Be strong, you never know who you’re inspiring. 

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads being strong and inspiring their kids to be the best they can be!

Photo location: El Baston School 10 mins outside of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

After living in San Juan Del Sur for a few months, we knew that it was time for us to search for new opportunity. We successfully found a local artisan who could make custom beautiful jewelry for us and we had worked with several local NGO’s whom we planned on continuing to support and donate school supplies to.

We would miss all of our great friends in San Juan del Sur, but we were now ready to search for more opportunities that could allow us to grow and progress LOOTB to the next level.

After lots of planning and research we felt that the next best place would be Estelí. Estelí is a town in Northern Nicaragua that is known for making various leather goods with a specialty in leather boots, which Quinn loved. We also heard about a new mobile library project associated with the San Juan del Sur Library that was about to launch for the first time in Estelí. We of course couldn’t wait to learn more about it and see how we could help the new project out with Life Out of the Box.

The adventure of getting back on the road to seek and find new opportunity was very appealing to us. We both became very excited about the concept of figuring it all out without a detailed plan. So the next day we were off.

We decided to get there by chicken bus–our typical mode of transportation. Several buses and many hours of traveling north later, we finally arrived. Estelí was a nice town that was significantly cooler than San Juan Del Sur, had more advanced infrastructure and lots of beautiful street art on every block.

We put our bags down in a coffee shop and, as Quinn watched our stuff and caught up on work, I went off to find a place to rent.

I went from house to house in search of a comfortable home with wifi. It was a daunting task that took hours but after calculating the overall cost, we decided to move into a cute and tranquil apartment complex in the center of town for a month. As we put our stuff down and settled in, we decided to walk around town and explore our new home. We were both very excited to find out what Estelí had to offer.

After setting up camp and working on Maderas beach, we wanted to explore and find a more secluded beach for Quinn and I to enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching surfers and meeting travelers from all over the world, but sometimes a little romantic privacy is awesome. So we set off on our walk heading north. Immediately we had to cross over the black volcanic rock to get to the next beach over. It was a good thing I had my sturdy crocs on to prevent and sharp edges to slash my delicate feet.

After crossing the rocks we found a gorgeous beach. Only five other people on the beach were enjoying the emptiness and the massive waves crashing on shore. We sat down for a few minutes, but our adventurous spirits told us that maybe there was more. So we got up and continued to walk towards the next beach over.

Upon arriving we thought we had found what we were looking for: a huge beautiful white sand beach and only one person on it. It was spectacular. We walked to the end to find our own little private spot and when we did we spotted a really cool bright green walking bridge behind us hidden in the tropical trees. We had to check it out.

It lead to what looked like a gated community with no one living there. There were many workers on property maintaining the landscape, but no residents in sight. On the other side of the bridge were a long series of steep steps leading up a mountain.

We walked up the stairs right away, unsure but excited of what we would find. At the top of the stairs was a local security guard sleeping in a hammock. We tip toed past him and saw the most amazing view point.

It was the best view we had ever seen in Nicaragua and we’ve seen some pretty unreal views (all of Laguna de Apoyo, Eskamekita, San Juan del Sur, etc.). It overlooked beaches far and near.

We noticed another beach that looked untouched and reachable, but we knew we would have to cross private property to get there. We didn’t care, we went for it.

We started heading down and the next thing we knew, security guards approached us and asked us to leave the private property. We didn’t mind, it was a risk we had to take because we had to check it out. We had to think of another way to get to that completely untouched beach. So we walked back down the huge set of stairs and climbed over reef again until we finally got there.

It was a beautiful beach all to ourselves. No one in sight, not a single footprint in the sand except for mine and Quinn’s. We ran into the water and dunked our heads into the salty water letting the ice cold temperature cool us down. It was what we had always dreamed of and now it was real. We walked, we talked and cherished our time of being together. It was wonderful.

We headed home and chatted non-stop about the unforgettable adventure we had just experienced. It’s really was one of those moments that we live for. We make them happen as often as possible and we of course recommend everyone to do the same.

That’s what life out of the box is all about: living your dream life and giving others the opportunity to do so. Don’t waste your chance. You only have one life.

After the craziness of Semana Santa left the streets of San Juan del Sur, the town was in a bit of a hangover state. The streets and  beach were litered with trash, buildings were in disarray and we were all finally surrounded by silence rather than constant loud music playing till the wee hours of the morning. JB and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to just get away and do something fun that we’d been wanting to do since we moved here–camp on the beach. We wanted to get the heck out of town, so we decided to go one of our favorite small beaches just outside of San Juan del Sur: Maderas Beach.

