I hope this letter finds you lying by the pool or lake and soaking in some much-needed Vitamin D.
As the days grow longer and the weather gets warmer, I find myself eagerly anticipating the arrival of summer. There's just something about this season that brings about a sense of excitement and adventure.
Sure, fall has my favorite flavors and scents, winter has it’s cozy charms and I can't deny the beauty of spring. But when the summer solstice rolls around, I’m more than ready for the long, languid days sitting by the pool or floating on a boat.
The pages in our Summer Fun issue will help you make the most of this season on the Emerald Coast. And even if summer doesn't mean three months of summer vacation anymore (because we're, you know, adults) we can still look forward to an adventure by crossing things off our ultimate summer bucket list (check the table of contents for ours!) or curling up with a new favorite beach read. (P.S. teachers, you deserve this much-needed break!)
Just like this season has a way of bringing people together, we hope the pages inside this month’s issue will enrich and enliven your experience of Destin this summer!
July 2023
PUBLISHER
Carmen Ionascu | Carmen.Ionascu@citylifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Josh Foster | josh.foster@citylifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Savannah Vasquez | savannah.vasquez@citylifestyle.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Melissa Fertitta
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Robert Young, Forever Young Images; Shanna Magnuson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt
CHIEF SALES OFFICER Matthew Perry
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER DeLand Shore
CARMEN IONASCU, PUBLISHER @DESTINCITYLIFESTYLE
DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA Mindy Hargesheimer
ART DIRECTOR Sara Minor
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Janeane Thompson
WEB APPLICATIONS Michael O’Connell
AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe
LAYOUT DESIGNER Antanette Ray
If ever there was a Destin power couple, Jonathan and Rizzete Howard would be it. Jonathan is a serial entrepreneur and the head broker for AvantStay® in the state of Florida and Rizzete manages all the administration for the couple’s many businesses. However, if you ask the Howards, they will tell you they did not set out to build eight-figure businesses or even to work in real estate; the calling just found them.
“I tell people all the time that I accidentally got into real estate,” Jon laughed. “Of course, they don’t believe me, but it all started with one little condo we named Destin Charms.”
Let’s rewind a bit. Jon and Rizz met in 2008 while serving in the US Air Force. The pair do not share their story often, as their military jobs were quite gruesome - her
being a mortician and him on the front lines in Combat Control and Special Operations - but it was the common bond of living through trauma that has made them a force to be reckoned with.
“I knew she was the one after dating her for four months,” Jon said. “I was getting ready to cross-train into Special Ops, but I could not stand being away from her. We had a little courthouse wedding in 2008.”
Military life was tough as the couple were often separated for extended periods of time and both served during the Middle East wars. The pair saw friends killed in action and had to live through countless funerals and warfront tragedies. But military life was what the Howards knew, it was what made them, it was what kept them close.
CONTINUED >
The Howard’s journey from the front lines to luxury vacation rentals
“What we saw in the military was a really eye-opening experience,” Jon said. “But she and I being together, we didn’t have to talk about it; we knew. Because we could lose each other at any given moment, we became really close.”
When Jon reenlisted for the last time in 2014, he used his bonus to buy a condo on the Destin Harbor. Together Rizz and Jon renovated the place and moved into it. A friend suggested renting their condo on VRBO while they were gone for the summer of 2015.
“We had designed our condo for our home, so it was really nice. I put it up on VRBO just to see what happened,” Jon said. “Three days later it was booked out for $18,000 for just six weeks! I remember thinking, ‘What did I just stumble upon?’”
Over the next three years, Jon finished his military career, all the while renting out his condo and slowly adding more properties to his now growing vacation rental business. But moving on from military careers into the civilian world was daunting.
“It’s kind of scary when you’re getting out,” Jon said. “I found myself asking, ‘What if I don’t adjust well, what if I’m damaged goods?’ I never thought I would do well on the outside because it’s hard to explain what you do and see as an operator in the military.”
