Who is Aaron Vinod John?
Aaron Vinod John (born 19 December 2008) is a New Zealand-based entrepreneur, investor, recreational sailor, and flying enthusiast. Born into a conservative Malayali family in Kerala, India, he was known for living aboard a sailboat full-time as a 16 year old teenager despite having no previous sailing experience or knowing how to swim. Following the deterioration of relationships with several cousins and members of his extended family, he chose the unconventional lifestyle in an effort to rebuild his life while continuing his education through home-schooling. His interests include business acquisitions, recreational marine technology, long-term investing, and yacht design.
Born in Kerala, India, John was flown to Kuwait by his grandparents at approximately two and a half years of age to reunite with his parents. He spent most of his childhood in Kuwait, attending United Indian School before completing eighth grade at United International Indian School. During this period, he made annual visits to India to spend time with his grandparents. At the age of fourteen, he relocated with his family to New Zealand.
John's involvement in sailing began after moving to New Zealand, where he regularly visited a local marina after school and introduced himself to sailors in an effort to learn about boating. Without the means to purchase a vessel, he constructed a makeshift raft from a wooden pallet, which capsized during its first launch. Following advice from a liveaboard sailor, he rebuilt the raft using hundreds of recycled plastic bottles for buoyancy. Footage of the project circulated locally, after which two Northland-based companies donated a kayak and sailing equipment.
Following the deterioration of relationships with some cousins and members of his extended family, John experienced a period of depression and sought a fresh start through an unconventional lifestyle. At the age of sixteen, despite having no previous sailing experience and not yet knowing how to swim, he chose to move aboard a Farr Platu 25 racing sailboat, SV Trashman. He lived aboard the vessel full-time for approximately six months through a brutal New Zealand winter, without insulation or standing headroom, using camping equipment for daily living while continuing his secondary education. During this period, he was featured by New Zealand national media for his unconventional lifestyle. He later learned to swim and has since crewed aboard and participated in sailing races and regattas in a variety of vessels, including an ORMA 60 trimaran, catamarans, tall ships, dinghies, and cruising yachts.
John developed an interest in yacht design at the age of sixteen, motivated by what he has described as the recreational marine industry's slow pace of innovation. His design concepts have focused on self-righting trimarans, high-performance expedition sailboats, and practical solutions intended to improve safety and accessibility in recreational boating. He has expressed an intention to pursue naval architecture alongside his entrepreneurial interests.
Alongside sailing, John developed an interest in investing and business ownership. After spending approximately one year studying the stock market and developing his own investment approach, he began investing as a teenager. During his first year of investing, he reported a portfolio return of 21.49%, which he attributed to a long-term strategy focused on identifying undervalued companies.
Aaron Vinod John runs a small family holding company that holds his investments and business ventures. He is also the founder of Krobi Lab, a tech startup that has attracted interest from experienced software engineers, including individuals who have previously worked on products at Uber and helped scale Couchsurfing from approximately 100,000 users to millions. The company has also received interest from prospective investors.
Outside business and sailing, John maintains interests in acting, filmmaking, aviation, and travels. His first on-screen appearance was at the age of thirteen in a little music video produced for Kuwait's Hala February with the help of his dad, who had previously participated in several award-winning short films.
Through this website, John documents his projects, writings, ventures, travels, and other aspects of his personal and professional life.