a quick talk with – Chad Dalton Schwab #tickettoride #surf #coaching

Hi Chad we got to know us in Muizenberg, Cape Town this year in January right on the start of the 10 week surf instructor training of TTR in South Africa.

Please introduce yourself;

I’m the height of the average South African woman but what I lack in height I most certainly make up in personality and crazy! 🙂

An ex-competitive surfer who found his love for the ocean at the age of 5. I love travelling the world and meeting people from different walks of life. I believe travelling is the university of life! 

I completed my Post-Grad in Advertising and Marketing in 2014 and been working in the Industry ever since! 

I like to live by this quote: “It’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy.”- Steve Jobs 

Chad you were running the TTR SA trips with Chris Bond and others when it all started 10 years ago, how was it back then?

I ran the trips with Chris, which were heaps of fun! Ticket To Ride was still newish back then. We, of course, had structure but we, or rather I would wing a lot of the trip. The trips have most certainly changed since  then. They are run so smoothly, with hardly any hiccups and with perfect structure. The trips in their entirety have improved and are top notch.  Luke and Jay, kinda make me wish I could go on an SA trip as a rider and not Trip Leader.

You paved the way for other great Instructors, giving them the opportunity to grow themselves, you were teaching people from around the World how to surf,!  What made and still makes the TTR SA trip so special, from your point of view?

Hahaha thanks. 🙂 I wouldn’t say I had too much to do with their awesomeness. I think Chris had more to do with that.  I did introduce Luke to TTRide and he grabbed the “bull by the horns” and made it his own! I don’t think I could run a trip like he and Jay do. Jay and his coaching skills are commendable as he is always looking to improve his techniques and together they work like a well-oiled machine!  They honestly compliment each other as Luke is a logistical “machine” and Jay is a coaching king

 – “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller – 

I think this quote says it all, regarding their teamwork!

You are now working in the office of TTR in Cape Town after having your “office” right in the lineup – you get time to surf still? – but what is the most interesting part about your Digital Marketing position at TTR?

 Yeah, Chris and I definitely get our surfs in. That’s why we have an office directly opposite Muizenberg beach and not in the City of Cape Town. I guess that is the culture of Ticket To Ride. Work hard, play hard, they go hand in hand.

With regards to the Marketing side of things, I would have to say the most interesting part of the position is, it is never mundane as the Digital playground is forever changing. It keeps me on my toes and this is how life should be –  A constant state of excitement.

Thanks for your time and your epic answers!

The photos of Chad surfing were taken by Dennis Schroeder – thanks so much.

And thanks for reading – Jonas