But it’s no secret that the Destin community supports veterans. As so many residents are brought to the Florida panhandle area because of the military, there are many lines of support for veterans in Destin.
“A lot of people would find out who I was and find out that I was a veteran and would want to help me with business,” Jon said. “Destin was a very welcoming place.”
The couple had another thing going for them; the ability to thrive under pressure and to work together for a common goal.
“Like any other couple it’s hard to work with your partner because you have to keep it professional and keep your emotions out of it,” Rizz said. "I’m very good at reading people and he’s very good at giving the benefit of the doubt so we balance each other out.”
Jon echoed that sentiment, saying that while he is the face of the business, Rizz handles everything behind the scenes. CONTINUED >
“A lot of times spouses can’t work together but she and I work so well together because she knows my weaknesses and my strengths,” Jon said. “I’m like a sledgehammer, I set the temperature and tempo and she is the attention to detail and the administrative side, making sure all our ducks are in a row.”
Jon decided to go to law school in 2018 with the vision to support military veterans like himself. Just as he completed his first year in Naples, the rental business and home sales were growing rapidly. With 20 rental properties, Jon returned to Destin full-time from Naples to help Rizz run Destin Charms, later renamed Florida Charms Vacation Rentals and Realty in 2019.
“From that point on the business doubled every quarter, just growing and growing,” Jon said. “We started getting offers to sell the business from private equity companies in 2020, but I didn’t really like these other companies, they were big corporations. The big appeal for my company was that the homeowners only dealt with me, and I had developed good relationships with them and never wanted to hand them off to a bad company.”
In March of 2022, the Howards received an offer they could not turn down. AvantStay® not only offered the right price, but also made sure every employee was taken care of and kept Jon on as the broker for the state of Florida.
“To get recognized by a nationally ranked company like AvantStay® was really awesome,” Jon said. “They wanted a real estate broker that was vacation rental focused not sales focused. I didn’t care about selling every house on 30A, I just sold what I was going to manage.”
With the weight of managing the company behind them, the Howards say a new chapter has opened for them, one that gives them more time for their passions and more time together.
For Jon, he plans to dive deeper into his veteran advocacy projects.
“One of my friends I was on the team with started First There Foundation,” Jon said. “The whole idea is to raise money for veterans to get mental health treatments without having to go through the VA. We also put on retreats with mental health professionals. It's things like this that give me purpose.”
As for Rizz, she plans to start her doctorate in behavioral sciences and traumatology. And of course, the couple has plans to travel and enjoy their newfound time together.
"We love helping people,” Rizz said. “We don’t view what we’ve accomplished as a success, we just did what we had to do when the time was good, we took the opportunities and I’m glad we did.”
“It’s kind of scary when you’re getting out. It’s hard to explain what you do and see as an operator in the military.” - Jon
intimate two-person set-up to a private event with 30 or more people. In addition to the bonfire, s’mores materials, tables and chairs, Brandon offers unique add-ons such as a game box, live music and even an attendant to stoke the fire.
For Brandon Hawthorne, his partner Ellie and their son Emery, the beach lifestyle is the only lifestyle. So, when it came to creating an income, the family looked no further than the white sandy beaches they call home. Enter Native Fires 30A; a beach bonfire service in Santa Rosa Beach with a side of surfing lessons.
“We love the beach, and this way everyone in the family can participate and enjoy the beach at the same time,” Brandon said. “My son likes to find friends; my girlfriend can lay out and I can enjoy surfing and hosting bonfires.”
This summer marks the second season since launching Native Fires 30A, and Brandon said he learned a lot and improved a lot in his business model since last year.
“Our first year was just getting all our inventory and equipment,” Brandon said. “We were very low-key last year but now we have everything we need, and we are now looking to move forward and grow.”
Native Fires 30A offers different packages depending on the customer’s needs. From an
“We like to incorporate music so I do have an add-on to have a guitar with your bonfire or you can have an artist come to sing and play,” Brandon said. “I’m an artist myself, so that’s a huge part of the fun. I love that I get to add my passion for music and do a little acoustic gig at some of the bonfires.”
