WhatsApp +503 7800 9672 [email protected] La Unión and La Libertad, El Salvador
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Joss Alabi competing on a stand up paddle board

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Hey there

Joss Alabi

Professional stand up paddle surfer for El Salvador, host of the Waveswell retreats, and founder of Mar de Sueños.

  • Nearly three Olympic cycles competing
  • Country Brand Ambassador since 2017
  • Central American SUP champion
Joss Alabi holding her board on the beach at golden hour
Who I am

Meet your host

Hola, it’s me, Joss, your host and coach from Waveswell Retreats. I have more than fifteen years across many water sports, and I have proudly represented El Salvador as a professional paddle surfing athlete.

I was raised in a family of athletes, which put me inside the world of sport and its principles before I could choose otherwise. In 2011 I decided to chase surfing. Before I could, I needed the fitness for it, so I trained hard, and my competitive streak took over from there.

I have a bachelor’s in Business Economics and an MBA specialising in the sports industry. That combination is not an accident. My love of sport runs deep, it is in my blood, and I saw early what it can do to a life. So I made it my mission to spread that as far as it will go, starting in El Salvador and, who knows, maybe further.

The story

From a single skull rower to a SUP surfer athlete

In 2012 I was invited onto the national rowing team, and in that same year I became the top ranked rower in El Salvador, taking national titles and international medals.

In 2013 I got the call to join the national surf team, and became the first ever female representative for El Salvador in Stand Up Paddle. Riding those waves was like nothing I had felt before, and I have not really stopped since.

Since 2017 I have been a Country Brand Ambassador for El Salvador. In 2018 I joined the Global Shapers Community, a World Economic Forum initiative that connects young leaders around the world. Alongside competing, a lot of my work is public: television, radio, magazines, and talks for schools, NGOs and companies.

In 2017 I founded Mar de Sueños, a social enterprise built to join my sports career to my actual life purpose: changing lives through sport. That is why Mar de Sueños benefits from Waveswell Retreats.

Joss Alabi coming out of the water in an ISA World Championship jersey with her fist raised
What I actually teach

High performance is not only for athletes

Waveswell Retreats excels thanks to our high performance tools and our experience across several Olympic competitions. I was coached, and mentored by an international career development coach, Driss, in a specific toolkit that included meditation, visualisation, breathing, and other tools.

These tools are used and available for you and your journey, for surfing or for life.

How you approach a wave is how you approach life.

See how a week works
The record

Competitions and recognitions

Two Olympic cycles fully, and most of a third. World Championships, Pan American Games, Bolivarian Games.

  • 2012

    Her rowing year, and her first on the national team.

    • Bolivarian Games, Perubronze, single skull
    • International competition, Guatemalagold, single skull
    • South American Championshipcompetitor, single skull
    • National Championship, El Salvadorchampion, single skull
  • 2013

    Called into the national surf team, and the first ever female representative for El Salvador in Stand Up Paddle.

    • Bolivarian Games, Lima, Peruthird, SUP surf
    • Bolivarian Games, Lima, PeruSUP race
  • 2014
  • 2015
    • ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championship, Mexico
    • National Circuitsecond in the SUP surf ranking
  • 2016
    • Bolivarian Games, Iquique, Chilefirst
    • National Circuitfirst in the SUP surf ranking
    • Recognition for sporting successfrom INDES and the President of El Salvador
  • 2017

    Named Country Brand Ambassador for El Salvador, and for the first two years the only representative from the sports field.

    • ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championship, Cold Hawaii, Denmark
    • National Circuitthird in the SUP surf ranking
  • 2018

    Joined the Global Shapers Community, a World Economic Forum initiative, in the San Salvador hub.

    • Pan American Surfing Gamessixth
  • 2019
  • 2020
    • ALAS El Salvador Surf Cityfourth
  • 2021
    • APP Digital World Championshipsecond worldwide
  • 2022
  • 2023
  • 2024
    • SUP Open Sayulita, Mexico
    • SUP Surf Open, Manzanillofourth, SUP surf
    • Global ALAS Latin Tourfourth, SUP surf
  • 2025
Trust

Brands and institutions that have trusted in me

Powerade Bayer UNICEF Disney Kotex Marca País El Salvador Comité Olímpico de El Salvador FESASURF Vijosa
What it is for

Mission, vision, values

Mission

To inspire Salvadoran youth, and eventually the world, to become better versions of themselves and to keep chasing their dreams, by breaking boundaries through education, happiness, peace and integrity.

Vision

To be an agent of positive change as a professional SUP athlete of El Salvador, capable of representing and inspiring my country and the world, and of transforming not only society but the sports and tourism industries through my own ventures.

Values

Professionalism. Teamwork. Solidarity. Leadership. Optimism. Perseverance.