Surf’s up!

Notre Dame grad and U-M alum is business owner in the Virgin Islands. 

In the late 15th century, Christopher Columbus landed on a group of islands just east of what is now Puerto Rico, eventually claiming them for Spain and renaming them “Las Once Mil Virgenes.” Since then many other countries expressed interest or claimed ownership of this idyllic spot in the Caribbean, including Holland, France, England and Denmark.

Eventually, the United States purchased three of the islands from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million, and St. John, St. Croix and St. John, now collectively known as the U.S. Virgin Islands, have morphed into major tourist destinations for travelers from around the world.

Which brings us to Notre Dame Prep grad Dave Krease. This 2001 alum, who spent a number of years fighting the corporate wars on mainland America after graduating from the University of Michigan with an economics degree, thought that enough is enough, it’s time to land himself on an island paradise and spend the rest of his life there.

But, in his case, he didn’t just daydream about it as so many of us corporate-cube dwellers do on a daily basis. He actually did it. And he credits both his corporate job and his high school for getting him there and for helping him start his own business—a surf shop—on the island of St. John.

“Those years of long hours and full-time travel as a corporate manager not only taught me how to run a successful business, but also that I wanted to have a store of my own,” said Krease. 

He also said Notre Dame taught him the importance of thinking critically and asking questions. “Those two basic skills have been a huge part of my success in college and in my career thus far,” he said.

Krease’s shop, which is located on the shores of St. John’s Cruz Bay, is called Wasted Sun, and it specializes in surf apparel, sunglasses and lifestyle goods. He said his new home in the Caribbean, a 19-square-mile island “smaller than than the City of Pontiac,” is located about 1,100 miles southeast of Miami. He said it’s really not that far from the mainland and pretty easy to get to, though there is only one way (“besides parachutes,” he said). 

“The island is only accessible by boat and has no stoplights, chain stores or even addresses,” he said. “The closest thing to a traffic jam is braking for wild goats, donkeys or chickens in the road. And about two thirds of the island is designated as a national park with great hiking trails and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.”

All in all, a tough assignment, to be sure, but somebody has to do it and it appears that Dave Krease is more than up for it.