On any given winter morning on Oahu’s North Shore, Koa Rothman wakes up and checks Pipeline.
Staring at the horizon, he’ll take a Magic Mind mental performance shot —instead of a coffee — and see how the swell that has freight-trained across the Pacific Ocean is working with Pipeline, Backdoor, and further down the beach at Off the Wall.
This surf check will dictate not only where he paddles, but also his day as a whole.
It’s a dream of a morning — but it's a dream that didn’t happen on its own. Koa doesn’t have to commute down Kamehameha Highway to work a morning shift in Haleiwa or get to a conference call on his computer.
Thanks to his entrepreneurial efforts providing multiple streams of income, Koa can focus his time and attention on what he loves to do: surf.
Koa's secret to his surfing and business success? Unparalleled mental clarity & hyper focus, which Magic Mind tastefully provides. Photo courtesy Magic Mind
In the past, the only way to make money as a surfer was to climb up the leaderboard, win heats, and hoist first place trophies on the Championship Tour and oversized checks.
But today, with vlogs, podcasts, merch, Bitcoin, & other options, there is an entrepreneurship movement within the surf community.
We live in the first true surf entrepreneur era. Instead of surfers bussing tables or working odd jobs to pay for surfboards, travel and insurance, they now have the opportunity to run businesses & make investments that can help them earn income so they can focus their time and energy on surfing.
And Koa, waiting for his Magic Mind mental performance shot to kick in while staring at Pipeline unloading on the reef a few hundred yards in front him, is one of the surfers at the center of it all.
“I think the generation I’m in became entrepreneurs because they saw what was happening when pro surfers would lose their jobs and have nothing after surfing,” Koa said.
And he’s right — in past eras, if you were burned out and didn't want to travel or compete anymore, your sponsor (who had your back all this time) would likely pull the plug on your monthly or yearly stipend, making the dream tour suddenly look not so dreamy.
What does Koa do before paddling out at 10 foot Pipe? He takes a shot of Magic Mind as a mental performance primer. Photo courtesy Magic Mind
“It’s led a lot of us to create new sources of income that will last after professional surfing,” Koa said.
Throughout surfing's history, sponsorship was a necessity to not only pay yourself, but pay your bills for traveling and new gear. But today, in this entrepreneurship era, you can sponsor yourself.
For Koa, these sources of income include his Youtube Channel This is Livin, which as of writing is closing in on 200k subscribers. Koa also has his own merch line, with hats, hoodies and tees. There's also the Nate and Koa podcast, nearing 25k subscribers with it’s own merch line.
Outside of media, Koa has a hand in the Sunrise Shack — a literal shack that you would expect when thinking about Hawaii that sells acai bowls, smoothies, and coffee.
Koa is also a minority owner in something that levels up his surfing and his business strategy: Magic Mind.
Imagine coffee, but good for you. And loaded with antioxidants. And green. That’s Magic Mind.
Founded by James Beshara, Magic Mind was born out of a need. As an entrepreneur, James was hooked on coffee, and that — combined with a ton of stress — left him in the emergency room. Afterwards, he set out to find a morning ritual that could improve focus while reducing stress and didn't involve coffee.
He couldn’t find one, so he decided to dive headfirst and make his own. What followed was a decade of research into space of nootropics, adaptogens, and functional mushrooms — and Magic Mind, considered the world’s first mental performance shot — was born.
When Koa heard about Magic Mind and its evidence-based and proven benefits, he was hooked.
Leaders in peak mental performance joining forces: Magic Mind Founder James Beshara & Koa Rothman. Photo courtesy Magic Mind
Magic Mind is proven to:
Boost energy: Ceremonial-Grade Matcha and Lion’s Mane Mushrooms extends your morning energy.
Increase focus: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms and Bacopa Monnieri boosts your clarity and focus.
Boost memory: Bacopa Monnieri works to boost your memory on memory recall tests.
Boost mood: Turmeric Curcumin works to boost mood.
Decrease stress: Ashwagandha and Rhodiola Rosea work to decrease stress and low-grade anxiety.
Decrease inflammation: Turmeric and Matcha work to decrease post-exercise inflammation.
Heaps of antioxidant: Matcha green tea has over 130x more antioxidants than coffee or regular green tea.
Supports immunity: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Echinacea help support the body’s immune system.
With so many benefits, what are you waiting for? Get your Magic Mind starter kit today. Photo courtesy Magic Mind
“Drinking Magic Mind helps me in life in general to put my head down and focus, whether it’s figuring out something in surfing or business,” Koa said.
With so many surfers like Koa focusing their attention to entrepreneurial endeavors, I couldn't help but wonder how surfing waves like Pipe — which requires complete focus, attention to detail, experience, and learning from your mistakes — translated to business.
“I think what surfing can teach you in any aspect of life, including business, is that sometimes you have to go with the flow,” Koa said. "You only fail once you give up so always keep trying, and never give up.”
You heard it from Koa himself: in surfing, and in business, you only fail if you give up. Photo courtesy Magic Mind
Each generation of surfers looks up and learns from their elders; what the current era of surfers is proving to the groms is that you don't have to take the traditional route of climbing the Qualifying Series or Championship Tour leaderboard to make money in surfing.
Like Koa, you can take your own route and through entrepreneurship, sponsor yourself and focus your time and attention on barrels, airs, and on-rail surfing.
Throughout it all, what helps navigating tricky lineups and business is mental clarity and focus — which Magic Mind provides.
“The advice I’d give to a surfer who wants to branch out into entrepreneurship is to make sure you manage your time well," Koa said. "Have your priorities straight with what you want to accomplish — don’t half-ass anything!”