Raring to Go

By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Feb. 2, 2013

Leafing through the Canadian Real Estate Magazine a few years ago, Mario Gomes noticed an article about ‘Five Small Cities to Watch Out For’.

One of them was Squamish.

Gomes was intrigued.

Gomes and his wife Ananda had been living in Burnaby, building a successful business empire with VATA Brasil, their active wear clothing line.

But Gomes also liked to watch the real estate market, a trait he had inherited from his father, Antonio Gomes, who had made his mark in the real estate business in Rio de Janeiro.

That day, browsing through the magazine, Gomes was fascinated by Squamish, even though it still seemed like a faraway place to live.

“There was this misconception that it’s too far away,” Mario Gomes says.

Now, three years later, it feels close to his heart.

The Gomes moved here in 2010, first buying a condo, and then a home in downtown.

Like many newcomers, they are bewitched by the stunning beauty all around them.   

As they immerse themselves in the slow rhythm of our small-town life, they realize this is the place to live in the Lower Mainland.

“Now, we are in love with Squamish,” Gomes says, smiling.

From where he sits, in a rented space at the adventure centre, the view is enough to make that happen.  

But unlike many others who commute to the city, Gome is committed to live, work, and play in town.

And he is encouraging others to see what he sees: a place where entrepreneurs make magic simply by not being afraid, a town brimming with babies and young families, a city of the future.

Last December, he travelled to his native Brazil, met with investors, and convinced them to invest in Squamish.

The result is Valkyries, a four town house project along Government Road in Squamish.

“Squamish is growing and more young families are bound to come here,” Gomes says.

The townhouse project, however, is just a test run for Gomes.

His eyes are set on something bigger: Our Oceanfront.

He is talking to his investors, and asking them to come see Squamish, and its Oceanfront ripe with the possibilities.

“Squamish is a diamond in the rough, and I’m really excited about this place,” he says.

Chiseling rough diamonds is nothing new for the Gomes family.

Gomes and Ananda spent the past eight years building a high-end clothing company from scratch.

The idea for the clothing line came from the couple’s own interest in free diving. In competitive free diving, both would often wear clothes designed by Ananda Gomes.

When people started asking about the clothes, their inner entrepreneur told them this was an idea worth exploring.

That spark led to VATA Brasil, a distinct brand of outerwear that conflated urbane athleticism with sexy flair.

VATA Brasil stood out.

Whereas other brands were functional and bland, VATA was sleek and fashionable.

In 2009, it became the first outerwear company to be invited to a LG Toronto fashion week.

It also received the Brand New Award finalist at the ISPO Munich, a trade show where 2,300 international exhibitors present sporting goods, athletic footwear and fashions to more than 80,000 visitors from over 100 countries.

Since then, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian have sported VATA Brasil outerwear in magazines such as Life and Style.

Mario Gomes isn’t shy to say: “I’m a go-getter,”

Now, as he opens the next chapter of his life in Squamish, he hopes to replicate some of that spirit here.

He has already embraced the community, signing up as a volunteer for the local fire department and attending local chamber meetings.

He is soon meeting representatives of Cushman & Wakefield to talk about how he can invest in Squamisn Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC).

He is slowly pulling out of other business commitments so he can spend more time in Squamish with his wife Ananda, and daughters, Lina and Bela.

Mario Gomes doesn’t want to be someone who lives in Squamish and commutes to Vancouver.

He wants to live here in Squamish, and see his young family grow with it.  

“This is our home,” he says.