Team Member of the Month » November 2010

Name : Tobias Prade
Born : 1978
Team member since : 2004
Prior Club Mistral Destinations : Dahab

Our Team Member of the Month for November 2010 is Tobi Prade. However, the reason for his nomination is unfortunately a rather sad one: last Sunday, October 31st, was not only the last day of our center before closing down for the winter break but also the last day of Tobi´s career at Club Mistral.

After almost 7 years in our company he will now start a “new” life quite far away from the beach and one thing is certain: saying goodbye to him is a hard and very sad thing for us. He was – and of course still is – a very special person and we will for sure miss him a lot!



"Bavarian Power"

It all started in Dahab in 2004. When he first came there, it was actually only for a short internship and to discover a different kind of lifestyle. However, he was never really convinced that this job could determine the next few years of his life! As he used to work for the VDWS he was already active in the whole windsurfing /water sports business, but he had never really been a person who wanted to hurl himself into adventures and travel from one country to another… but you know the saying? “Things never turn out the way you expect.”

After his 3 months internship, Tobi was absolutely hooked on life on the beach and extended his stay for an indefinite period. Then things started to happen very fast: he passed his VDWS windsurfing instructor license, did the holiday replacement for the center manager, he became assistant manager in 2005, and in 2007, he became the “big boss” of Dahab and managed the center on his own. Finally in 2008, he started to run the Club Mistral & Skyriders Center in Alacati, Turkey…

From the very beginning on, he was more than motivated and fully committed to the new “mission”. Tobi then learned in no time all the inside outs of running successfully a windsurfing / kitesurfing center and it soon became clear that you could put him into anything without any need to worry.

There are a lot of people who are really good at instructing, but can´t handle any administration. There are a lot of people who are perfectly organized, but don´t know how to teach.  With Tobi things were different. He was brilliant in both – and if a company like ours could create its own special dream-like team member, it for sure would be someone like Tobi.

His keen perception together with his - very distinctive, very German - neatness certainly helped him a lot. However, his most important feature is the way how he always treated guests, or any other people around him. They ALL loved him and took him straight away into their hearts. Regarding his teams, Tobi easily managed the often difficult balancing act of being the boss and being a friend.  All his staff respected and accepted him as the “Patron” – no matter if in Dahab or Turkey – and loved him as a friend at the same time, always happily sharing a couple of beers and some fun.

Team Dahab

As for the guests… he absolutely charmed their pants off! The way he deals with people, his natural friendliness, and the talent to meet all different kind of characters in a way that they all feel absolutely comfortable –these traits of characters simply make him someone really special. He is always obliging and attentive, he stays calm and friendly in any situation, he´s always up for a little chat and endears with his special, loveable kind of humor. It´s no wonder that in our surveys Alacati gets the best comments on the team and that Tobi is often specially mentioned and highly praised.

Tobi’s departure will for sure leave a big empty space in our Club Mistral family and we will miss him sorely – our time with him was just too nice. However, we can fully understand that it´s now time for him to set up a new kind of life together with his wife Katja and to try out something else. We all wish him the very best and hope that the future brings him happiness, fun and all the things he dreams of. A small consolation prize for all of us: the windsurfing world is so small that it´s very likely we will meet him again somewhere…

Tobi & Katja

Tobi, no matter where life will take you, just stay exactly as you are and who you are: someone really special! And never forget that you are always more than welcome at every single Club Mistral center worldwide (including the head office in Weilheim…). We will be more than happy to see you there!

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