As for the surfing lessons, Brandon said that’s where his true passion lies. He especially loves to teach children like his own son to be more confident in the water.
“Surfing and skateboarding have been a huge part of my life since I was six years old,” Brandon said “I’m 32 now, and I still love to shred. I love to teach kids because it made me so happy back then, and it still does today. I love to teach the kids water safety and even about the water and the animals in it.”
Even eight-year-old Emery gets in on the business all while making friends. Brandon said he takes pride in showing his son the importance of work and owning a business.
“I like to teach him the responsibilities of working and helping out, organizing and having money," Brandon said. "I let him work for me and give him a reward for helping me. Emery likes to help out, especially with the surfing lessons. He can break the ice and help with some kids that are scared on the board. He makes them more comfortable since he is their age."
Native Fires 30A gets its name from the family being Florida natives. Ellie was born and raised on 30A and the couple is now raising their son
on the same local beaches. Brandon said the whole goal of the Native Fires 30A is to share the same love his family has for the Emerald Coast beaches with those who are visiting.
“Every time we build a fire for people, our goal is to help them make memories that will last for a lifetime,” Brandon said. “We really enjoy making people happy and showing them what the Emerald Coast has to offer. The sunsets are amazing here so just to be able to have a bonfire with the sunset on the beach; you can’t get any better than that.”
“I love to teach kids because (board sports) made me so happy back then, and it still does today,” said Brandon.
ARTICLE BY MELISSA FERTTITA
Goldman Sachs estimates that $1.07 trillion worth of commercial real estate mortgage loans are set to mature in 2024. In an April Fortune.com article, the firm noted high interest rates and tightening lending standards will make it difficult to borrow money, even if there is an appetite for taking on debt. No commercial real estate sector will be more affected by this trifecta of turbulence than office and retail, they projected.
Partner these projections with the increased office vacancies due to the post-pandemic shift to remote and hybrid work and you’ve got a perfect storm for commercial real estate disruption.
Enter Destinite Steven Franco. Franco’s flexible real estate/co-working concept, Beachworx started as a solution to his own challenges as landlord. What Beachworx has become is a successful beta test for a flexible space franchise model that could be a life raft for similarly situated landlords.
Franco purchased Destin Commerce Center, a 25,000 square-foot, fourstory office building on Highway 98 in 2015. The space had long-term financial industry tenants on the first, second and fourth floors. When a tenant scheduled to move into the third floor defaulted, it left Franco with a partially built-out space and no prospective tenants.
Despite more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience as a leasing agent, principal and investor, his response wasn’t to find another tenant.
“I’d read about Hines and how they were leveraging their experience in real estate and property management to create workplace-as-a-service,” Franco said.
Franco, a lifelong Atlantan, was also familiar with other co-working concepts in national markets and was inspired by the opportunity to create his own concept as a solution to this vacancy.
According to Franco, co-working is a flexible alternative to long-term real estate commitments.
“Co-working accommodates your business as it grows through the business life cycle. The flexibility to scale up or down with 30 days notice is critical to helping businesses realize cost savings,” he added.
Franco opened Beachworx in May 2018 and Vice President of Operations, Melissa Fertitta joined in May 2021. The concept has gained traction with locals and tourists alike. It features 20 private offices with flexible monthly rental terms, a podcast room and a boardroom which can both be rented by the hour. There are 24 hot desks that can be rented with day passes. The Beachworx community is a great networking resource for business-to-business referrals and the support programming Beachworx provides is helpful for businesses at any stage.
“Our experience as owner/operators over the last five years has uniquely prepared us for franchising our model. We’ve learned how to control and monetize our space, which is the best solution any landlord can ask for,” Franco said.
Some unique ways in which Beachworx monetizes its space include selling advertising on the digital pylon facing Highway 98.
