Our Story
As told by our founder Cole
My dad, Areck, began traveling to Cabo San Lucas as a kid on Madden family fishing trips. Back then, Cabo was just a quiet fishing village with 20 panga boats, a few hotels, and a palapa bar. The Madden boys would drive over 30 hours from Northern California, enjoying the food, culture, and scenery along the way. My dad still tells stories from those trips—like the tropical storm that brought thousands of frogs out during dinner at Hotel Mar de Cortez, or playing soccer with local kids in the plaza.
During COVID, our family rented a condo in San Jose del Cabo so my parents could work and my sister Quinn and I could do school online — but mostly, we surfed, snorkeled, and fished. I (Cole) had already been to Baja on several surf trips and had once visited Los Cabos with my dad and best friend. But this trip would become something more.
On our second day, my dad and I surfed a new break, where I met Luis Ochoa, the local junior surf champ. We bonded quickly, realizing we rode boards from the same shaper in Ensenada. Soon, Luis joined us for a surf trip up the East Cape, sharing waves and local knowledge. That night, we drove him home 30 minutes inland to a modest neighborhood. We were struck by his passion for surfing despite his distance from the beach. We later learned his dad, Cosme, paid for Luis’s boards by spearfishing and selling the catch.
Inspired, my dad and I realized we could help—many friends in San Diego had unused boards collecting dust. Why not give them to kids like Luis?
2021
That spring, we held our first board drive at Ocean Beach Surf & Skate and collected 25 surfboards. With help from friends, we raised $1,200 for shipping and brought the boards to Cabo over Easter weekend. Luis and Cosme helped us deliver them personally. One moment that stuck with me: giving new boards to the sons of a local boogie board champ—he teared up and told us he had goosebumps thinking of the impact.
We named our project Mi Sueño—representing not just the dreams of these kids, but our dream to make a difference. Since then, we’ve expanded beyond surfing to support kids playing baseball and soccer too, supplying gear and uniforms to growing leagues across Los Cabos.
by 2025
Four years later, Mi Sueño has become a reality and more than 1400 pieces of surf equipment have been delivered to kids in need. What started as Cole and Luis catching a wave together, has now impacted more lives than they ever imagined, and maybe a beautiful relationship just like theirs is being born as two new friends catch a wave together.
Here’s what’s on the horizon for Mi Sueño