Juan Carlos grew up with three sisters and his mom in the small apartment above the where she¡¯s a cook. But this isn¡¯t a hard luck story; that small apartment overlooks two of El Salvador¡¯s best known surf breaks. So it was only natural that at age seven, Juan Carlos started messing around on whatever scrap of foam he could get his hands on. Jump forward 10 years and Juan Carlos still lives in that apartment, but his experiences could fill a small book, his trophies a big case, and his quiver is? stretching the limits of his room.
Juan Carlos hasn¡¯t always had the funds to jet off to contests around the world, but he¡¯s put in his time on some great breaks at home. Karateca is already well in Central America as a gifted surfer. He¡¯s had success at the Junior level in Latin America and in various ALAS Latin Tour events, but he¡¯s now grown up and ready to blow up.
If Juan Carlos¡¯ explosive surfing keep up with his explosive energy, we expect to see big things from him in the future. Watching this kid surf as a 16 year old inspired us to cast anchor in El Salvador a couple of years back. He¡¯s the first surfer who we sponsored and we¡¯re excited that he¡¯s now starting to come into his own. We wish Juan Carlos the best for 2009, after all, his smile can be infectious, and you see a lot of it when he¡¯s winning.