We grabbed a shuttle at Casa Oro for a couple bucks each to take us directly to the beach front. 10 mins later down a very bumpy dirt road, we got out of the shuttle and headed straight down to the beach.

Just to the right of us was an awesome little cafe called La Revolución–owned by a young guy from San Francisco–that had tents for rent to camp in as well as small apartment cabanas. We were in the rustic camping mood, so we rented a tent for a few dollars.

The entire area around us was alive and young. In front of us was a little taco bar with tourists sipping on cold Toñas under the sun. To the left was another restaurant that served up the local Nicaraguan cuisine of gallo pinto and meats. Attached to that restaurant was a rather large hostel right on the sand, which we thought about staying at but decided to save our money for a nice dinner that night.

Behind both of those buildings were more camp grounds. The cafe was filled with young tourists as well using their computers on the cafe’s wifi while sipping on coffee. They had a stone wood-burning stove to cook handmade pizza, which we both were very excited about trying later that night.

After we put our stuff away in the locked up closet, we decided to get some work done in this awesome atmosphere. My favorite part about working from anywhere is that epic spots like this can be turned into your office which makes work honestly not feel like work. We set up our work station on the table that overlooked the beautiful Maderas beach with our computers along with our tools to make our LOOTB bracelet leather tags.

We caught up on emails, worked on articles and then started on the hammering. Jon and I actually hand make the leather pieces on our bracelets by hammering each letter and number with an individual nail into the leather. It takes a lot of time, but it’s one of our favorite parts about our products because that number allows people to look up their child and see the impact. Plus, you know that each bracelet is created with a lot of heart and hard work by us two and our artisans–not just something made in a factory in China. It is being handmade right here on the beach!

After we got a significant amount of work done, we decided to go explore around the other neighboring beaches that we would call home for the next couple of days. Our favorite little beach was just down to the right of Maderas, so as the tide went back, we walked across the black volcanic rocks down about 15 mins to find it.

We were only going to go check it out for a romantic moment to enjoy the quiet and then come back, but when we got there we were blown away by the beauty we found. We ended up exploring all new territory that would lead us on the most epic hike we’d ever experienced.

“We cannot become who we want to be by remaining who we are.”
Max DePree

One week, once a year, San Juan del Sur becomes the biggest party town in Nicaragua. This week is called Semana Santa and it is during the week leading up to Easter. During this week thousands of visitors from all over Nicaragua and Central America come to San Juan Del Sur to participate in the festivities. Quinn and I were living in San Juan Del Sur with our friends Elisha and Gordon, so we knew we had to at least check out all of the events going on right outside our door. The Steve Aoki concert on Eskamekita was actually part of this crazy week, but after that late night at the concert we decided to take it easy the rest of the week and just check everything out during the day.

We headed down to the beach and immediately noticed that the beach was completely transformed. What was once a peaceful and quiet beach town had become a massive sponsored dance party. Companies from all over the world set up tents up and down the beach to provide small lounge areas for guests to grab a drink and listen to music from their own guest DJ.

As we walked on the streets we were in awe of the crazy events that were occurring all around us. People were buying cases of beer just so that they could spray it all over the crowds. It was hectic and to be honest we had to have our guard slightly up because with all of the people around, this was also prime time for robbers to pickpocket.

As we emerged from the crowds we headed to the luxurious green Heineken tent to listen to lounge music while enjoying the rare to Nicaragua Heineken beer.

After a while, it was time to move on. We went from tent to tent enjoying the extremely cheap beverages. While hanging out at the bright red Claro tent, Quinn was asked to do an interview for a young Central American TV program. It was the first time Quinn ever did a interview in Spanish, but she had a lot of fun doing it.

Other entertaining events were going on all around us, such as a professional beach volleyball tournament. We walked down to the stadium to watch them for a while, but we were overwhelmed with the intense energy all around us so we moved on to keep on exploring.

After hours of exploration in the streets, lounges, volleyball games, beach and outdoor dance clubs–it was time for us to head back. It was a very entertaining event, but a little bit to much crazy partying for us. It was like what we’d imagine Cancun college spring break to look like. Not really our scene.

We had a lot of work to do and decisions to make about the LOOTB’s future, so we went back home with E & Gord to figure out what our next big move was going to be.

Hitch hiking was something I was brought up to absolutely not do. My parents always told me the dangers getting in the car with a stranger and that getting a ride from one was just simply not an option. Being the curious kids that I was, I always asked them if they ever hitch hiked when they were younger and their response was always the same, “Yeah we did, but it was such a different time back then. It was safe, acceptable and everyone was doing it.” I accepted this to be true, but always wondered what that “different time back then” was like. The idea of hitch hiking was crazy, wild and foreign to me all throughout my life. That is, until I moved to Nicaragua.

