Like most entrepreneurs, Chris Patterson knows a good deal when he sees one! And like most entrepreneurs, Chris doesn’t just own his business—he lives it. A passionate outdoor enthusiast, Chris always figured he’d retire in Lake Havasu City—and like most entrepreneurs, retirement just isn’t part of his vocabulary.

Chris moved here from Redlands, California with his family a handful of years ago. He has fond memories of traveling from California to Lake Havasu as a kid, with his dad and brother, to race boats on the lake. Lake Havasu City was like his second home, so putting down roots was easy. Chris had a lucrative bicycle shop in Hemet, California and figured a second business in Lake Havasu would be equally as lucrative. That’s when he saw the Wet Monkey for sale back in late 2005. Purchasing what he saw as an opportunity of a lifetime, he purchased the business and has expanded from 4 boats to the present day count of 22 custom boats.

Chris soon learned the futility of trying to run two businesses in two states and sold the bicycle shop to a group of investors. Focusing on the newly acquired boat business, he and his family settled in Lake Havasu City in 2006.

Chris jokingly admits that it would have been easier to go with his first inclination in investing in a hot dog cart instead of the boat shop, but hard work and determination have not only helped him weather the storm during the recession, but to expand into a bigger and better location on Industrial Blvd. Chris will be the first to admit that there have been and lot of ups and downs, and that it hasn’t been easy, then, when he’s down on the lake with a boat, he remembers why he’s here and
it all seems worth it.

Wet Monkey has become a prominent local business, thanks to Chris revamping the look and adding the now recognizable monkey to his marketing campaign. With 22 high-end boats for rent; Sea-Doos, Wave Runners, Ski Boats, Pontoon boats and kayaks, locals and out of towners alike can rent by the day or week, or longer. Wet Monkey even picks you up, sets you up and gets you launched and into the water, all you have to do is enjoy your day!

Have More Fun Than A (Barrel) Of Monkeys: Check the website at www.wetmonkeyrentals.com or call (928) 855-2022 for rental information. Stop by our new location at 1685 Industrial Blvd. in Lake Havasu City.

If you are looking for a top notch award winning Mixed Martial Arts school than congrats you just found it! Next Generation MMA has more competition wins than every other school in Havasu combined.  127 wins with only 29 losses combined in MMA and Jiu Jitsu competition. Still not convinced! Next Generation has produced 2 world champions 2 national champions, as well as dozens of other individual title’s. We have assembled an all-star line-up of instructors including Havasu’s only certified Jiu Jitsu instructors.

Next Generation instructors include: Tim Carey- Jiu Jitsu brown belt and 2nd degree Pankration black belt, Don Heckel- 7-Time all-American and 3 time Oklahoma State Champ in wrestling, Jeff Eastwood- Black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Next Generation MMA is your place for kick boxing, jiu jitsu, wrestling, M.M.A, and hardcore fitness training. Come down and check out a free class. We are located at 1980 College Dr. across the street from the courthouse. Havasu Mixed Martial Arts

• Jiu Jitsu: Jiu-Jitsu uses ground control and series of chokes and joint locks to control opponents. The number one principal of jiu-jitsu is that by using timing , technique and leverage, anyone, even a smaller weaker person, can defeat a much larger opponent.

Everyone loves lists–number one restaurant, favorite food, top ten travel vacations–the list is endless. And everyone enjoys being at the top of the heap, well, most everyone. Unfortunately, the state of Arizona has the dubious distinction of also ranking at the top of a list: according to the findings of the Federal Trade Commission, Arizona has ranked a solid #1 for identity theft out of all fifty states for a number of years. Not exactly a statistic you’ll find in Chamber of Commerce brochures throughout the state.

Also, identity theft is not at the top of the list of reasons for wanting to move to the state of Arizona. Unless, of course, you happen to be Kristine Novinskie. Chances are you won’t find another person amongst the 6,392,000 people living in the Grand Canyon state that used the high incidence of identity theft as a reason to move here—at least not legally. Applying an entrepreneurial spirit, Kristine, a Colorado native, moved from Grand Junction, Colorado to Lake Havasu City in February of 2011. “When I saw the numbers for identity theft in Arizona I knew it was a place that I needed to be,” Kristine stated.

The reality is that Kristine has always had a true entrepreneurial spirit. Back in Colorado she owned a successful hair salon keeping herself and 6 other stylists busy. “I always enjoy talking with people. Doing hair allowed me to learn about people while helping to change their appearances. My clients, my friends, always felt better about themselves after visiting my salon and having a haircut, perm or some other service that made them look and feel better about themselves,” Kristine noted.

It was through her business that Kristine learned about the need for an attorney as well as protection from identity theft. “I signed up for a protection plan that also provided access to attorneys, and they were very helpful in running my business.” From there Kristine soon learned that her friends and clients help with identity theft issues. “I did my research and soon became an independent associate for Legal Shield and through word of mouth started signing up my hair salon clients.” Kristine found that she had real answers for peoples problems, and soon her income marketing legal and identity theft plans soon equaled, then exceeded, her income from her hair salon. Within a year, Kristine traded her scissors and perm rods for a career change helping people deal with identity theft issues — the fastest white collar crime ever to hit North America. “It was hard to do, many of my clients had been having me cut their hair for well over a decade.”

Now a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist, Kristine spends her time educating people about the risks, “Before I helped people feel better about themselves by changing their outward appearance, now I do the same thing, but I help them from the inside out by giving them hope and piece of mind that if they have a legal or identity theft issue, there are solutions, and that gives me a great feeling inside.”

What’s The Deal With Identity Theft? Anyone wanting to know more about how they can protect themselves and their family from identity theft can contact Kristine for solutions. Kristine’s office is located in the Springberg McAndrew building at 430 El Camino Blvd., and can be contacted at Identity-heftLady@hotmail.com.