What’s better in the morning than a bagel and some cream cheese? That’s the same thought that went through Senior Amir Andre’s head when he decided to open Malibu Bagels last summer with his business partner and fellow student Mario Andrighetto.
Now a full year later, Malibu Bagels hits two locations a day and is open for most of the week.
On any given Wednesday morning, you can find Andre at his bagel truck on John Tyler Drive waiting for his fellow students to leave Chapel and pick up a bagel.
“Malibu Bagels is a full-time job, and my social life has taken a hit,” said Andre.
Where does a Pepperdine student get the determination and discipline to run his own business? For Andre it’s sports. Originally from the suburbs of Palos Verdes, Calif., Andre has been playing sports for as long as he can remember.
In high school he focused on track and wrestling, making it to California Interscholastic Foundation in wrestling three times, though he never got past the third round.
Andre also tried soccer; however, as he put it, “I was too aggressive and kept getting carded.”
Though aggressiveness got him in trouble in soccer, it was just right for rugby. Freshman year at Pepperdine, Andre tried out for the sport and soon found it fit him perfectly. The dedication, discipline and aggressiveness that Amir refined in rugby now motivates him in his bagel business.
“It’s kinda funny because I wake up at 4 normally and in between running the truck, school, rugby and my girlfriend, I really don’t have time for anything else,” Andre said.
He doesn’t mind, though; he enjoys having a busy schedule and likes to deal with his responsibilities head-on.
“It works out perfectly because I like to get my work out of the way and my partner likes to take his time. On a regular week I work the 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. shifts and he takes over from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.,” said Andre.
Malibu Bagels, now completing its first full year of business, is a symbol of the life skills Andre picked up through rugby.
He may no longer be in the truck, but Andre constantly keeps his eye on the ball. His initiative has led him to place Malibu Bagels on Facebook and to try expanding his company into a catering business.
For the month of November, Andre was thinking about using Facebook’s tagging feature to advertise his business. There might even be a free bagel in it for students.