The Tech Burnout
Marcelo's life in Mexico City was successful by conventional measures. At 32, he was a senior software engineer at a major tech company, pulling in a six-figure salary, living in a modern apartment in a trendy neighborhood. On paper, everything was perfect.
In reality, he was exhausted. The constant notifications, the endless Slack messages, the expectation of being available 24/7—it was wearing him down. His fitness had declined, his posture was terrible from hunching over keyboards, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt genuinely excited about anything.
His therapist suggested finding something physical, something that required complete presence. "You need an activity where you can't be on your phone," she said. "Something that demands your full attention and gets you out of your head."
That's when Marcelo remembered his childhood fascination with surfing. Growing up inland, the ocean had always felt mysterious and exciting. On a whim, he requested a sabbatical from work and booked six weeks at Zeneidas Surf Garden. His plan was simple: learn to surf, disconnect from technology, and figure out what he wanted from life.
Week One: The Humbling
Marcelo arrived at Santa Teresa with the confidence of someone who'd excelled at most things he'd tried. He was athletic, coordinated, and determined. How hard could surfing be?
Very hard, as it turned out.
His first day in the water was humbling. Despite his fitness, he was using muscles he didn't know existed. His sense of balance, solid on land, seemed to disappear on the board. He swallowed more ocean water than he thought possible. By the end of day one, he was exhausted and slightly discouraged.
But something about that exhaustion felt good—clean, honest, physical. And his surf instructors at Zeneidas had a way of keeping him motivated. "You're thinking too much," one coach told him. "Engineering problems require thinking. Surfing requires feeling. Let your body learn."
That advice stuck with Marcelo. He realized he'd been trying to intellectualize surfing, to solve it like a coding problem. But the ocean doesn't follow logical patterns. You have to develop intuition, feel, instinct.
The Pop-Up Problem
For two weeks, Marcelo struggled with his pop-up—the movement from lying on the board to standing. He could do it on land perfectly. But in the water, with a wave moving under him, he kept hesitating, usually ending up in an awkward crouch rather than a proper stance.
His coaches filmed his attempts, and during the video analysis sessions, Marcelo could see the problem: he was overthinking the moment, waiting for the "perfect" time to pop up, usually waiting too long. It was a metaphor for his life—always waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect conditions, rather than just committing.
The breakthrough came during week three. A coach gave him simple advice: "Don't think. The moment you feel the wave catch your board, pop up. No hesitation. Commit fully, even if you fall."
The next session, Marcelo stopped thinking and started doing. He fell plenty, but he also rode his first real wave—a clean pop-up, solid stance, riding it all the way to shore. The rush was indescribable. Everyone on the beach cheered, and Marcelo felt a sense of accomplishment that rivaled any professional achievement.
The Daily Rhythm
By week four, Marcelo had settled into a rhythm that felt more nourishing than any routine he'd followed in years:
5:30 AM: Wake naturally (no alarm needed—the roosters and sunlight handled that)
6:00 AM: Morning yoga to warm up the body and focus the mind
7:00 AM: Surf session—usually two hours, catching wave after wave
9:30 AM: Breakfast at Zeneidas—fresh fruit, eggs, coffee, conversation
11:00 AM: Rest, read, sometimes a short work session (he was doing some freelance projects, but on his terms)
2:00 PM: Second surf session or try other activities (ice bath, ceramic workshop, explore nearby beaches)
6:00 PM: Evening yoga or breathwork
7:30 PM: Dinner with the Zeneidas community
9:00 PM: Early to bed, body tired in the best way
This routine was the opposite of his Mexico City life, yet he was getting more done—both physically and mentally. The key difference: quality over quantity, presence over productivity.
Every Wave, A Lesson
"Every wave taught me patience, persistence, and presence," Marcelo reflects. Those three P's became his guiding principles, both in surfing and in life.
Patience: Some days the waves were perfect. Other days, they were choppy, inconsistent, or simply not breaking well. You couldn't control the conditions—you could only show up and work with what the ocean offered. This acceptance was foreign to Marcelo, who was used to engineering solutions and forcing outcomes.
Persistence: Progress wasn't linear. He'd have a breakthrough one day, then seem to regress the next. But showing up consistently, day after day, led to gradual improvement. By week five, he was surfing at an intermediate level, comfortable in conditions that would have terrified his week-one self.
