Aaron Antonson, Jake Garber, & Jeroen Landeweer: Get to Know Denison’s Youngest Yacht Brokers

With a sea of over 100 talented yacht brokers on the Denison team, our newest and youngest brokers are making some serious waves.

Denison’s team of yacht and charter brokers is vastly growing and full of some of the most dynamic, charismatic, and driven business people out there. Among the seasoned vets and industry pros, a few new brokers have been making a real name for themseves in the boating world. No ageism here–we’re super proud of our youngest, and quite succesful, brokers…we can definitely learn a thing or two from them.

With deep discussions about their background, their success thus far, and their future goals, read on to get to know a few of our newest, youngest–and most ambitious–brokers.

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Aaron Antonson

Aaron took his passion for restoring antique boats and built a successful firm focusing on value-add restorations of yachts. With over 80 successful transactions between his firm and Denison, Aaron has mastered both sides of buying and selling yachts with over ten years of first-hand experience. Having personally owned power, sail, and high-performance vessels of varying classes and sizes, Aaron will ensure your buying, ownership, and selling experience is flawless.

How has your first year or two been?

Pretty amazing, and a lot more than I could have imagined. More than 28 closings resulting in nearly $25M in sales. On top of this, making strong relationships with some of the finest shipyards across the globe covering various segments of the industry.  I’m now proud to represent shipyards that I used to daydream about when I was younger. Overall, I’m incredibly happy about what was accomplished in my first two years with Denison.

What are you finding is most helpful in your career?

Amazing mentors and a true family-style team here at Denison. Every broker or administrator really cares about the whole team, something that’s, unfortunately, rare in many sales environments. We rely on each other to make sure every step of the way is seamless and pleasurable for all who are involved. We have an amazing support team behind the scenes who work incredibly hard to make everything work, it’s really like a small army. 

Where have you found success?

It’s pretty simple, always do the right thing for your client and put their interests first. I’ve learned from a young age that if you take good care of people, they will do the same for you… in this case, with more referrals. I built my entire business on this principle.

Where have you found most clients?

Besides referrals from previous clients, I spend a lot of time on the water and around marinas, hatt’s where I’m always drawn back to… I’m always striking up conversations with people I’ll see working or enjoying their yachts… It’s something we immediately have in common. 

What is your current perception of the market?

The market has been speeding up for me over the past month; at the end of the year I usually see an uptick in sales. Overall, there is still far more demand than supply, though we’re finally seeing more yachts hit the market. The days where you’d list a boat and it would close 20% over ask are over, but fairly priced yachts are still being snatched up quickly. 

How do you feel digital marketing has helped you?

Our YouTube videos have been very helpful. In my opinion, it’s the best way to share content with interested or future buyers. It allows them to see the yacht in action and digest the valuable information I am able to present.

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Jake Garber

Jake‘s family have been fishermen and divers for generations before him. “Since the day I could walk, I have been on boats with a fishing rod in my hand. I always knew I was going to do something with the water, whether it was going to be being a charter boat captain or a marine biologist,” he confided. “In college, I discovered yacht brokerage and absolutely fell in love. It gives me the opportunity to be on the water every day, meet amazing people, and make a great living.” Now 25 years old and soon-to-be-married to his high school sweetheart, Jake has done 48 transactions in two and half years as a broker with Denison; he currently has 14 live listings. Jake is a Florida native and lives “five minutes” from his parents and siblings–”we are spread out all on the same canal on the ICW.” He shared with us his experiences as a yacht broker in South Florida.

How has your first year or two been?

The first two years have been absolutely incredible. This business has not only created financial success for me, but has also matured me as a man. Doing business with high-level individuals and veteran brokers has made me speak better, strategize better, and prepare better for the life I have ahead of me. Not only has this helped me in the office space, but at home as well with how to tackle life and the hardships that come with it. This company, Denison Yachting, is like family and I have been embraced by everyone in it with open arms. Special thanks to fellow Denison brokers Gary Hardcastle and Mike Burke for grooming me into the broker I always hoped to be.

What are you finding is most helpful in your career?

Watching others is most helpful in my career. In this company and others, there are guys who have been doing this for years and years and have seen it all. I try to take something from all these brokers and apply it to my everyday activity. The way I sell and the way I handle my clients are not from one single person but from countless brokers that I have learned something from. Also staying positive even when things may not go my way. When I first started, I let every inch of rejection get to my emotions; I have learned that this is part of the business and to just keep moving and keep my head up. Confidence is huge as a young kid as well. I am looked at sometimes by others as a “rookie” or “green”. I have to prove my skill by showing confidence in product and sales ability.

Where have you found success?

