{"id":74506,"date":"2019-08-08T08:49:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T15:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=74506"},"modified":"2019-08-08T17:50:29","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T00:50:29","slug":"how-to-turn-an-outdoor-passion-into-a-career-for-the-azulay-brothers-it-was-an-intentional-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/how-to-turn-an-outdoor-passion-into-a-career-for-the-azulay-brothers-it-was-an-intentional-accident","title":{"rendered":"How to Turn an Outdoor Passion Into a Career? For the Azulay Brothers, It Was an ‘Intentional Accident’"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2010, Argentine brothers and surfers Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn Azulay were in Los Angeles, California, during a trip to visit their older brother. In their free time, Juli\u00e1n, then 24, and Joaqu\u00edn, then 22, explored southern California and surfed in the Pacific Ocean at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

When it was time to return to Argentina, rather than fly, the brothers toyed with the idea of taking the long way home\u2014driving from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. With more than 18,000 miles of open road and surfable coastline along most of the route, Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn cancelled their flights; bought a car, GoPro and point-and-shoot camera; and hit the highway with few plans in place. Over the next 13 months, they took each day as it came, not knowing where the adventure would lead\u2014and certainly not knowing it would alter their careers and thus their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the bicontinental road trip, the brothers accidentally yet intentionally fell into a career in surf expeditions and documentary filmmaking. Over the past nine years, they\u2019ve ridden the highs and lows that come with creating one\u2019s dream job and life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two

The brothers’ first days on a surfboard in January 1994.<\/p><\/div>\n

Juli\u00e1n, 33, and Joaqu\u00edn, 31, grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the closest surfable waves were roughly 250 miles away in Mar del Plata, a town on the Atlantic. Throughout the brothers\u2019 childhood, the Azulay family frequented Mar del Plata as well as the coast in Brazil.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe almost always spent January and February [summer in the Southern Hemisphere] in Brazil,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn recalls. \u201cDuring the summer, we were always at the beach. The rest of the year, we were at school in the city, far from the ocean.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n says, \u201cWhen you are born with the ocean in front of your house, you tend to take it for granted. When something is farther away and it takes you more to get there, you tend to value it more.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, surfing is in Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s DNA. Their father, Jorge, has also always loved the ocean. Ever since he was a little boy, Jorge recalls being fascinated with the sea. In 1963, when he was 20, he saw a newspaper article about Australian Peter Troy surfing a fiberglass board in Brazil. When Troy traveled to Argentina to give a talk, Jorge and a friend went to see him and were inspired to pick up the sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend and I started making a surfboard together, and that\u2019s where everything started,\u201d Jorge says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know anything about the sport at that time, and we didn\u2019t know how to stop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From that moment on, Jorge and his friends became surf pioneers in Argentina. Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s mother, Carola, also surfs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s childhood, Carola says, \u201cDuring their short vacations [from school], we always went to different places where there were waves. So they were getting to know different countries and growing their passion for surfing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n agrees: For their family, surfing is one thing they all share. \u201cBeing in the water for us is always like a place of total disconnection and at the same time a place of connection with nature and with oneself. It\u2019s a moment to be calm,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In July 2010, Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s love for the ocean and passion for surfing took them on that spur-of-the-moment 13-month and 13-country road trip from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. In Baja California, a friend dubbed the brothers \u201cGauchos del Mar,\u201d which translates to \u201cCowboys of the Sea,\u201d and the name stuck.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Juli\u00e1n finds some shade along a West African reef.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cFor us, it was a success to leave our comfort zone and chase a dream,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cIn that moment, there was a dream and nothing more than that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, in addition to camping in remote areas and surfing perfect waves, the brothers came to experience and know the Americas through diverse people, towns, cultures, food, plants, animals and landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the trip felt like a dream, it wasn\u2019t always easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the road, once everything was gone, it was a challenge to finance our trip while we were traveling,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cWe sold photos and videos to surfers. We cleaned hulls of boats and painted their walls in the Gal\u00e1pagos. We had to leave our comfort zone and do work that maybe we couldn\u2019t have done before in exchange for food and accommodation. We grew a lot during that time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn became more socially and environmentally conscious. The trip strengthened their understanding of the lessons their parents had taught them growing up, on respecting others and the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirteen months after leaving Los Angeles, the brothers arrived home in Buenos Aires with stories, lessons learned and hours of camera footage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded everything that happened to us without having a real goal of making a documentary,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cWe simply documented our trip because it was something unique.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joaqu\u00edn adds, \u201cAt the start, we said, \u2018Let\u2019s film this because it will be a personal memory for us, for our children, for our grandchildren. Let\u2019s film it because there will not be another trip like this with two brothers traveling the continent.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in Buenos Aires, Joaqu\u00edn finished his degree in business administration at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. During that time, the brothers brought their footage to Alejandro Tomas, a friend with experience in image and sound design.\u00a0In their spare time, Juli\u00e1n, Joaqu\u00edn, Tomas and Santiago Bernaldo de Quir\u00f3s started to cut a documentary from the adventure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what we were getting into,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cWe were taking everything minute by minute and learning as we went along.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Juli\u00e1n rides a board he shaped himself\u2014and catches some solid barrels.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2012, to the surprise and delight of the Azulays, the documentary, titled <\/span>Gauchos del Mar<\/span><\/a>, was accepted to screen at several film festivals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe they accepted our film,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cThen it ended up winning nine awards, and we really couldn\u2019t believe it. That really opened our eyes and told us, \u2018Here\u2019s a way of life that we like and a story that people are interested in. Why not try to do a second expedition and documentary?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The shift to full-time filmmaking was gradual.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a slow process,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a single moment, conversation or decision to make this our job. We were fully invested from the start because it\u2019s our passion, but it was really a process of living a lifestyle that led us into these expeditions and films.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two years later, in 2014, the Azulays released their second film, <\/span>Tierra de Patagones<\/span><\/a>, about an expedition through Patagonia. <\/span>Pen\u00ednsula Mitre<\/span><\/a>\u2014this author\u2019s favorite\u2014and <\/span>La Ola Sin Fronteras<\/span><\/a> followed in 2016 and 2019, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of their early years, Joaqu\u00edn says, \u201cFor sure there were moments of doubt. It wasn\u2019t easy. It\u2019s even more difficult in Argentina because sponsorships are so little and so difficult. We had to make a plan and work it out. We started talking with brands in the U.S. and Europe. Though it wasn\u2019t easy, it\u2019s for sure the best path ever, showing you can work it out and live from your passion or your dream.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With every project, they\u2019ve improved their cameras and gear, added more people (only a few) to their team at times, and grown their knowledge, expertise and following. They\u2019ve also cultivated relationships with companies and now have the support of sponsors, including Patagonia, Freelife, Camar\u00f3n Brujo, Goal Zero, MIZU, REEF, Guayaki and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJuli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn are two special people\u2014and not because I am their father,\u201d Jorge says. \u201cThey are people of integrity. At times, in comparison to other boys their age, I see them more as adults, more mature. Since they were young boys, they\u2019ve addressed life as adults, with strength. For me, this summarizes everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s father, Jorge, shared his love of the ocean with his sons.<\/p><\/div>\n