Here in Nicaragua, hitch hiking is not just common, it’s one of the most common ways for locals to catch a ride. If there’s a large vehicle, pickup truck or van driving by a local walking on the street, you will almost always see that local asking for a ride. This includes kids, women, men, teens and young adults alike. It’s part of the culture. It’s not seen as a dangerous act, but rather just a quick and easy way to catch a ride with someone going in the same direction as you. This obviously was a completely different concept to me than the one I was raised with, however, the longer I lived here and the more people I saw doing it, the more my perspective of hitch hiking began to shift.

It’s almost as if the hitch hiking culture of Nicaragua was frozen in time back to when my parents did it. The way the locals explained hitch hiking to me was very similar to the way my mom and dad did things when they were young in the 70′s. When else would I be able to experience something just like my parents did back in the days when things were “very different”? I knew I was going to do it eventually, but I never imagined what my first time hitching a ride form a stranger would actually be like.

After a very fun night at the Steve Aoki concert, it was time to go home. We headed out of the concert to see if we could just jump back on the shuttle to San Juan del Sur that originally brought us way out to Eskamekita 12 hours ago. However, as we and the rest of the hundreds of people found out, there were no shuttles going back at 3am. Sweet. We continued to follow the rest of the crowd out to the main dirt road where cars were lined along for miles. This was the moment: there were no taxis, no shuttles, no buses and there was NO way we were going to walk all the way back home at 3am. We started walking with a rather large group of British gringos who were all looking for a ride back into town as well. We watched another group of locals and gringos in front of us jump in the back of a pickup truck driving by. We all immediately decided that the next pickup truck that drove by, we were all going to ask for a ride.

One came by just a couple minutes later and JB and I jumped in right away with our group. The problem was, so did about 10 other desperate gringos behind us. Luckily, JB and I were in the bed of the truck, but the other guys were not so lucky and really should have just jumped off. The driver came out and yelled at them to get off, but they refused to even though they were literally hanging off of the truck. The driver got upset and sped off in a fury in attempts to get the stragglers off of the truck. They held on for dear life as the driver sped through the bumpy rural dirt roads under the starry night sky. I wanted to get out of that truck so badly. It was the longest 20 minute drive of my life as I clinched JB’s leg the entire time.

When we got to the edge of town, we all jumped out. I gave JB a huge hug and asked him if we could run through town back home. He grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as our flip flops could take us through town at 4 in the morning. We got home safely and we were so thankful that we did.

Although I was scared out of my wits during the ride, the accepted culture of hitch hiking in Nica influenced our decision to do it without hesitation. The truth is, I’m glad I tried it in a place where time seemed to be the same as when mom & pops did things. It’s an experience I wouldn’t have had back home in the States because I wouldn’t have had the courage to do it there. But there’s something about Nicaragua that has helped me gain courage, has pushed me way beyond my comfort zone and has made me do things that myself a year ago would never have done. One thing’s for sure, the things that Nicaragua has gotten me to do will make for some crazy great stories to tell the kids someday like my parents did with us–and that thought makes me smile.

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.
So get out there and DO it.

Photo location: Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua

Both of us are very connected to sports and think that there is a lot of correlation between how one deals with athletics and how one deals with life. In sports, we learned that in order to be the best in anything, you must work harder than anyone. This mentality was ingrained in us and has stayed with us as we applied it in all aspects of our life. It has been especially useful on this journey down here in Central America as we’ve gone through the biggest ups and downs and have worked harder for this than anything else in our lives. This is a great Jordan video about working hard and becoming the best on or off the court. It was just what we needed this morning and we hope it gives you the same motivation to work your butt off to become the best that you can be no matter what.

When JB sand I heard that Steve Aoki, one of our favorite DJs, was going to come play in Nicaragua for Semana Santa, we both knew we HAD to go. For those of you who don’t know who Steve Aoki is, he’s like the Carlos Santana of electronic music–he has his own music but is always collaborating with other artists in various different genres, which makes his sound diverse and appealing to many. We had to see him! When else would we be able to see a world famous DJ on a secluded beach just 20 mins away from where we were in Nicaragua? We immediately got our tickets and started a countdown.

On the day of the concert, we walked to catch the first bus, filled with people our age, out to the beach. It only cost us $1 to get from town down the long dirt road to the epic Eskamekita beach on Nicaragua’s pacific coast line. We go there, we walked down the path and emerged onto the most beautiful beach either of us had been on. It was a perfect 85 degree day, the water was warm and the soft white sand was sparkling. We were in our happy place.

