by Marshall Myrman
“I graduated from University of Manchester (Business Management). I didn’t start with the industry straight from school though. Prior to 2010, I worked with the organizers of the Asian Games and Youth Olympics Games.“
There is a rich history within the rank and file of people that have been addicted to the FLOW. Many people see the water moving, get involved, become passionate, and then become part of the industry. Joe has definitely become a big part of the industry – specifically “stand alone” FlowRider® venues.
Joe spent a number of years working at Wave House Sentosa, managing the FlowRider and FlowBarrel™ sheet wave attractions. A young entrepreneur from Finland, who had a diving tour business in Thailand, decided he wanted to open a FlowRider “stand alone” venue in Kata Beach. He did just that and then opened another venue in Patong. Joe started as the Manager of the Kata venue, and then progressed to Patong. Currently he oversees operations at both venues, but has a distinct career track in the oversight of FlowRiding “stand alone” venues with Surf House, a Sick-X joint venture.
Joe remembers distinctly one of his career highlights – “It was Thailand coup d’etat 2014. A music event was scheduled on the very day the coup,” Joe explains, “and the curfew was announced. We had 2 choices…call it off and inform literally hundreds of guests that the event got canned, or try our luck.”
He carried on to tell us, “Long story short, we tried…packed the place, police came and basically asked if we were nuts! We bargained with them and since it was the first day, they cut us some slack as long as we cleaned up the street proper. Broke some rules but hey, happy days, man!”
Joe has also been instrumental in the development of the sport in Asia and before the FLOW Tour kicked off in Asia years ago, he asked (then in Singapore) if there was a regional market to introduce the competition. As a result, an “Asian Flow Series” was organized and much to our surprise he found a lot of talented riders in Asia – Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Japan etc. The ensuing effort to heighten the awareness of the FlowRider and the sport in various Asian countries, connecting the communities is probably one of the more influential things Joe has ever done with the FlowRider.
Joe lives his life with high moral integrity – “Fair play is important, do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” While he is always looking to catch the next wave, he strives for the well being of the people around him.
Joe originally hails from Singapore and enjoys snorkeling, surfing, flowboarding, capoeira, reading, chilling with the dogs, time with his son Romi (age 10) and is dedicated to his wife Tangmo – he says, “…in this life and the next!” Many thanks to Joe and his team for their constant pursuit of excellence!