With more recent projects, advocacy has become a key part of the Azulays\u2019 creative expression.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn traveling, nature started to be really important to us,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cWhen you\u2019re living in the outdoors for many days, weeks, months or more than a year in our case, you start to understand it\u2019s really important to protect the outdoors, to conserve our natural spaces, to spread the message and open people\u2019s eyes and minds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span>Pen\u00ednsula Mitre<\/span>, Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn spent 53 days navigating the easternmost tip of Tierra del Fuego on foot, each carrying more than 75 pounds, surfboards included, on their backs. The brothers searched for waves where no one had ever looked for them before and surfed when possible. They met the few locals who inhabit the peninsula, learned the history of the land and came to know its pristine, untouched wilderness. And they learned about the need to protect it for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t know what\u2019s there, it\u2019s very difficult to want to protect it,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cSo with the film, we decided to promote a message of conversation for the peninsula. It\u2019s helped awaken many people to the importance of conserving it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pen\u00ednsula Mitre<\/span> supports the mission of the <\/span>Asociaci\u00f3n Civil de Conservaci\u00f3n de Pen\u00ednsula Mitre<\/span><\/a>, which has been working for more than 15 years to protect the land. The Conservation Land Trust, part of <\/span>Tompkins Conservation<\/span><\/a>, has also joined the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the brothers are in Africa filming a series for a Brazilian television network as well as their own documentary. In 2018, they bought a 1985 Unimog, formerly a German military ambulance, converted it into a home on wheels, and traveled and surfed Africa\u2019s West Coast from Morocco to South Africa. In 2019, they\u2019re doing the same along Africa\u2019s East Coast from South Africa to Kenya.<\/span><\/p>\n

This time around, the Azulays\u2019 expeditions and stories focus more on the people, places and cultures than the natural environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of her sons\u2019 ability to connect with others, Carola says, \u201cBoth Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn have a special gift with people. Wherever they arrive, they\u2019re very respectful, humble and well-received. In that way, they make friends everywhere they go who open their homes and families to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

