Like surfing on the endless ocean, life is all about wave selection and finding balance. When Bimbo ‘Coach Bo’ L. Calitis realized that his income after hustling some jobs in the Philippines was insufficient for his family, he decided to work abroad.
He accepted to work as a pizza delivery guy in Saudi Arabia in 2005. Two years after, he ran away from his employer for treating him unfairly, which promoted him to work illegally in Jeddah as a coffee maker for a car distribution company.
Undocumented, he then worked as a taxi driver in the same area to make ends meet. One day, Bimbo was caught by the authorities for having incomplete documents. He was put behind bars for almost a month until their provincial governor in Cavite in the Philippines had sent him a letter that he would be helped to get back home. He recalled his experience, both of his hands and feet were shackled like a criminal before he was let go at the immigration.
Traveling back to the Philippines with literally nothing but his clothes on, a fellow Filipino asked what happened to him. Out of concern, the good samaritan gave him P500 that he used to ride a bus from Manila to his place in Cavite. He was also advised by the stranger to try his luck in Dubai.
Trying his luck one more time overseas, he returned to the Middle East. This time, in Dubai. He worked as a basketball referee, waiter, lifeguard, swimming instructor, stand-up paddleboard instructor, head of a water sports company, then surfing instructor.
“Surfing is my happiness, and it keeps me strong and healthy inside and out. I enjoy being connected to nature, and it made me humble and thankful in life,” Bimbo said.
When he was fully equipped with skills and knowledge from his previous works, he decided to build his own company in Dubai, the Amphibious LLC, which focuses on water sports and fitness activities. Bimbo’s swimming and surfing school is passionate and committed to helping and teaching Filipinos and everyone else to have a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and environmental awareness.
I am deeply passionate about encouraging individuals to embrace the surfing culture. The most satisfying thing about what I love to do is when I help them change their way of life for the better. When you become a surfer, you will be an environmentalist at the same time because you want to protect the thing that makes you happy, “mother nature,” the environmentalist said.
Life back in the Philippines
Before achieving his current status, Bimbo had suffered and sacrificed a lot. When his father died when he was only nine, the responsibility to look after his family became his top priority. He worked odd jobs, including being a barter, cigarette vendor, gasoline boy, carwash boy, newspaper vendor, construction worker, balot vendor, puto bungbong seller, bus conductor, salesman, pizza delivery guy and dishwasher, tricycle driver, and many more.
Bimbo has only studied until first-year high school, but that didn’t hinder him from running as the youth leader in their Barangay. From that time, he knew that he was always born a leader.
Life as an entrepreneur
According to him, as a businessman, one will always face all sorts of struggles–from family members, friends, and even oneself.
“You will experience rock bottom in your life emotionally and financially because not everyone will understand the path that you decide to take alone. And I chose to be with my own, to have a control of my own life, time, and happiness. And not be just an employee for the rest of my life overseas,” he said.
“I know that every hardship is a process to reach the top. To overcome this, I learned to love myself more. And when you take care of yourself, you will have a healthy mind and body. And everything will follow,” Bimbo further added.