Earn Your Story: Dr. Saad's Happy Hour

Dr. Saad has a long-term vision of commuting to work, dressed in flannel business casual, in a solo kayak, with a thermos of coffee at arms reach wedged into the bow. He will wave to local kayak commuters also on their way to earn earth money. Is it possible? Well, for that we are not the judge, but it is authentic. 

Trayvax believes in authenticity. Not just in how you live your life on a day-to-day basis, but how you work your life. Part of who you are is who you’ve been; history grooms all of us to pursue our future with authenticity and character. Dr. Saad, a 29-year-old engineer, is doing just that.

            Dr. Saad had six academic years at Maryland University where he watched his transient friends come and go because, “Most don’t stay for longer than four.”

            After his PhD program, he found himself transplanted in DC for a research job that gave his fingers mild carpal-tunnel. His desk seat had a blue chair cushion with an ever- expanding butt indent in the fabric. As weeks wrapped into months, Dr. Saad wanted a community outside of the pretentious DC social environment.

            “I wasn’t happy with the people I was meeting. It was like this genre of people migrate  from bar to bar after work asking, ‘What do you do?’ I was constantly being evaluated on how I could benefit them.”

            Dr. Saad turned to the water to find his community. He wanted something anaerobic, that would push him outside of his introspective-academic lifestyle, but also outdoors; he wanted authenticity.

            “Kayaking made the most sense for me. I’m not good at bicycling, and running with other people feels crowded. I never grew up near the water, but after my first few lessons paddling, it just felt like I was always meant to be there.”

            Two years later, Dr. Saad has a colorful range of sincere friendships. After 5 p.m., he trades his two-piece suit for a life vest and helmet, and practices technical moves in the Potomac River, then freestyles downstream.

            Trayvax aligns with those who earn their story, like Dr. Saad, for his pursuit of authenticity in the outdoors to enrich his life.