PURA VIDA

The founders of Pura Vida, Mitch and Juliette Anderson, are lifelong surfers and missionaries who work with their son, Nathan, in Chile. Pura Vida was established almost 25 years ago and has been growing ever since.

Pura Vida’s goal is to use sports to minister to locals and create a sense of community. Within the facility, there are a number of different programs that include a coffee shop/restaurant, an indoor semi Olympic-size pool, a gym, and several multipurpose rooms used by different groups throughout the week. They have built a membership model similar to fitness clubs but with a much broader impact.

Many pro surfers train with them as well as recreational surfers and they have hosted a number of surf contests and beach festivals over the years. Pura Vida is now known as the surf-training center for that region of Chile.

In 2016 they made a short film that tells a bit of the story:

In five years, they hope to have a fully developed community center that serves the surrounding city through sports, fitness, surf, skate, counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, special needs ministry, dance, aerobics, home school co-operative and a host of other services. All of these ministries are already moving ahead but still have much room for growth and improvement.