David Couzinet

DAVID COUZINET

Beach entrepreneur @ETXOLA BIBI

Oftentimes, sports are a reflection of life. Outdoing yourself, not letting go despite obstacles, pain and sweat is basically how you play life. Or how you live sports. You pick your angle. As we were staring at the ocean, comfortably seated in the coolest bar ever in Biarritz, we came across a striking example of that thought: David Couzinet. Moved to Biarritz 20 years ago as a professional rugby player, he converted into a committed entrepreneur & manager of Etxola Bibi in 2014. Talk about a staggering switch of career circling back to the ability of resketching your life at any time, through daring to be exactly who you want to be.

Hey David, how did you get to open Etxola Bibi?

I opened it from scratch with my wife. We’re leasing the space to the municipality who put out a tender. So we went for it and got the contract! It took a lot of will, ability to listen and welcome new ideas and to learn everything on the spot.

What are your favourite spots to enjoy the city?

Restaurants & Bars: I pick where I go according to how I feel. There’s plenty of amazing gin bars, and starred restaurants. If I had to drop a name though, I’d say La tantina de Burgos. Great spot.

Hotel: Silhouettes, very central, I love the way they renovated the place.

Boutique:My wife loves going to “Le Corner de Sophie”, a cool beauty salon.

Secret spot:The area is so diverse, I can only recommend exploring it. Walk, taste, feel it all.

If you were a mocktail, what would you be?

Probably a hot mocktail. Something in the spirit of: GIMBER, a dash of cane sugar, hot water. Also, the exact same thing, but cold.

We see you serve GIMBER to your customers. What’s your favourite way to drink it?

My go-to version of GIMBER is the GIMBER Hottie. I prefer it hot!

You’ve got quite the fast life going on. What gives you the kick to keep going?

Work! Etxola Bibi is open 7 months per year (April through November), 7/7, from 8am to 11pm. When I’m not working, the region itself is invigorating. I get on walks through Biarritz and the area. I love taking my car and driving to other cities to get a change of atmosphere.