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In Morocco I Felt Like a
Movie Star
It’s true—I stood next to a mostly naked Matthew
McConaughey. I also dined with Penelope Cruz.
Before your imagination gets carried away, let me tell you how I
came to spend months rubbing elbows with movie stars, and
what I learned from that experience.
I went to a special type of college called a maritime academy.
There are seven of them in the United States. They’re like
military academies (we wore Navy uniforms) but most graduates
don’t go on to military careers.
CSUM – often referred to as Cal Maritime. I lived and worked on that
ship during the summers while I attended that school.
I attended California State University Maritime Academy
(CSUM). In addition to getting a Coast Guard license to drive
ships of any size, I also earned a business degree. I would go to
sea in the summers, and during the school year I’d take business
courses and classes to be a ship captain.
CSUM is where I met my good friend, Harry. He enrolled in school
to get away from his family’s business—they worked on movie
and TV shows as maritime coordinators and boat drivers. When I
met Harry my freshman year, he had just finished filming Titanic.
He said James Cameron and the whole crazy production had
burned him out, and he was looking to do something else.
Harry and I rowed crew together and were captains of our rugby
team, so naturally we built a strong friendship. After college he
got sucked back into the family business. One day he called me
and said they’d landed a contract to work on a movie called
Sahara with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz. The
contract would last a year and take them to locations outside of
London, on the south coast of Spain, and in Morocco. Harry said
he needed someone he could trust, and wanted to know if I was
interested in a job.
I had two questions for him: “Is it okay that I don’t know one
thing about the movie business?” and “Can I bring my wife?” He
said yes to both, and we boarded a plane three days later.
Part of my job was to accompany directors and producers on
scouting trips to Morocco. I would help determined if the
locations that were previously identified for the film were
suitable for the boats they wanted to take there.
This was an amazing experience, exploring mountain lakes above
Marrakesh, and little known villages along the Moroccan coast. I,
of course, was in fake-it-till-you-make-it mode. Harry trusted that
An entrepreneur and a relentless innovator of the real estate industry, Mike Turner is
the creator of the “Value Drive Approach to Selling Real Estate,” and the host of a weekly radio show on
real estate for over 5 years on both AM and FM stations. Turner is the CEO of Front Street Brokers, a
real estate firm he founded 10 years ago based in downtown Boise and Eagle, Idaho. Mike also co-
founded Fever Streak Press, a publishing company that has produced 2 New York Times best selling
books. Turner is a committed community advocate, supporting many local, and national charities, such
as the Children’s Home Society of Idaho, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, and charities providing
assistance to Veterans. He is also an Executive Board Member of the Boise Library Foundation.
Originally from a small island in Alaska, Mike with his wife Amanda and two daughters can often be
found around town enjoying all the awesome things Boise has to offer, or you can read about their
international adventures through Amanda’s books who writes under the pen name of AK Turner.
Always More Stories at: MikeTurnerBoise.com