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Personal page crew member: Dean
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Hello and welcome to my personal pages
The Mad Dogs regularly get emails from our website and people are always
asking who we are, what do we do how did we get there. Following is a
summary of me, in a nutshell, naked to the world (well almost naked…)
Who are you?
I’m Dean.
I’m a Dreamer, Entrepreneur, Cook,
Computer Programmer, Mechanic
and all around good guy!
Looking back on my life, it was evident that I was different. School was
a breeze. Unlike my siblings, I breezed through school without studying
while usually taking Honors in all my classes. The Rubik’s Cube hit the
peak of its craze in 1979/80 and I was one of those crazy kids that had
the thing down pat and solved in less than 45 seconds! The puzzles of
the future would be solved with the same determination!
In High School I had the idea of being a Commercial Pilot so I enrolled
in the Aircraft Maintenance program while still following a full
academic route including the maths, physics, calculus, English, etc. I
wasn’t sure where I’d be able to come up with the $30,000 tuition for
the Commercial Pilot Program at Mount Royal College but there was still
time to sort that out.
I hit grade 12 and graduated. School had lost it’s interest and although
I graduated with way more credits than needed (100 points was required;
I had 135) I never looked back or followed higher education. Being a
Commercial Pilot wasn’t in the cards right now.
The world was out there and it was waiting!
With my best friend and business partner, we embarked upon several
ideas, started several companies and made some good money and travelled
extensively for our business. At 35, I
decided that I had enough of the rat race and was truly time to live. The next step was
to travel (for pleasure)!
We bought a brand new 40’ sailboat, spent a considerable amount to
outfit it with the latest goodies and equipment and the bow line was
cast off.
From then on it’s been a roller-coaster of adventure. Spending 3
winters in Alaska on the sailboat, having a face-to-face encounter with a
wolf, watching as 250,000 lbs of humpback whales dove beneath the boat
only a few feet away from us - the experiences have been second to none!
Where to go from here?
The (incredibly) flexible plan is to sail south. From
Seattle/Victoria straight to the Marqueses, Tahiti, New Zealand and the
Australia. Following this we might hop back across the Pacific to
Argentina & Chile and even cruising down to the Antarctic during the
summer.
 But
what about my future?
I’m still single and still toy with the idea of being married someday
and having kids, but right now there is too much to see and do in the
world.
I’m not a 9 to 5’er, never have been, never will be. Having owned and
run several companies, I don’t see myself ever working for anyone other
than myself. I am in control of what I do, when I do it and I play by my
own rules.
Although we’ve travelled and seen many parts of the world, there are
still many more places to go and see - some of these being out of reach
of the sailboat. This is where our collection of over 1,000,000 British
Airways miles will come in handy (should have been more, but I missed
the deadline to submit a number of missed flight!)
What do you do in your spare time?
The list is endless. I love to cook and although workspace and storage
on the boat is limited, I’ve been testing and perfecting a great list of
my own recipes. The Mad Dog
cookbook is in the works and one day will be published in the very near
future. Computer Programming is another hobby for me. Currently we are working on several
applications, some will be hardcopy published on CD, some will be sold
online and many will be freeware. They will all make money; some a little more, some a little
less. In the end they will allow us to buy better goodies, better SCUBA
gear, better camera gear, travel & go to more places and, if things go
well, we'll even upgrade to a larger boat one day!
Who would you credit with your success?
I would have to thank my best friend and business partner Leo. With
incredible, singular determination and drive, he is able to see the good
and the potential in everyone and recognize opportunity. Even when I was
growing up, he would push me to do more, do better and think with my own
brain. To him, I remove my hat and bow!
 That
is it.
We are not couch potatoes.
We are not whiners.
We do not blame anyone else for our situation.
We are living life to the fullest.
We are “Exploring to inspire…”
We are The Mad Dogs!
The Mad Dogs
"Exploring to inspire..."
TM
How do we pay our bills?
Follow link to find out more
My hobbies: Cooking,
Diving,
Writing and
Copywriting, Sailing,
Fishing, Exploring the great outdoors, Software
programming and making new friends!
Something about the Junior Forest Wardens
The Junior Forest Wardens is a great youth organization
sponsored by the Alberta Forestry Service in Canada. For several
years, both Leo and I belonged to the Junior Forest Wardens in the
province of Alberta, me as a Junior Forest Warden and
Leo as a
JFW leader.
Read more about this
organization
My favorite photo
albums:
1.
Follow this link to view my favorite photos
2.
Photos of me and Leo in the Rocky Mountains in various seasons
3.
Photos and information about the Junior Forest Wardens
3.
Me with my Justin Bieber hairstyle
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