Hello Steemians!

My name is Felipe and I was born in Costa Rica. Costaricans are called “ticos” and probably you might know this already, there are many of us around the globe!
I work for one of the best tech companies in the US. I am based from Costa Rica.

Let me share with you the journey that I am currently on trying to become a better version of myself by staying active again and doing the sports I love to stay healthy and have a healthy work & life balance.

As any person, sometimes we get caught up in different things & activities from life that take us away from who we really are and have always been. I always liked sports - all of them, many. I enjoyed playing them and always had a lot of fun. But I incorrectly decided for many years that I could live without sports and only focus on work. I think that it was an incorrect decision because to work well you have to be in contact with nature. And to be able to go out and play, you have to work first. So both relate %100 to each other…

I am very proud of my work, career since 2003 and all the great people/professionals I’ve met, projects done so far (for tech companies and myself) and companies I have worked for (world class in the web development & agencies industry) but I was feeling like I needed more from myself.

I needed more..

In 2015 I realized that I had become a workaholic and that I didn't have a work/life balance. I totally loved my job back then as I do now in the present but that year I changed and decided it was time to start doing the sports and things I like again and this would allow me to work even better by having a work life balance that allowed me to be less stressed and have a healthy lifestyle.

Returning to be active

In 2015 I returned to do all the sports I liked and also i decided to try new challenges.

Returning to be active

I returned to Mountain biking and started to do Enduro which I really love. I have a BMX/MTB background so going downhill/jumping in enduro is totally appealing to me, I love it Here in Costa Rica we have MTB bike parks and nice places to ride and visit. Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BFc6GlaNV5I/

I also returned to skateboarding. I found some sk8 parks in the city and I tried them out. It was very cool to return to riding and it felt AWESOME to feel and ride my skateboard again. I realized I needed some safety gear and bought myself some wrist guards, elbow pads and knee pads. I took a couple of falls and they hurt , and with my age (38 this year 2017) I cannot afford to get hurt, especially since I am not a kid anymore.

Why Skateboarding, some people ask me?

First thing I respond is “why not? age is just a number!”. Skateboarding for me is very relaxing because you get to live in the moment and focus only on what you are doing at that time because if not, you will fall. Riding a skateboard is a great feeling. I cannot do every trick I did before but I enjoy staying within the limits to avoid injuries and riding around doing some tricks or hitting the pump track.

Rollerblading is also so much fun, when I was a kid I had a pair of rollerblades. During a trip to the US in Martha's Vineyard when I was a kid I rollerbladed a lot and this left me with many positive memories so another sport that I am visiting again is rollerblading. I bought myself some rollerblades and with my existing sk8 safety gear I now also practice rollerblading. Its a great workout and I go to a city park that has a nice inline skate track to practice and have fun. Fun video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTUs10-hMIV/

Golf is Pura Vida!

I also Golf and like we say in Costa Rica… “Pura vida!” which means “Cool”! Golfing for me is also very relaxing because it's outdoors in very nice places with a lot of nature. It was terrible that I stopped playing... Here's me at some nice locations in Costa Rica for Golf. I have to stress that it is not that fin when you play bad but it’s a matter of having fun.

New challenges: Surfing & Kiteboarding

I always wanted to surf. But I never did it because I only stayed bodyboarding. Many of my friends surf and I never did it but in the back of my mind I always wanted to do it. So I tried it as well! Surfing is very challenging and because of this it’s a great workout. This is why I love it because it's difficult and takes a lot to even stand up. You have to paddle a lot. I am a beginner and still learning but the feeling of it is what keeps me going.

Kiteboarding, OMG

Kiteboarding is completely new for me until 2015 and I have to say it's the most awesome and radical thing I have ever done. I went to the local kite beach in Costa Rica and took lessons for a couple of days on how to do it safely. Its quite a learning experience and you do have to pay close attention in class to avoid missing anything in the water by yourself. Its a challenge to keep in mind all the things that have to be done when you in the water but its super cool. I am a kiteboarding beginner still and I have a lot of practice to do because I have not gotten the hang of it yet but it's super exciting. Its a great exercise and I saw people of all ages doing it which was really motivating, I thought it was only for super fit athletes. But it made me realize that I needed to get in shape to do it better.

Small comment though,

I am mentioning all these activities because it's what I am doing to have fun lately and have a good work/life balance. I wanted to share this since I am new to Steemit. Sports helps me relax during the weekends. I am doing all this for fun only. By no means I am trying to imply that I am a great athlete or anything like that. But I do have fun and I apply my skills from childhood because I have always been very active. I play other sports and I enjoy even video games for their competitive nature.

Like I mentioned before, all this helps me be more grounded and be more effective at work with new responsibilities and challenges.

What do I do for work? I love what I do!

I am an e-Commerce and Web developer professional. I have a lot of experience in web dev working for different digital agencies and developing for e-Commerce. I have been front-end web developer, technology manager for team of developers in charge of high traffic US enterprise sites/accounts and e-Commerce professional. I started my web dev career in 2003 and I have been lucky to have been part of amazing teams of developers, projects and tech people in amazing companies.

The issue I found, like I mentioned in the beginning of my post, was that I had forgotten about the sports that I liked to do. Sports and outdoor activities are very important to have a good work performance during the week and stay motivated. Exercising is basic to be healthy. To be healthy is very important to me now. Sports are cool, it's just a matter of finding the one or ones you like.

Giving back

My job allows me to participate in social benefit activities to help the community here in Costa Rica and I participate as much as I can. I like to give back and help people that are in need. Social activities are important for me also so I try to help and participate in my job on these types of activities and go with my colleagues to a community in need to work, help and give back.

Thank you very much for reading so far. I joined Steemit because I have always had an interest in cryptocurrencies and tech in general. I had found about Steemit some months ago but until now I decided to join, I should have done it before because it's really amazing. With the addition of Dtube it's even more exciting and the business model behind it is very attractive as you know with real results unlike other platforms. I am sure this platform is only going to grow and is this is why I decided to share my honest life story and post it here as my intro.

I think it's important to post original content here to help it grow. I wrote my first post about this: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@felipesuarez/smiley-my-pre-introduction-statement-steemit-original-content-thumbsup I hope you can also check it out. I received some nice replies which was really exciting.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to read this and getting to know me. All my pictures are taken from my Instagram account. If there is anything I can help you with please contact me.

Best regards,
@FelipeSuarez

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