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Girl on Wave: Scottsdale man follows his dreams with movie-making

Posted at 4:59 AM, Aug 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-28 10:02:37-04

The setting is breathtaking. The storyline is inspiring and true.

She's a professional windsurfer now -- one of the best in the world. But Sarah Hauser had to quit her day job as a mathematician to follow her dream on the water.

The guy behind the film Girl on Wave is Steve Esparza, a Scottsdale man. He used to work in radio sales in the Valley. He also had to quit his day job to follow his dream. A conversation with his former boss is what started it.

"Why aren't you pursuing what you really want to pursue?" said Esparza, remembering that conversation in the office with his boss. "He goes, 'I want you to think about that.' And I don't know why I said it but I just said, 'OK. I'm done.'" 

So at 50 years old, Esparza started all over. Girl on Wave is his first movie. It's now available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Xbox and he's thankful that his former boss pushed him.

"I'd probably still be there on my days off, doing this," said Esparza.

Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe fate but Esparza and Hauser's stories run parallel. They're two people just following their dreams.

"You've got to make the effort," said Esparza. "Listen, life is not easy and the world doesn't owe you anything. It's basically what you owe the world. So go do what you love." 

Esparza just got word that a major commercial airline is putting Girl on Wave on all of its flights. He can't tell us which airline just yet.