Houston
Chronicle
The lilting fishing lingo trips from Cristina Spivis' tongue with practiced precision as she roams the aisles of Cut Rate Sporting Goods. She needs skirts, doorknobs and daisy chains- all forms of artificial lures-to bring back to Acapulco for her charter boat business.
"The poor fish don't have a chance," she said, a quick grin flashing across her tanned face. That Spivis should be victorious in a fight against fish shouldn't surprise anybody who knows her. The 48-year-old Spivis is strong minded, athletic and gutsy - not the kind of person to give up easily in battle of any sort. "Don't accept defeat - never , never accept defeat." she said in her low voice. "People can whatever they want if they try."
Spivis a former movie stuntwoman and Olympic water skier, is in Houston on one of her frequent buying sprees - she comes here periodically to stock up on everything from "nails to pedigrees" for her home and business in Mexico.
A 25 -year resident of Mexico, she says she still misses the good food. well stocked storess and cinematic offerings in her native America.
On this treip trip, the petitie blonde has seeen a movie every night. including Outrageous fortune ("It's the best"). From the hip ("Good") and Children of a Lesser God ("Very impressive").
She has eaten at a multitude of cafeterias , her favorite type of eatery. flaiming to have added 23 pounds to her small frame. Shel also purchase- among other things- a fish aquarium, ties, for her bus, soap, shampoo, rifle parts for a town resident and sloppy Joe mix for a woman friend. Her only worry is how to get the goods on the airplane for her trip home.
"I'm the main supplier for the whole town," she said.
Spivis's life reads like the script for an action movie. Born in Minneapolis , Minn , she is of Danish and Armesian descent - which explains her combination of fair hair and wide blue eyes with the thick dark lashes and dark brows. A lifelong athlete, she chose a career as professional water skier and scuba diver.
Her athletic talents attracted her to movie stunt work . "I used to do what nobody else wanted to do, " she said . Some of the actors she has worked with include Robert Wagner , Rory Calhoun and Elvis Presley ( she was a an extra in Jailhouse rock)
Ten years ago her willingness to "what nobody else wanted to do" almost cost her life. She was a scuba diver with a group in
Cozumel., Mexico when one man began going too deep , a victim of narcolepsy. She went after the man and brough him back up.
"No one else would do it, so I did." she said simply.
Her heroism . however gave her the bends or decompression sickness. She was crippled for year. Spivis couldn't walk, brush her teeth, hold her head, zip a zipper. She preserved , improving until little by little each day, until she made a complete recovery.
"I had a wheelchair then crutches, then a cane - finally , I just threw the cane away, I just forgot I was sick and eventually I just got better," she said.
"You can do most anything if you want to," she added.
It's that kind of attitude that enabled her, without any entrepreneurial
expience., to start her own business. Today Divers De Mexico is the largest Charter boat business in Acapulco. Spivis a widow, runs the business with her two sons. She has a 3 year-old grandson.
Her business precepts are simple - she combines hard work and long hours with quality equipment, guaranteed catches and customer perks. She works from 5 a.m. till until midnight, is always within reach of telephone and keeps an eagle on her employees.
"You've got to sow to reap - the more you put in - the more you get out," she said.
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Cristina Spivis,
44 , has been a stunt woman , a champion water skier and now runs a
charter business in Mexico.
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"My
work is my pleasure.When you do something you enjoy, it makes it
easy." |
She has taken Henry Kissinger fishing and taught movie stars Farrah Fawcett -Majors and Steve Mcqueen to scuba dive. Her work is great, she says because it's so interesting and keeps her near the water.
"Fishing is more exciting than you think it is. It's hard to explain until you've caught one but it's very exciting," she said.
"Sometimes, she says, it's hard being a woman boss in Mexico. The cultural stereotype of women staying at home and taking orders from their husbands is alive and well south of the border," she says.
"Mexico is a mans world and it's not easy in mans world," she said. "But, since they know I can do it better than them , they respect that."
"In addition to fishing, Spivis still scuba dives and teaches diving. Although, her work is all consuming, Spivis says she can't imagine doing anything else.
"My work is my pleasure and when you do something you enjoy, it makes it easy." |
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