Entrepreneur: Jet de la Isla
One of the youngest LGBT entrepreneurs in Puerto Vallarta, Jet talks about the intention behind every project and his dreams in the near future. By Randy Rodriquez / Managing Editor
With that idea I messaged my old-time friends Joey and Isaac who had been living in Vallarta the past 12 years (and who had now managed Puerto Vallarta Gay Guide). With their help, I came to Vallarta and stayed at their place for the first few nights while I found a one-month home for myself. At the time I didn’t have much savings, so when Joey mentioned they needed a tour guide for an ATV gig, I jumped at the opportunity and said yes! In little time I was showing tourist waterfalls, jungles, mountains, beaches and the best food and drinks in the bay. In other words, I was in love. This job gave me the opportunity to meet travelers and fall in love with Vallarta. Someone said “if you like Vallarta you have to stay for the whales. I extended my stay a few more months. Then they said “If you like the whales you have to stay for the rainy season.” I did and eventually I adopted a cat and then I told myself I could not leave my cat behind in Mexico. Giving myself any reason to extend my stay in Mexico. I was in love.
Why did you decide to live between the sea, the sand and the mountain? @las.fotos.gais
A few months ago, we saw Jet de la Isla as he was leaving his workspace and told us he was about to start a long trip through South America, Iceland and some parts of Central and Southwest Europe; behind him, was a trail of joy and happiness that had to be shared with our readers. In this interview, Jet explains to O&APV the reasons that anchored him to Puerto Vallarta and how - little by little - he has been sailing towards personal and professional success without leaving those who have always supported him, behind. Here’s his story, in his own words.
How did you come to Puerto Vallarta? In 2016, I had just broken up with my boyfriend from Texas - where I grew up - and I was on my way back to Spain where I was living at the time. Just before I returned to Spain, I decided to go to Mexico. I told myself, “How about you check out the snorkeling in Puerto Vallarta for a month before you return home. Give yourself some time to think”.
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One day, while enjoying my new life in Vallarta, my ATV tour boss invited me out on a day out to Yelapa. Yelapa was only accessible by boat and I made an edited video on my trip that day, as normally did during my travels, that I would show customers when they asked me about other cool things to do in the bay. Most of them asked if I could show them those places and quickly I became a boat tour guide! I was being invited to join their boats to show them my favorite places to snorkel, eat, cliff jumping, sail around and more. I decided to create a website with my programming degree background and some business cards for my newfound joy and bam I was in business. One referral led to the next and one year later I shot up to #3 out of 150 on all TripAdvisor’s boat tours in Puerto Vallarta with a team of 10 friends who are also my co-workers and team. A year after that I opened Mexico’s 1st Gay Hostel. Around the same time, I created “Puerto Vallarta Gays: Everything Gay You Need Or Want To Know” which is now Vallarta’s most active Facebook group for LGBT tourism.
Did you have a mentor, someone inspired you? I will forever be greatly for Joey and Isaac from Gay Guide Vallarta for their mentorship at the beginning with my marketing. They understood what worked and what did not work when it came to
