Daniel Gómez De La Vega, adapted surfing champion

March 15, 2022

By Mariana Chávez

Original article: https://www.yotambien.mx/actualidad/daniel-gomez-de-la-vega-campeon-de-surf-adaptado/

“Sometimes, what seems like a tragedy is actually an opportunity to find our superpowers,” says Daniel Gómez de la Vega, who, at 38, is already an adaptive surfing champion, speaker and director of the Surfing Smiles Foundation.

It was in June 2011 when the life of Daniel, also a business administrator, changed completely: at the age of 26 he had a motorcycle accident that caused paraplegia (loss of movement and sensations from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury).

The first few months he went through a very complex emotional process: denial, frustration, sadness, anger.

“He was angry with life, with me, with the circumstances. “My face hurt from the tension I was expressing.”

He directed this anger at the people around him, including his family, without knowing that they were also going through their own grief.

“My mom was devastated, my dad was trying to stay strong, and my brother was sad, but also displaced because all the attention was directed toward me.”

Pillars against depression and sadness

Daniel says that he found the strength to move forward in three pillars: sport, emotional work and his loved ones (family and friends).

Since he was a child he had played soccer, sailing, fishing, swimming and surfing, as he spent much of his childhood and youth in Acapulco.

Fotografía de Daniel Gómez De La Vega, un joven calvo, de barba en forma de candado de color negro, viste una sudadera de color blanca, pants deportivo de color gris, tenis de color blanco y es usuario de silla de ruedas, sonríe frente a la cámara mostrando sus dientes superiores.

“Thanks to sport I learned perseverance, discipline and breaking my limits and fears, tools that were key to my physical and emotional recovery.”

After the accident, he dedicated five to eight hours a day to his rehabilitation, a fact that began to strengthen him.

“I understood that pain can last days or weeks, but if you let yourself overcome it, it can last a lifetime.”

From egocentrism to surfing

At first he set very big goals, such as participating in triathlons as challenging as the Hombre de Hierro (very extensive career with extreme tests).

Conquering these tests gave him the courage to go out, work, and get close to women, but he still didn't feel fulfilled.

“It was my friends and my girlfriend, now my wife, who showed me that I was pushing myself too hard to show others that I could, because deep down I felt small and I was becoming an egocentric being.”

He understood that what he really wanted and was missing was a smile. “There is no worse disability than a bad attitude,” he says.

Fotografía de un hombre usuario de silla de ruedas de tez morena que viste un traje de baño color negro, completo con playera de manga larga y short, saluda de frente a la cámara y su cuerpo se encuentra inclinado hacia un niño que se encuentra a su izquierda, la silla de ruedas es especial pues tiene una rueda delantera y se encuentra dentro del mar, cerca de la arena, el niño de tez blanca, playera azul claro y gorra azul, se sostiene de la rueda izquierda de la silla y de igual forma voltea a la cámara.

New powers

From then on he focused his life on all those activities that made him feel happy, and surfing was one of them. He discovered empathy born from his own vulnerability, gratitude and teamwork.

“I recognized all the work and support I had received from friends, family, therapists and even strangers who, upon seeing me on the beach, helped me get closer to the sea.”

Fotografía tomada a distancia de una mujer dentro del agua, ella se encuentra recostada en un camastro flotante con una rueda al frente, la acompañan dos hombres que la guían, ella se encuentra con las manos al aire y arriba.

Three years after his accident, he was invited to give a talk to young soccer players. “I thought it was something informal; However, I arrived and there was a large capacity. “I decided to speak to them from the heart.”

The talk was a success and since then he has given conferences in Mexico and other countries, including the Mexican Soccer Team, Babson Latin Forum, Entrepreneur Organization, Google and HSBC. Its themes are emotional intelligence, attitude towards life, the comfort zone, and the importance of inclusion.

“Being in a wheelchair in a country like Mexico takes away many opportunities. Discrimination is a constant, there are competitions where you cannot participate and places where you cannot even go to the bathroom“

Fotografía de tres hombres en la arena, en el centro de la imagen se aprecia a un hombre recostado en camastro de fierro con un flotador color naranja y una rueda al frente, trae un chaleco salvavidas de color negro, viste un short de traje de baño y una playera blanca, es impulsado por dos hombres jóvenes, uno detrás de la silla y otro al frente.

Surf for smiles

In 2018 Daniel created Surfeando Sonrisas, a foundation dedicated to generating happiness through surfing in boys and girls living with disabilities.

His friend Arturo Tamayo, who accompanied him and supported him surfing, upon seeing the happiness on his face, urged him to share it.

Fotografía de un niño con aparente Síndrome de Down que viste un traje de baño de cuerpo completo, chaleco salvavidas de color negro y gorra elástica de color rosa, se encuentra recostado sobre una tabla de surf de color verde menta, detrás hay una joven de tez morena, sonriente, ambos están dentro del mar, la instructora está de pie y el niño sobre la tabla.

To achieve its goal, it organizes surf clinics, where it invites children and young people with disabilities to live the experience of freedom that this sport provides.

“Their smiling faces are the sign that I am on the right track.”

While Surfing Sonrisas grew and strengthened, Daniel became a father. Today he has two children who drive him to forge empathetic and inclusive human beings.

Surf for smiles after COVID

COVID inevitably put a stop to surf clinics, but not Daniel. In March 2020, he participated in the World Surfing Championship (AmpSurf ISA World Para Surfing Championship) in California, where he obtained third place, the first medal for Mexico in this adapted sport.

Fotografía de dos hombres dentro del mar, el primer joven está sentado sobre una tabla de surf que a su vez se encuentra flotando en el agua, tiene tez morena, chaleco salvavidas de color negro y saluda con el dedo índice y medio abiertos y hacia arriba en seña de “paz”. El instructor es un hombre joven, de tez morena, lleva puesta una gorra de color blanco está de pie sobre la misma tabla y se apoya en un palo clavado dentro del mar para remar con la tabla, su pie izquierdo está amarrado a la tabla que es de color rojo.

In 2021, he took a van trip in which he traveled 4,000 kilometers from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, to Zipolite, Oaxaca, to organize a couple of clinics and explore new beaches. This 2022 it plans to hold 10 more clinics in Colima, Ixtapa, Acapulco and Zipolite. In addition, he already received an invitation to go to Los Cabos.

He plans to obtain an international certification to train athletes and coaches in adapted surfing, as well as create a National Team to reach the Paralympic Games.

We want more people with disabilities to practice surfing and have the exquisite experience of feeling the pleasure of freedom and equality that this sport grants, because in the water, as in life, we are all equal.