In Angola, the Azulays spent four days with a Mucubal tribe and learned a lot from Chekuteny, the tribe\u2019s chief. The brothers say the members of this tribe are some of the happiest people they\u2019ve met.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAfrica has shown us an unimaginable cultural breadth,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cIf you\u2019re not here, I think you can\u2019t imagine it. You can\u2019t understand how wide, vast or big it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n adds, \u201cSomething we\u2019ve learned a lot here in Africa is to live in the present, to be happy with what you have today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn certainly spend time living in and enjoying the present, a good deal of their expeditions and documentaries comes down to planning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fairly long process,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cDepending on where we\u2019re going and what we\u2019re doing, there are a lot of logistics to work through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As is the case with any expedition, a healthy mix of planning and flexibility is key. \u201cWhen we\u2019re traveling, our goal is to be open to what the trip\u2014the people, places, cultures, landscapes\u2014is offering us,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, that balance pushes their limits. In Nigeria, for example, the brothers were stuck for 43 days due to a civil war in neighboring Cameroon that closed the borders. \u201cMoments like that take you out of your comfort zone and teach you a lot,\u201d Joaqu\u00edn says. \u201cA lot of tolerance. A lot of controlling your mentality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not easy to live for a long time without the comfort we\u2019re all accustomed to,\u201d Carola says. \u201cJuli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn are simple and extraordinary. We learn from them every day. I am so proud of them for the intelligence, effort, tenacity and seriousness with which they\u2019ve organized their expeditions and completed them in such a successful way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Later this year, back home in Argentina, the Azulays will relive the rewarding and challenging moments of their time in Africa as they edit the television series and documentary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The contrast between production and post-production is extreme. \u201cWe spend almost the entire day at the computer,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cWe get up early, drink mate [an herbal beverage] and work on the computer [editing] until it gets dark out. Some days, we work for 12 to 15 hours on the computer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two

Mate is a traditional herbal beverage in Argentina. Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn take it everywhere with them, including Namibia, as seen here.<\/p><\/div>\n

Once the film is complete, Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn will embark on yet another adventure: touring and promoting their work. To date, the brothers have toured their documentaries in Argentina, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Africa and the U.S. Historically, they\u2019ve done everything themselves. Now, they\u2019re starting to delegate different parts of the process and their business to contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n

While their Africa expedition is still underway, the Azulays know the documentary\u2014likely actually two or three documentaries\u2014will focus on people, place and culture. Throughout 20 countries and counting, the connections made, experiences shared and lessons learned carry similarities and differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSurfing is important to our story in that it\u2019s our motive to reach these distant places,\u201d Juli\u00e1n says. \u201cBut in the end, our films connect with people\u2014those who surf and those who don\u2019t\u2014because they convey stories. They tell you something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

All photos courtesy of the Gauchos del Mar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Follow Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn\u2019s Africa expedition on Instagram at <\/span>@gauchosdelmar<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and on Facebook\u00a0at <\/span>facebook.com\/gauchosdelmar<\/span><\/a>. Watch their documentaries on\u00a0Vimeo<\/a>\u00a0and on their website<\/a>. And for more information or to sign the Change.org petition to designate Pen\u00ednsula Mitre as a marine protected area, click\u00a0<\/a><\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2010, Argentine brothers and surfers Juli\u00e1n and Joaqu\u00edn Azulay were in Los Angeles, California, during a trip to visit their older brother. In their free time, Juli\u00e1n, then 24, and Joaqu\u00edn, then 22, explored southern California and surfed in the Pacific Ocean at every opportunity. When it was time to return to Argentina, rather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":74509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1723,1550,727,1910],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-74506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","tag-argentina","tag-international","tag-latest-posts","tag-watersports"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/how-to-turn-an-outdoor-passion-into-a-career-for-the-azulay-brothers-it-was-an-intentional-accident","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How to Turn an Outdoor Passion Into a Career? For the Azulay Brothers, It Was an ‘Intentional Accident’","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/how-to-turn-an-outdoor-passion-into-a-career-for-the-azulay-brothers-it-was-an-intentional-accident","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/how-to-turn-an-outdoor-passion-into-a-career-for-the-azulay-brothers-it-was-an-intentional-accident"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/Hero_Azulay-Brothers_13217396_1115030438538193_504188364416131256_o.gif?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/Hero_Azulay-Brothers_13217396_1115030438538193_504188364416131256_o.gif?fit=2000%2C1333"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Bernhard"}],"creator":["Jessica Bernhard"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["argentina","international","latest posts","watersports"],"dateCreated":"2019-08-08T15:49:49Z","datePublished":"2019-08-08T15:49:49Z","dateModified":"2019-08-09T00:50:29Z"},"rendered":"