to be accepted as such in the Olympic Games.
At the end of the 70s, with his brother, Fernando devised some sandals because the traditional flip flops did not work for them because they had flat feet and, when he went into the water, they would get ruined. So, they created a waterproof rubber model and decided to offer them. In the first summer they sold 200 pairs without imagining that it would be the kickoff of a brand that would make surfing history. Because in 1984, when both were installed in California, USAthe business exploded, reaching sell 4 million pairs per year and export them to 100 countries. In 2005 the brothers decided to sell the brand Reeffor a millionaire figure, to an American conglomerate.
In 2012, when Fernando began to return to Argentina more often, he decided to refound wing moana. That’s when she realized what it meant. “We always thought that the name was due to a beach in Honolulu, Hawaiiuntil they told me what it meant: path that leads to the sea. Incredible that we gave it a name thinking that it meant one thing and, in reality, it was precisely for what you love the most, the path to the waves ”, commented who decided, in his own way, to have his parents present during this very important moment. special. “To my mother with her wave rings and my father through a colored stone that I found on the beach of waikiki when we went to throw away his ashes”, revealed Aguerre.
the embassy party
With Fernando Ruiz Diaz They met by chance in Mar del Plata, on one of the trips the singer made several years after his brother’s death. And it was the surf that crossed over to Ruiz Diaz and Aguerre. And since then they forged a strong friendship. To the point that the leader of Catupecu Machu He gave Aguerre the board that his brother used to show off at the local wing moanain which the main idea is that there, anyone can live the surf.
“It is beautiful to come to Buenos Aires to bring the salty water, the salty air of Mar del Plata, as well as the love for the waves… Being able to share it makes us happy. Someone may think that such an urban place does not have a surfing culture, but we know that there are many surfers who live here and who love the sea like us, the marplanauts. And our goal is to come to promote this culture, to increase the community, with this place that aims to be a bridge to dreams, to happiness, to something you like. A place where you can also read a book, drink coffee or a natural juice. We come to share the beauty of Mar del Plata, to promote that dream that people have of going there for a weekend. Because, in addition, it is called Mar del Plata, not Arroyo del Plata. Not Valley of the Silver. Nor Sierra del Plata. It is our surfing capital and this place made with love will be the embassy of a beach culture that, I have no doubt, is more and more in the DNA of so many Argentines”. Aguerre confessed.
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