Andy Prozhmi of Promas Building enjoying a day off with the family!

Andy Prozhmi-Mason is a grassroots type of guy. He started from the bottom, learnt all he could on the job and built himself up to owning a successful building company in London and now Marbella. But still to this day Andy enjoys it best of all when he gets back to working on-site with his team.

Owner of Promas Building, Andy builds and renovates homes on the Costa del Sol; his forte is that he has the vision to see the potential in every building, no matter what condition he finds it in!… Continue Reading

Have people's opinions of the Costa del Sol been tainted by films such as Sexy Beast?

Depending on which circles you move in, it’s either a little- or well-known fact that the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) used to be known as the Costa del Viento (Coast of the Wind) until some sharp-witted marketing man had their bright spark of inspiration.

In truth, the Costa has been the del Boy for all sorts of monikers over the years. A tabloid favourite – exhumed in the wake of the dramatic recent arrest of British fugitive Andrew Moran – is the oft-quoted Costa del Crime.

Evoking images of sun, sex, sangria and ‘Cockernee’ wideboys living the life of Riley on the run, the ‘Costa del Crime’ tag has always carried an element of danger and glamour. Following Moran’s arrest, even the normally mild-mannered The Guardian newspaper has been swept up in the fervour, (mis)labelling the Costa del Sol as the haven to end all havens for UK criminals keen to lay low for a while… Continue Reading

Darryl North (left) and colleague, Vitaly Smorodinov

Darryl North is a master craftsman who has spent the majority of his career making exquisite creations, first in the kitchen… and then within his clients’ homes.

But although he has always worked with his hands, his first job – straight from school as a coal miner – didn’t need such a meticulous touch.

After ten years, the coal mine shut in 1992 and Darryl was given the opportunity to choose a career to retrain into. He chose to retrain as a chef, and went from working down a Doncaster coal mine to working as a chef at some of London’s top dining establishments, such as the Hilton and the Bluebird.

So what then took him from being a top London chef to hanging €2,000 rolls of wallpaper in Marbella? Find out in our interview with Darryl North from Perfection Painters… Continue Reading

Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus

Originally a Yorkshire lad – his father wanted him to play county cricket – Ian Taylor of Cocinas Plus never imagined that he would one day be running a successful kitchen showroom on the Costa del Sol.

Always something of a wanderer, Ian started out on his career in kitchens, not by selling them, but by working in them as a chef! He worked for a time in Switzerland, before leaving the heady heights of Swiss cuisine to sell fire extinguishers to farmers in Scotland! After which he had a spell running his own hotel, before deciding to make the move to Spain in 2001, where he settled in Valtocado, near Mijas Pueblo, and still resides today.

Ian talks to us about how he got into the kitchen business and his exciting plans for 2013… Continue Reading

Tony Park of Titan Services, a locksmith you can rely on!

Tony Park is what you might call… a bit of a face on the Costa del Sol.

A resident here since he was ten, Tony has run one of the Coast’s most established businesses for many years and continues to do so. He is also one of the Costa del Sol’s best advocates.

So what made this successful entrepreneur with a sound business decide to take the plunge and launch a new venture, diversifying into a whole new profession?

Read on to find out… Continue Reading

Stefan Lovén of Jensen Store

Since his early twenties, director of Jensen Store, Stefan Lovén dreamed about living in Spain.

A few years later he turned that dream into a reality, living in Madrid, Barcelona and now commuting between the Costa del Sol where he runs the Jensen Store (official distributor for Jensen Beds) and the Costa Brava, where his family are settled.

Stefan talks to VIVA about his love of Cataluña and why just any old bed won’t do!

What brought you to the Costa del Sol?

My family have had a house on the Costa del Sol since the 80s; I have always felt at home here and had dreams of living here from a young age. When I finally persuaded my family to make the move, we tried Madrid, from there we moved on to Barcelona, before finally buying a house on the Costa Brava, and setting up business here in Marbella… Continue Reading

Jeff Meurs of Marbella Carpets

Jeff Meurs has been living in Marbella for 12 years and considers himself a true Marbellí. Owner of Marbella Carpets, the Coast’s leading carpet and rug store, we talked to Jeff about his passion for carpets and Marbella… Continue Reading

Luc Lievens of Tresesse

Luc Lievens is serious about business, is in a serious business – home security. So when he told me his sole motivation in life is being happy, I was taken a little by surprise, expecting a well… more serious response. But he’s right, there is nothing more important in life than being happy and for Luc’s business, Tresesse, it’s all about creating a more secure and happy environment for his customers at home… Continue Reading

Costa People: Jane Grimshaw of Grimebusters

Ask Jane Grimshaw from Grimebusters what brought her to the Costa del Sol and she will tell you, without hesitation: “February 5^th 1983, my family and I turned up in Marbella in a converted ambulance, laden with all our belongings and a budgerigar… and we’ve never looked back!”

Originally from Accrington, Jane and her family and soon to be husband David, bought a traditional guest house in the centre of Marbella and became one of the first non-Spanish families to own tourist accommodation in the town. “It was very traditional in those days for these businesses to be handed down the family line, rarely were they sold outside of the family, especially not to foreigners, so we were really very lucky.”

In 1988 Jane and David Grimshaw left her parents to run the guest house and set up Grimebusters, the Coast’s leading Marble Floor Restoration Company…

Continue Reading