To the right of us was the concert structure along with a very cool beer garden equipped with flat screen TVs and locally made hammock chairs all around. There was a local DJ playing some great music, a ton of Victoria beer stands, and a mix of people from Nicaraguans to gringos hanging out in the sun waiting for the concert to start. It was the most amazing thing to see a big concert set up right here on this beautiful beach.

It was only about 3 in the afternoon and the concert was going to go on until tomorrow morning, so we had a long night ahead of us. We decided to grab a beer and explore the new beach. As we walked on the beach to take in the scenery, we realized that we were surrounded by only people in their twenties or younger. It was a fun and energetic atmosphere as we all laid out on the beach, danced to the loud music in the background and drank beer. This was living out of the box.

Before we knew it, the sun was going down and more people were pouring in. We decided to go closer to the concert area on the beach and meet some new friends. We quickly met lots of really nice people from all over the world. Everyone was so happy and excited about the night approaching closer.

We all couldn’t believe that this concert was really going down on this beach in Nicaragua. We all danced together on the sand to the various DJs that played throughout the colorful sunset. It’s beautiful to see how music can bring strangers together and make people truly feel a live.

The sun finally went down and the dark starry night sky took over the beach. The lights from the DJ stage, however, were vibrant and lit up the energized young crowd. Several DJs from Central America mixed their own beats with all kinds of songs from hip hop to dubstep, to rap and everything in between. It was a non-stop dance fest. Although we were all having a blast hearing new music from different DJs, everyone was in high anticipation for the main event of Steve Aoki’s performance.

1 am came before we knew it because, as always, time flies when you’re having the time of your life. The crowd started going nuts when, just to the right of the stage, we all saw Steve Aoki walk up towards the DJ booth with his entourage. It was time. The lights turned off and so did the music. The moonlight was the only thing that dimly lit up the beach and you could see girls on the shoulders of guys screaming at the top of their lungs along with everyone else in the audience.

Suddenly, the bright lights came on, Steve Aoki was up on stage and the music began blaring. Chaos ensued. Neither of us had ever seen such a strong reaction to one person from so many people.

It was such an intense moment that we both looked at each other and had goosebumps. We started jumping up and down with our fists in the air along with everyone around us to the loud music. There was a feeling in the air that’s indescribable. All of us strangers from around the world, who spoke various different languages, were all brought together here on this beach in Nicaragua for one reason: this exact moment. This music. This DJ. We all might have spoken different languages, but we all knew the words to every song and were singing along throughout the night.

The crowd wasn’t the only thing being energized by this moment–Steve Aoki was going nuts on stage jumping up and down to his own music and interacting with the crowd. His signature moves with the audience are throwing entire cakes at the people who bring the most attention to themselves and then throwing out a big yellow raft on top of the crowd to ride around the audience. He did both, making the music that much beter and the whole performance highly entertaining.

He played all of our favorite songs from “Turbulence” to “Ladi Dadi” and ended with an encore performance of my all time favorite song “Pursuit of Happiness“. Even though our arms were sore from constantly fist pumping and it was close to 3 am, we didn’t want the concert to end. There were going to be two more DJs playing until the early morning, but it was time for us to go home–we had lots of LOOTB work to do in the morning.

This night, however, had been one of our all time favorite nights in Nicaragua since we moved here. The road of starting your own business and being an entrepreneur is filled with extreme highs and lows–this experience was an extreme high. We had the time of our lives and as we walked out of the concert to hopefully grab a shuttle back to San Juan del Sur, we both reflected on the epic concert we had just been a part of.

There are of course other amazing concerts happening all of the time all around the world, where music is bringing people of all kinds together as one. But this night was special to us. We felt connected with people we had never met, in a country that was not our own, on a secluded beach, in the middle of nowhere on the pacific coast of southern Nicaragua. We were brought together by a DJ from our homestate California, whose music gave us a little taste of comfort from home that made us both come alive.

Whenever I hear one of the songs from the concert, I am instantly taken right back to that night on the beach. It’s a memory I’ll hold onto as one of my favorite nights dancing, singing and loving life in my twenties. Those moments are what life is all about and if you would have told me a year ago that I’d be watching Steve Aoki on the beach in Nicaragua until 3am, I would have thought that could only happen in my dreams. But I suppose that’s what happens when you’re living Life Out of the Box–dreams really do come true.

A HUGE thanks to Spin Productions Int. for putting on this once in a lifetime concert. To keep up on many more amazing concerts they put on in Nicaragua, check out their Facebook page.