We had the good fortune of connecting with Sahid Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sahid, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I call it the ART of BALANCE, a very important piece of the formula to a healthy lifestyle. Ever since a child, the word BALANCE resonated with me, and ever since, I’ve been in the process to master it. I classify Balance in 3 stages: 1. Emotional balance. 2. Fisical balance. 3. Life balance. The different stages of balance have changed for me over time as I want to believe that I’m getting older and wiser. I consider Emotional Balance the most important stage as it dictates how you FEEL. Balancing between life with two precious kids Noa 4 and Luca 2, and my businesses Sahid Perez Media www.sahidperez.com and Across Caribe Tours www.acrosscaribe.com can be challenging at times but I learned to balance it all, have to say that Emotional balance has been the key to having all other aspects of my life balanced.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Sahid Perez Media (www.sahidperez.com) offers Photography, Film, and Certified Drone services. My style of photography varies depending on the project whether it is real estate/architectural, landscape, product, capturing people’s most intimate life moments such as maternity, newborn, wedding, or a family/couples session. I capture the moment, as well as those in-between moments, that are always my favorite candid photos. I’ve been passionate about ART from a young age, traveling around the world competing, searching for waves, and new cultures I fell in love with photography but it wasn’t until the first photography class I took back in 2011 that I became passionate and felt the desire to capture moments that tell a story. I consider what set me apart from the rest and got me to where I’m today is my personal indeed professional approach, reliability, quick return, and the connections/network I’ve built throughout my career. Was it easy? Starting any business takes a lot of effort, planning, and time to set it up. I made mistakes along the way and lost clients. I learned my lessons and continue to learn as I always look to improve my skills and services. —————————————————————————————————————————————— Across Caribe Tours (www.acrosscaribe.com) started out as a small project from our hearts and a passion for people, nature, and travel… We are now a thriving, growing company with a fresh and adventurous spirit. Our team of tour guides and instructors are all local multilingual who share the same passions for being active, outdoors, love for adventure, and working with people. We offer our clients peace of mind that comes with years of experience and unique access to diverse locations in Puerto Rico. We are committed to delivering an awesome adventure and a relaxing, enjoyable escapade. We Stand for SERVICE Safety first Exceeding expectations Reliable Values Improvement Clear communication Educated Our Services All of our tours are created by our team to excite our guests. In fact, our focus is entirely on our guests; their wishes, expectations, and abilities. Back in the day, I operated the tours myself from a ’91 Fort Nissan Quest minivan but after reaching number one on TripAdvisor, our bookings picked up rapidly and more staff was needed, and upgrades were made. We have overcome many challenges along the way, Hurricane Maria closed our operation for nearly a year, now dew to the COVID-19 we have been close since March, it doesn’t seem to stop… but we are standing strong and looking forward to getting back on our feet stronger and better, currently working on new strategies and a marketing plan to reopen when the time is right. Work ethic, values, persistence, hundreds of reviews, and the desired to see a sustainable business are what keeps us on our feet and motivate us to continue to put smiles and ex[periences of a lifetime.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Our days will likely start around 7;30am with a fresh green juice followed by a 15min dog walk from my house to the Oceanside Pier to check the waves, from there we will decide if we go for a surf or drive somewhere else to do a hike, visit waterfalls, local hot springs, go for a bike ride along the coast, SUP, the skatepark, or simply relax on the beach. A 2-night camping trip is a most as well as crossing the border down to Mexico for the day or over the weekend. Places I like to show: Ortega falls, Capistrano Hot Springs, Torry Pines State Reserve, Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, Oceanside, La Joya, Julian, San Clemente, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Litle Italy, North Park, Balboa Park, Old Town Historic Park. People I like to introduce: My extended family from EVRBOTTLE www.evrbottle.com in Carlsbad Village, and Cinderella De Groot with www.body2move.com for deep tissue or relaxing massage. We will balance our week with fun, exercise, relaxation, healthy meals, and social time 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Throughout my life, I’ve been blessed for the efforts, support, mentorship, love, and encouragement of family and friends, It is difficult for me to mention just a few because the list can be infinite but in relation to business, I have to thank Federico Hernandez for a 2 years successful partnership of Prros Locos Restaurant in Puerto Rico, Cinderella De Groot, the mother of my kids an existing partner of Across Caribe Tours in Puerto Rico, Ryan Horner with www.vanguardmediapro.com for being a mentor and introduced me to the Real Estate marketing business, to all my clients especially Amber Welch Homes with www.amberwelchhomes.com, the Acirc family, www.acircpr.com for a 7 year and ongoing work relationship, Liz Alvarado with www.bellalengua.com, to all the Across Caribe Team that makes each and every experience a memory of a lifetime for our guest. My 2 kids Noa and Luca for their love and teachings, my parents Jose y Maga for the unconditional love and support, my brother Ahmed for his support and life knowledge, my added family and friends for their love, support, and encouragement, the higher source for infinite blessings, once again I’m very fortunate to have you all in my life, bless you all.

Website: www.sahidperez.com / www.acrosscaribe.com
Instagram: sahid_perez / real.estate.media / rawfilesmedia / acrosscaribe
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/sahid-pérez-3a474621
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sahidpg / https://www.facebook.com/acrosscaribe

Image Credits
all images were taken by sahid perez except the 2 surfing ones which I’m the surfer, first wave me going left by In Water We Trust, big wave going right by Luis Santiago

Nominate someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.