Earthquake Damage to the Port-au-Prince Presedential Palace

I had the amazing opportunity to go to Haiti the first week in June, even though a week is certainly not enough to get to know this country. Also, what I was planning on doing in Haiti had been arranged long before the earthquake. Besides, outside of Port-au-Prince, the earthquake really had little effect, even though it might be hard to distinguish from the looks of the rest of the country. Haiti is, without a doubt, a very poor country with limited resources to begin with, so it is now wonder that the earthquake had such a devastating blow, crumbling the concrete buildings that once made up the city. In the single day I spent in the capitol city, I did witness the tent cities that now stand between the rubble and collapsed buildings. But the people of Haiti continue with tenacity in their daily lives, through the congestion and the remains.

The entire Presedential palace was destroyed

Most of my time was spent on the northern coast, in the small village of Saint-Louis du Nord. Dust encrusted, sweat drenched, bruised from the jostling bus ride, eight hours and 120 miles later, I finally arrive and get to meet the community where I will stay. In the mornings, working alongside the Haitians, I helped build (or at least tried to contribute to) a new school building. With over ten people working on the tiny site, it was hard to share the single shovel and the single trowel, but non-the-less brick by brick, the building gained momentum upwards.

Here is a Google map of Haiti and Elizabeth's location in Saint-Louis du Nord

In the afternoons, even though I’m pretty sure I was more of a distraction than help, I worked at the old school.  Bursting with over 150 students in four tiny classrooms, it was easy to see the need for a new building.

A map carved into a chair on the destroyed island of Haiti

School children running during our visit to the local school in Saint-Louis du Nord

School children looking out of a window of the school in Saint-Louis du Nord

Young girls looking for snacks in Haiti

A little girl smiling during school in Saint-Louis du Nord

A kindergarten class in Saint-Louis du Nord where we were helping to rebuild the school

The faces of Haiti, young school girls in Saint-Louis du Nord

A beautiful shot of a young girl holding my hand

Blowing bubbles with the kids in Haiti

Kids watching the bubbles pop in Haiti

A young girl blowing bubbles is entertained in Haiti

And on my day off, as if being in Haiti wasn’t enough; I was able to go sailing to the neighboring island of Tortuga, from all the pirate stories! Our boat was a luxury liner – the mast looking like it might just be a tree trunk. From a devastated shore, covered in trash, the small sailboat delivered us, surrounded by pristine, bright blue water to a quiet, car-less island.

The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga

The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga

Sailing to the Island of Tortuga

Majestic sailboats off the island of Tortuga

Beautiful blue water off the coast of Tortuga

Fast Tube by Casper

Sometimes our emplyees and owners alike need to go the extra mile to sell our products. Such is the commitment here at TGM that we offer to our clients. We will slave away to sell your gear at the top dollar price if that is what it takes to make you happy!

The above video was shot by Jordan, with Ben as our model and just about the whole TGM crew in attendance, laughing hilariously! Sometimes you just got to have fun. Crazy thing about it was that we got these skinsuits sold no problem, and for maximum dollar. I don’t like to use this space to pump our ego our our services, this is more a space for us to tell our fans and potential new clients that we use a fun atmosphere to seriously get the job done!

Ben Duke, modeling the latest in ski slope fashion!

One of the perks of working here at TGM, is that you get to pose in our ridiculous photo booth wearing some of the crazy clothing we get! Here is to you, our brave employees!!

The Latest in Jelly Belly fashion wear from TGM! Modeled by Nick "Diesel" Ranno