“Department Of Transportation estimates the average daily traffic count is 52,000 drivers, that’s 52,000 people who could be learning about your business, whether you office in the space or you’re a virtual address member,” said Fertitta.
“We recommend our virtual address membership for any business, whether breaking into a new market or wanting to look bigger than it is by showing up in multiple locations. It’s also a valuable tool for identity protection of workfrom-home business owners,” she said.
With the introduction of the WORX franchise, virtual members will be able
to expand their reach to all parts of the country, be it at a Cityworx, Lakeworx or Mountainworx.
“We’re sitting on a rocket ship,” Franco said, growing excited about the potential of the model. “Everyone is a potential franchisee. Whether you have a traditional office building or a retail storefront/big box, we have the
“We have the resources to convert your space into flexible, affordable, professional office space for rent,” - Franco
resources to convert your space into flexible, affordable, professional office space for rent."
“There are very few co-working franchises and the ones that exist require a large franchise fee and have significant cash reserve requirements. We can show a landlord how to convert his space with a conservative investment in FF&E and software and likely they’ll see positive cash flow within 12 months,” Franco said.
WORX just executed a master service agreement with global real estate firm Cushman Wakefield, who will refer potential landlords and tenants to the franchise.
“Landlords are likely to be the first to sign up, but there may be tenants who can’t default on long-term leases. They could convert their tenancy to a WORX and turn what would otherwise be a loss into a revenue producing operation,” Franco said.
A virtual address from Beachworx benefits home-based and established businesses with a Florida Class A office building address. More credible than a PO Box, your membership can be enhanced to include in-bound mail receipt and mail forwarding. Our solution protects your identity and uses Google tools to enhance your business’ online presence.
(850) 974-3435
thebeachworx.com
One breath, one dive, 60-feet beneath the surface in the silent beauty of the ocean. Stealthily calculating, quietly stalking, spear in hand, until he finds his prize. Mike Pooler thrives in the benthic lifestyle.
Born and raised in the Florida Keys, Mike Pooler of Benthic Ocean Sports said the ocean has always been his first love. From the tender age of six, Mike was freediving, pushing his limits to see how long he could hold his breath and how deep he could go. By nine years old he speared his first hogfish using a primitive pole spear. Now Mike has made his lifelong passion into his day-to-day lifestyle.
“I started really getting into freediving and spearfishing more when I was in high school but was limited in doing it when I joined the Army,” he said. "When I got out of the military in 2008, I was finally able to pursue it passionately and one day I just decided to turn it into my dream job."
This year marks the tenth anniversary since Mike opened his store and training facility in Destin and his passion must be contagious as the popularity of both freediving and spearfishing have risen tremendously in the Destin area over the past decade. CONTINUED >
"It is night and day, a completely different community here than when I first opened up,” he said. “Ten years ago, people would look at me crazy when I told them I got a huge red snapper freediving, but now there are local Facebook groups and boats going freediving all the time. It’s changed in such a good way.”
Freediving has even begun to attract visitors to the area and has made Destin one of the most sought-after locations for freediving certification in the continental US. Even on rough sea days, dive students can earn their certifications by visiting the area’s freshwater springs just an hour north of Destin.
“We are still actively supporting and equipping people in our area, but now people are traveling from all over the US to train at Benthic,” Mike said. “Our shop has the perfect set-up to learn to freedive with a classroom within it, access to Emerald Coast Scuba’s 14-foot-deep saltwater pool next door, and our boat slip across the street.”
Of course, Mike said he wouldn't be where he is today if it wasn't for Joe D'Agostino, his second-in-command and the Director of Education for Benthic. Joe got his start in freediving and spearfishing almost 30 years ago in New Jersey.
"Joe has become one of the best freediving instructors in the nation," Mike said. "The growth in freediving in the Destin area can be directly linked to Joe's training. At the shop, you can train with Joe and I together; we often joke and call it the Mike and Joe show."
Freediving is just that, diving freely in the open ocean without air tanks. Lightweight wetsuits allow for more flexibility than traditional wetsuits and also grant natural body
movement in the water. Long thin fins allow for more natural water flow.