Presence: Surfing demands complete focus. You can't be thinking about work emails or relationship drama when you're paddling for a wave. The ocean has a way of forcing you into the present moment. Marcelo found this quality of presence spreading to other areas—meals tasted better, conversations felt deeper, sunsets became moments to experience rather than photograph.
The Ice Bath Ritual
While surfing was Marcelo's primary focus, the ice bath sessions at Zeneidas became unexpectedly important to his journey. Initially, he saw them as recovery tools for his sore muscles. But they became much more.
Sitting in ice-cold water, Marcelo learned to control his breath, calm his nervous system, and sit with intense discomfort without panicking. His instructor explained that this was training for life: "We're constantly facing discomfort, and our instinct is to flee or fight. Here, you're learning there's a third option—to breathe through it, to be with it."
This practice transformed Marcelo's relationship with discomfort. Back in Mexico City, stress had felt like an emergency requiring immediate action. Post-ice bath training, he could recognize stress as just a sensation, something he could breathe through and respond to thoughtfully rather than reactively.
The Community Impact
What Marcelo hadn't expected was how much the Zeneidas community would impact him. In Mexico City, his social life revolved around tech industry events and dinners—networking disguised as friendship. Here, connections felt genuine.
He surfed with a 50-year-old teacher from Germany who was learning alongside him. He had deep conversations about life direction with a 25-year-old from Australia taking time before starting her career. He learned ceramics from a local artist who'd moved to Santa Teresa twenty years ago and never left.
These diverse friendships broadened his perspective. He'd been living in a bubble—same industry, same socioeconomic class, same worldview. Santa Teresa exposed him to different ways of living, different definitions of success, different life priorities.
The Decision Point
As his six weeks came to an end, Marcelo faced a choice: return to his old life or make changes. The safe option was to go back, treat this as a nice vacation, and resume his career trajectory. But something had shifted fundamentally.
He realized he didn't want to go back to that life—the constant connectivity, the stress, the lack of time for things that actually mattered. But he also wasn't ready to throw away his career entirely. So he chose a middle path.
The New Normal
Marcelo negotiated a remote work arrangement with his company, agreeing to be available during core hours for Mexico City time but otherwise working independently. He sold his expensive apartment and moved to a smaller place. He used the savings to fund extended stays in Santa Teresa, typically spending 2-3 months there every six months.
His career hasn't suffered—if anything, he's more productive. The focused work sessions, combined with physical activity and proper rest, mean he accomplishes in four focused hours what used to take him eight distracted hours.
He's continued surfing, progressing to advanced intermediate level. He's exploring nearby surf breaks, taking trips to other Central American surf destinations, and even considering entering some local competitions.
Most importantly, he's maintained the three P's: patience with himself and others, persistence in pursuing what matters, and presence in each moment.
Advice for Beginners
Marcelo has become something of a mentor to new surfers at Zeneidas, and his advice is always the same:
-
Expect to be humbled: Surfing will challenge you regardless of your athletic background. Embrace the beginner mind.
-
Trust the process: Progress isn't linear. Some days you'll feel like a pro; others, you'll struggle with basics. Keep showing up.
-
Get video analysis: You can't see yourself surf. Video feedback accelerates learning dramatically.
-
It's more than surfing: The ocean teaches life lessons if you're open to them. Pay attention to what frustrates you—it's usually a reflection of something deeper.
-
Invest in recovery: Ice baths, yoga, proper rest—they're not optional for sustainable progression.
-
Enjoy the journey: Your best surf sessions aren't necessarily when you ride the biggest waves. They're when you're fully present, fully engaged, fully alive.
The Transformation
Looking back at the exhausted, burnt-out software engineer who arrived at Zeneidas, Marcelo hardly recognizes him. That person was successful but unfulfilled, productive but exhausted, connected but lonely.
The person he is now—tanned, strong, present—is successful by his own definition. He still writes code, but it doesn't define him. He's a surfer who happens to do software engineering, not the other way around.
"Every wave taught me patience, persistence, and presence," Marcelo says. "But more than that, surfing taught me that growth happens at the edge of comfort, that nature provides what no office can, and that the best investment you can make is in experiences that change who you are."
Your Breakthrough Awaits
Marcelo's journey from complete beginner to confident surfer in six weeks isn't unusual at Zeneidas—it's the norm when you combine good instruction, consistent practice, and the right environment. Whether you're seeking a new physical challenge, a break from technology, or a complete life reset, Santa Teresa provides the waves and Zeneidas provides the support.
The question isn't whether you can learn to surf. The question is: are you ready for what surfing might teach you about yourself?