Beach, rum and celebrities. The Argentine who became famous with an eccentric business in Ibiza

Ariel Naso (44) is a celebrity in Ibiza. His Instagram account is full of photos with giants like Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonardo Di Caprio and Roberto Cavalli. 16 years ago, like many Argentines, he decided to seek his destiny far from the country. He settled in Spain. He worked painting houses in Barcelona, ​​installed and cast a grill in Marbella until finally, in 2012, in the Balearic Islands, he discovered the business that would lead him to fame and fill his pockets.

“I'm like a 100 percent self-declared traveling salesman. I attended more than 400 celebrity celebrities”, Ariel explains about his job, which consists of selling mojitos, the Cuban cocktail, which is prepared with rum, sugar, lime, ice and mint.

-Where did you learn to make your famous mojitos?

-A friend taught me at my house, in Spain. I did not know him until that moment and I was never in Cuba. I liked it a lot and it turned out to be my favorite cocktail.

What Ariel never imagined is that this drink, added to an ingenious form of marketing, would open the doors of his successful business.

“In Argentina there is no future for those who want to do things well”

A native of Villa Pueyrredón, Ariel explains that in Argentina he did "a little of everything." He was a construction worker and even a disc jockey at private events.

However, in 2005, disenchanted with the reality of the country, he decided to cross the Atlantic. “There is no future for those who want to do things well. It's a mess,” he says.

“We Argentines are frowned upon in the world for taking advantage of everything and cases like mine are not talked about much. And if we do not move forward it is because the system is failing. The government cannot charge you so many taxes, it is a partner”, he reflects.

"I invested everything I had and jumped into the water"

Ariel's first years in the old continent were not easy. Installed in Barcelona, ​​he spent some time painting houses. Later he traveled to Marbella and there, together with his partner at the time, Olga and another partner, they founded a grill, although they did not have the expected success.

“It occurred to me to set up a grill with my partner and a partner I had at the time. The first year went well for us and when Mariano Rajoy took over, tourism in Marbella fell and we melted down”, he says.

While struggling to keep his grill afloat, Ariel met a compatriot who had a similar past and together they started a new project: selling croissants in Ibiza. “He had a Russian investor who had suggested that he go sell croissants on the beach in Ibiza. And we went there. We started well, but we ended badly. We parted ways because he had excessive ambitions”, says Ariel without wanting to delve into the subject.

“So I just started selling cans of coke, beer and mineral water on the beach. I also got to make hot dogs,” he adds.

Until one summer day in 2012, in the bay of San Antonio, a place chosen by the exclusive boats to watch the sunset, with the background music of the famous Café del Mar and Café Mambo, he had an idea that would be the key to your business.

“I invested 50 euros, which was all I had, to buy the ingredients to prepare mojitos and jumped into the water. I was going between all the boats with a hermetically sealed bag tied to my back and frog legs offering my mojitos. The first boat I sold to was a Dutch couple and I remember selling them two mojitos,” he says.

-How much did you sell the mojitos for?

-At that time they were worth 7 euros. Today there are 20.

The jellyfish attack and the birth of “Mojitoman”

As the days went by, Ariel became more established in his business. He quickly swapped walks selling cans on the beach for long hours of swimming between boats with his bar in tow.

“He always went with a swimsuit, the frog legs and the bag on his back. So, to the beast. And generally here, in season, there are many jellyfish. One night, I was swimming and I got into a school of jellyfish that electrocuted me all over. I came out of the water as if I had been whipped to death. Luckily, I was close to the coast, so while I was swimming I took off my frog legs and with that I tried to scare them away to reach the shore. I almost fainted and I was alone, no one helped me. The next day, I bought the neoprene suit and some Irish people, to whom I sold, associated me with aquaman and called me “mojitoman”. And that's where the idea came from. It hit hard and caused a lot of laughter to the tourists here, ”he recalls about what would become the name of his business.

-What was the maximum number of bottles you sold in one day?

-I managed to sell 12 bottles.

“I am the Maradona of the mojito”

It took Ariel two and a half seasons to acquire a boat to leave swimming behind and offer his mojitos on board. “I grew up with the mojito, but financially I also had my ups and downs. Not that I saved a lot of dough. I give myself the luxury of living working only five months a year and I live well”, he says satisfied.

-Are you known in Ibiza?

-Yes, well known, almost more than the governor. You could say that I am the Maradona of the mojito. In fact, I met Diego in 1998 in Argentina.

In his past in Buenos Aires, Ariel also rubbed shoulders with the local show business. In the 1990s, he assures that he worked with several national artists, such as the Volcán group, Silvio Soldán, and even he got to know Diego Armando Maradona. “I learned a lot from him, seeing how he handled himself in life. He had many codes as a man, beyond the fact that his head was burned by the drug, he kept those codes that not everyone has.

Currently his business works only in Ibiza, although he does not rule out traveling to other latitudes when the season ends in the Balearic Islands. “I wanted to go to Punta del Este, to Gorriti Island, but he went through the pandemic. Other years I went to the Caribbean, to the island of Saint Barth, there I sold to DiCaprio. I attended to him on land, my wife saw him walking on the beach and I told her let's face him. I ended up selling him 17 mojitos”, he says.

-To which other celebrities did you sell the mojitos?

-To all the world. To Cristiano Ronaldo, to Messi, to Paris Hilton. I attended the very president of Spain, Mariano Rajoy.

Which of them do you remember best?

-To Roberto Cavalli. The day I sold to him, he invited us to dinner and that same night, I met Ezequiel “Pocho” Lavezzi who was at our table. He treated us very well, it was an unforgettable experience.

Long tongue and Chanel to entertain their clients

Ariel's days can be very long. “I get up around eight, he organized what I am going to sell that day in the morning. I cut the lime, prepare the mint, straws, bottles, ice and load everything in the car. Then I put everything on the ship. And I start selling, sometimes I don't even sleep. In the business, now I am alone and I work with a girl who offers massages on board, ”he says.

"I get on the boat and make the mojitos, that's my job," simplifies Ariel. However, maintaining a VIP consumer brings her eccentricities, such as putting on Chanel Allure perfume before boarding the client's boat or donning a long tongue with which she appears in the photos she uploads on her Instagram.

“I do it because I cater to the world's jet set. Once they said how good it smells and I said 'it's me'. And I bought the tongue at a carnival in Saint Barth in 2016, I thought it was good to take it to Ibiza and see what effect it caused, and there it was. Ronaldo and others also wore it, ”she explains.

-What is the secret of a good mojito?

- Lots of lime.

-And the rum, which one do you use?

-Those are things that I cannot tell you because it is part of the secret of my business, but if you use Havana Club 5 it will work out well for you.

I thought it was number 3...

-No, they use that in Cuba because they are poor (laughs).