Team Member of the Month » April 2011

Name : Faycel Hmidi
Born : 1990
Team member since : 2007
Prior Club Mistral Destinations : Essaouira

Our Team Member of the Month is Fayçel Hmidi! He has worked with Club Mistral for 4 years and came to the company after an initiation to windsurfing, surfing and finally kitesurfing with another local club in Essaouira. He is currently finishing 9 months in Dakhla and returning to Essaouira for the summer.

Fayçel is one of a select few of Ocean Vagabond/Club Mistral prodigies from Essaouira. His first Club Mistral season, he worked as a kite assistant. Youssef Ramili, the manager in Essaouira at the time, remembers Fayçel as the best assistant of the season back then. His work and character 3 years later in Dakhla is of the same high caliber. Fayçel progressed quickly from assistant to IKO instructor in 2007-2008 in Essaouira, not long after learning how to kitesurf himself (since windsurf is his first love). 

What sets him apart from the others is his peaceful character and charm that endears him to his team members and guests alike. For someone so young, he shows extraordinary patience, sensibility, and depth of character. Although he swears that he can be a little devil if he wants, we have yet to see it. 



He decided to work in Dakhla because he wanted a change of lifestyle from Essaouira, but we don’t think he really knew what to expect from the first year of a new center! Even if it was hard, he has been truly instrumental in the formation of the Dakhla Club since its opening in July 2010. In this regard, he deserves all our praise. It being a new center, Fayçel has taken on greater responsibility here in Dakhla than most instructors have to manage, and he is so generous with his time and energy. He helps out with most sectors of the center, from administration and guest services to equipment repairs and major renovations on the Club and the Hotel. He assisted Antoine in building the center itself. He joined the work force that helped build the aqueduct between Ocean Vagabond and Dakhla Attitude. He helped Emily with the boutique. 



And most important, despite all the extraneous tasks, he consistently gave quality service to our clients. As an instructor, he receives rave reviews from clients for both the didactic and practical side of their training. Thanks to Fayçel, I am sure that many of the clients who came to Dakhla in the first 9 months will return. He is a manager’s dream.    

And it’s not just hard work, but also raw talent! For someone so slow on land, you would not recognize him on the water. He moves effortlessly whether he is windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing and on SUP, but when he is walking on firm ground, he seems to be struggling under a heavy weight! He turned pro in 2008 at the Dakhla Festival with 5th place in windsurf on waves. Then in 2009 he took 2nd in windsurf waves at the Dakhla Festival again. In 2010, he placed 3rd in windsurf waves in the Essaouira Wave Classic, and he competed in the Coup du Trone du Maroc, where he won 1st place in windsurf slalom and 4th in kitesurf slalom.  This year in the Dakhla Festival he inherited the title Champion of Morocco in windsurf slalom. And he did it without proper slalom materials! He was selected in March 2011 to represent Moroccan kitesurfing for a publicity campaign by Royal Air Maroc. Who knows where we will see his picture next?!



Fayçel is such a deserving person. His 9 months in Dakhla are coming to a close soon and we want to wish him the best for his next endeavor and goals in life. 

Merhaba wherever your life takes you, Fayçel!  And please don’t change; you are perfect just the way you are!

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