Meet Sea Devil Men's Soccer Alumni Chris Montero:
"A lot of what we learned on the field… it's all incredibly transferable to your path outside of sports and can lead to your next career move," remarks Men's Soccer Alumni Chris Montero.
Chris is a Miami native who was scouted to join the Sea Devils Men's Soccer team from 2006-2008. The Sea Devils Men's Soccer coach at the time - and current CFCC Dean of Student Affairs - Robby McGee sought out Chris and showed him how much Cape Fear had to offer both on the pitch and in the classroom. Chris was incredibly excited to make the move from one beach town to another to pursue the next steps in his soccer career.
Throughout his time with Cape Fear on the soccer field, Montero rotated between the midfield, right back, and sweeper positions. He was a strong communicator who helped encourage his teammates to work hard throughout every training session. "Going into collegiate sports, our team was always very competitive and that pushed me to be more vocal and step up as a leader," reflects Montero.
At first, Chris and many of his teammates were unsure what their path would look like upon graduation from CFCC. While some looked towards next steps in their soccer career, Chris had other goals in mind. After mentoring younger players and establishing a leadership presence on his team, he soon realized one of his most valuable assets: his ability to connect with people.
This led Chris into changing his major from Film and Video Production Technology to pursuing an Associate Degree with a focus on Communications. "I realized that one day, when you have to hang the jersey up, what's next? What transferable skills do you have?," says Montero.
Chris then began seeking opportunities within the Athletic Department to gain internship experience and figure out what he was truly looking for in a career. After working alongside other Men's Soccer student-athletes in Cape Fear's basketball and volleyball facility, the Joe & Barbara Schwartz Center, Montero realized that he had a knack for event management and operations. "We would set up a lot of events: counting tickets, pulling out bleachers, serving popcorn, building people skills," says Montero. "That's when I realized how much I loved event management."
Being of Latinx decent, Montero also took this opportunity to fine tune his English and Spanish speaking abilities - realizing early on how impactful that could be in the industry. "Coming from a spanish-speaking country, I was forced to speak English all the time and it helped me fine tune my ability to be bi-lingual."
Fast forward to 2020, Chris has earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from UNCW. He then saw an opportunity, alongside one of his former teammates at Cape Fear, to pursue self-employment in the event industry. While many party and event rental companies closed their doors in 2020, Montero and his business partner capitalized on the opportunity and started building the groundwork for a business of their own. Thus Perfect Touch Rental was born. Perfect Touch Rental is now one of Wilmington's premiere full-service event rental companies.
Throughout his time in Wilmington, Chris Montero has hit his stride - utilizing his skillset and past experiences at Cape Fear to guide him in his professional pursuits. "Curating an ecosystem of people around you through leadership in sports…those people could end up your business partners and best friends," says Chris.
Montero's main message to the student-athletes of Cape Fear today is to figure out what they're good at and learn as much as they can about how they can utilize those skills. "Focus on your natural abilities because oftentimes that can lead to your potential careers…and I mean careers with an S!".