“Scuba diving is a great tool, but freediving is for people who want a little bit more of a challenge, a little more purity in the activity,” Mike said. “Freediving is for those who don’t want to be encumbered by equipment. Freedive equipment is built for efficiency, for one tank; our lungs. The gear is not as important as the technique or training, but you do have to have the right gear, so it doesn’t hold you back.”
Freedom, flexibility, mobility and tapping into our own human instincts are where diving lessons begin their focus at Benthic.
“We are all built to do this,” Mike said. “We all have a biological response called the mammalian diver reflex built to protect us in the water. It helps us hold our breath longer and dive deeper, and when you take one of our training courses that natural response starts to kick in very quickly. In one weekend you will get decades worth of experience, your ability to dive safely will increase. That one single class is the key to your world getting larger.”
As Benthic Ocean Sports celebrates 10 years in Destin, Mike can’t help but look back and rejoice at how his passion has really inspired others to join the freedive and spearfishing movement.
“Whenever I first opened Benthic, you could probably count on one hand how many people were freedive spearfishing between Pensacola and Tallahassee,” Mike chuckled. It’s been a long uphill battle to convince people that freedive spearfishing is not only more effective and safer but also a more rewarding way of fishing."
“It’s been a long uphill battle to convince people that freedive spearfishing is not only more effective and safer but also a more rewarding way of fishing,” Mike said.
Adult- and Kid-Friendly Natural Bug Repellents from A Beautiful Mess
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY A BEAUTIFUL MESS
(age 15 and over)
MATERIALS:
• 10 drops lemon essential oil
• 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 8 drops lavender essential oil
• 8 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 1.5 ounces distilled water
(minus 1 teaspoon to make room for the essential oils in the bottle)
• .5 ounce 95% proof grain alcohol*
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a 2-ounce spray bottle, add the grain alcohol (or Solubol) and drop in essential oils. Swirl to combine. Place the cap back on the bottle. Allow the oils to disperse in the alcohol for about 1 hour, then add distilled water, swirling again to combine.
MATERIALS:
• 10 drops lemon essential oil
• 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 4 drops lavender essential oil
• 1.5 ounces distilled water
(minus 1 teaspoon to make room for the essential oils in the bottle)
• .5 ounce 95% proof grain alcohol*
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a 2-ounce spray bottle, add the grain alcohol (or Solubol) and drop in essential oils. Swirl to combine. Place the cap back on the bottle. Allow the oils to disperse in the alcohol for about 1 hour, then add distilled water, swirling again to combine.
*The grain alcohol is used as a preservative as well as a carrier for the oils, but you can also use a product like this instead of grain alcohol at a 1:4 ratio (1 drop essential oil to 4 drops Solubol) if you’d rather and then just fill the rest with water to fill the 2-ounce spray bottle.
While there can be concern about citrus oils on the skin when exposed to sunlight, lemongrass isn’t a photosensitive oil, and if lemon essential oil is steam-distilled rather than cold-pressed (Oui Fresh essential oils are cold-pressed) it can be used on the skin. So just make sure to note which one your lemon oil is and only spray on clothes if you don’t have a skin-safe lemon oil (which is an application method a lot of people prefer anyway if they are more sensitive to oils).
Find more DIYs at ABeautifulMess.com.
Welcome, summer! As a hyper-local publication, we thrive on helping our readers make connections with the cities they live in, the businesses that make up their communities and the inspiring individuals making a positive mark. Are you ready for your most adventurous, fun summer? Here are summer bucket list ideas for you to accomplish this year. We hope you’ll explore a new neighborhood, spend a lazy Saturday afternoon at a new winery or taste the flavors at a local ice cream shop. Let us know what you discover and enjoy! We’d love to hear.
Summer is finally here. Take advantage of the season with our Adult Summer Bucket List. Check off these activities as you complete them with your family and friends and congratulate yourself on a Summer well-spent!