I have found success in making my clients happy and creating relationships that go beyond just business. I have learned that if you are just honest and service your clients, success will just fall into place. It’s a lot more simple than it looks on paper. Some of my clients have now become lifelong friends that I have already introduced my fiancé and family to. I feel as though I am working with a friend rather than just selling to another person.

Where have you found most clients?

I have found most of my clients through referrals and social media. I can’t give away all my secrets, but social media has been a massive help to my success. Once you take care of one person, they seem to feel the confidence to refer you to another colleague or friend. This all goes back to just being honest and servicing as best as you can and opportunity just falls into place. I work seven days a week and sometimes find clients in the strangest ways, such as sitting at a bar having a legal drink…Yes, I am over 21!

What is your current perception of the market?

Currently, my perception of the market has changed over the past couple of months. With the economy, elections, and holidays, things have slowed down a bit, but that does not mean opportunity has disappeared. I just have to work harder and find the right boats for the right price for my clients. There are always people who want to get out on the water and you just have to keep searching and trying whether you are shut down or not.

How do you feel digital marketing has helped you?

Digital marketing has been an extremely beneficial asset to me. This is one of my favorite things about Denison, because they do it better than everyone else. On top of Denison’s extremely effective marketing, I have done some of my own as well. Working with companies with massive social media followings such as Boatsdaily, sportfish trader, and daily sportfish has gifted me with many followers and interest in my listings. By utilizing other companies and pages global outreach it has gotten the name “Garberyachtsales” out there as a legitimate business and broker.

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Jeroen Landeweer

Jeroen grew up in the Netherlands, where his favorite hobby is waterskiing on a Dutch lake called Aalsmeer (where Feadship builds their de Vries yard boats). Jeroen grew up in a boating family. The family migrated to the U.S. back in 1980, where they have been building sport fishing yachts since 1993 under the name Garlington Landeweer. A Dutch family building traditional sport fishing yachts was not something that’s typical for this industry.

Jeroen could not wait to step in those same footsteps himself, so after years growing up spending his summer breaks on both a sport-fishing boat in Florida & the Bahamas and a sailboat in the Med (Sardinia, Corsica, France, Italy, & Ballearics), Jeroen co-founded together with three of his family members Chaser Yachts, where they build Dutch high-performance luxurious dayboats in the 50-foot range. After moving to the U.S. to grow the business stateside, he found that a combination between representing the Chaser Yachts brand and brokering yachts was a perfect mix for him, by adding value to the client as a boat builder besides just experience in brokerage. This worked out perfectly, since Denison sold the first Chaser ever built–which was one of the key reasons Jeroen wanted to work with the company.

How have your first few months been?

I started at Denison three months ago. It has been a great ride so far. I am about to sign my fourth CA. After only two weeks at Denison, I did my first Denison deal. Denison is doing a lot more than other brokerages, the support, marketing, brand, and professionalism really stand out in the brokerage industry.

What are you finding is most helpful in your career?

The support from our team. We all work together closely, which I really appreciate. A lot of brokers within Denison are becoming friends, which is a lot of fun. I am convinced that working together is the way to do it in this industry, you can’t succeed just on your own. So definitely working together with each other is the most helpful part in my career.

Where have you found success?

I am one of the co-founders of Chaser Yachts, a Dutch company specialized in building high-quality, luxurious, high-performance, innovative center consoles. My involvement there created most of my network in the brokerage industry. My success is based on this network. Being a boatbuilder and a broker gives me a different perspective as a broker, which is an added value for my clients.

Where have you found most clients?

On boats. I spend at least half the week on boats, varying from center consoles in Miami to sportfishing boats in Stuart. I meet most of my clients when I’m in a marina. Other than that, referrals from one client to another. Building good, long-lasting relationships with clients is one of the most important things I can do.

What is your current perception of the market?

I am positive about the current market. During Covid, the market got to an all-time high, where prices went through the roof and there was a big scarcity of finding boats for clients. Right now, you can see that the supply and demand of boats have returned to a healthy balance. Boating is (luckily) getting more and more popular throughout the years, and with all the smart innovations and technology that modern boats have, boating is more and more worry-free, luxurious, and safer than ever before.

How do you feel digital marketing has helped you?

Digital marketing gets more important every day. I work with multiple influencers to promote my listings, as I firmly believe this is the future of marketing our products. Denison really positively surprised me with how fantastic their marketing is. One of the key selling points to clients listing their boats with me is the enormous marketing presence Denison has.

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Our brokers are rich in industry knowledge, experience, and making the right connections for our clients. Looking to purchase or sell a boat or yacht? Contact one of our brokers to get started on your search today.