Biography
"My first memory of the sea," says Brian, "is riding on my father's back as a very small child." He soon began riding waves on his own, and by age 11 he was surfing. He added skateboarding to his antics, using it as both transport and a means for extreme tricks like flying off the roof of his parent's garage. Yet, just as his father taught him about the sea, he also taught Brian the turf. But, says Brian, "I chose surfing over golf."
The die was cast. "Everything was about the sea then," he says. And it still is. In 1983, Brian shifted his surfing interests to what was then a new, cutting edge water sport in Barbados called windsurfing. Brian was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia and his parents hustled him up to New York's GOW School. In a scholastic environment that addressed his special needs, Brian flourished and graduated highest in his class scholastically. He turned his learning disability into an asset that later bolstered his career.
He went on to college and graduated with a BA in Business Administration and after graduating, he came home to open his 'Irie Man Action' windsurfing shop at Silver Rock beach.
Throughout his scholastic studies, windsurfing remained primary in Brian's life and in 1985 at the Mistral Worlds in Gran Canaria he discovered how much he enjoyed traveling and competing and from that, he generated a lot of valuable media coverage for Barbados. He took part in his first professional event in 1986 and in 1988, Brian represented Barbados at the Seoul, South Korea, Olympics. He later represented his country again at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
In 1989, Brian jumped on PWA (Professional Windsurfing Association) tour and in 1991 he finished 3rd in the Hawaiian Break Out, the biggest wave event on the circuit. From then on, he enjoyed a string of top 10 finishes and rapidly became one of the most familiar water sports personalities on the tour. It was during this time Brian began seriously using his business acumen to heavily market Barbados, windsurfing and beach culture, by coming up with cutting edge tools that impressed sponsors and fans alike.
In 1992, Brian moved to Maui part time to train for the pro circuit. He won the Barbados World cup windsurfing events in both 1993 and 1994 and that year he was awarded the prestigious Barbados Service Star by the Barbados Government in recognition of his promotion of windsurfing and Barbados. He remains one of the youngest recipients of this honor.
In keeping with Brian's vision to promote windsurfing, he launched his annual Caribbean Island Travelogue series in 1995, where he has so far covered Cuba, Anguilla, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
Then in 1998 Brian, along with fellow international windsurfing personalities Josh Stone and Robby Seeger, played a significant role in the PWA's launch of its freestyle tour, cementing Brian's long-held belief that freestyle was the future of windsurfing.
Brian's international sports personality status coupled with his seasoned skills, garnered him an invitation to compete in the renowned artificial wave tour from 1999. In this event he traveled to Norway, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Austria and the US.
Brian recorded his first song, "Irie Man Action", in Jamaica, in 2000.
That move led him into a new arena of promotion that has increased his ability to market his sponsors, his homeland and sport. With that and other promotional moves, Brian had shaped himself into one of the most diversified, exciting water sports personalities on the tour. One such event was the uniting of two legends, Brian and Josh Stone, who undertook the Irie Man vs. Aloha Man Island Boyz Adventure print and video series. In 2001, Brian began launching an annual line of designs and logos with his German clothier sponsor Chiemsee, in conjunction with the start of his Beach Culture World tour.
In 2003, the Barbados Tourism Authority named Brian an official Barbados Ambassador. Today, he wings the world with Virgin Atlantic on his 'Beach Culture World Tour', promoting Barbados, his sponsors and beach culture with an impressive array of marketing tools that dazzle and impress.
Says Brian, "I'm world champion on the Beach Culture World Tour!"
