When Dai Sugiura broke into the sports industry with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the organization quickly recognized his value. Raised in Los Angeles by Japanese immigrants who ran a successful restaurant on famed Sawtelle Boulevard, he was a native Japanese speaker who could communicate with the team’s Japanese players. However, over the five seasons he spent with the Dodgers, Sugiura came to realize that being bicultural was equally, if not more, important than being bilingual.

His next role, with one of the biggest global sports agencies, confirmed this belief. He saw how something innocent in one country could be perceived as offensive in another. How customs, no matter how outdated they seem to outsiders, are non-negotiable. How certain qualities can transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries Sugiura used this knowledge to guide not only world-class baseball and basketball players, but also to introduce action sport stars to new audiences. At the same time, he discovered that a large company with a broad philosophy wasn’t necessarily the best place to apply his nuanced thoughts and observations.

This became his inspiration to found Gifted Existence Management. Sugiura’s goal isn’t to simply help international athletes avoid cultural landmines. Rather, his objective is to present his clients’ true selves in the proper context so they could better reach audiences of all backgrounds.