The Shrimp City Report Podcast (Charleston, South Carolina)

https://www.borisvandyck.com/

https://www.instagram.com/borisvandyck/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/borisvandyck/

https://www.paradisochs.com/

For this interview we  sit poolside with Boris Van Dyck, the entrepreneur behind Paradiso Cabana Club at Mixon. In this wide-ranging conversation Boris shares his personal and professional journey — from growing up between Belgium and the Caribbean, to studying marine biology at the College of Charleston, to working as a commercial diver in the Gulf of Mexico, and ultimately finding his calling in hospitality, event services, and real estate development.

Topics covered include the origin stories of multiple ventures: the high-end cocktail catering company Icebox, the event rentals and tent business Event Haus, and later pivots into real estate development and capital raising. Boris walks listeners through the highs and lows of entrepreneurship — surviving the 2008 market downturn, scaling Icebox to thousands of events a year, the impacts of COVID on a senior-housing development, and how those experiences informed his approach to building and managing mixed businesses today.

The episode also dives into the story behind Paradiso Cabana Club: how Boris discovered the property, his vision to transform it into an oasis inspired by Caribbean and European beach clubs, and the long renovation and operational work to reopen and grow membership. Expect a tour of Paradiso’s amenities — a large pool, nine roomy cabanas, a recovery cabana with cold plunge and sauna, a 24/7 gym and wellness center with monthly classes, a members-only restaurant/co-work space, and the Market coffee shop open to the public.

Listen for practical details on membership and programming: roughly 500 membership accounts (about 1,300 individuals), seasonal usage patterns, year-round fitness and events, a concert series and ticketed shows to drive winter engagement, recurring adult swim nights, DJ sets, and big-screen World Cup and match watch parties. Boris also explains how Paradiso balances member benefits with public-facing offerings to grow visibility and revenue.

Key takeaways highlight resilience and versatility — how to pivot after setbacks, the value of hospitality experience in launching successful event and hospitality brands, lessons learned building teams and systems, and the benefits of integrating real estate, development, and operations. Boris shares how he structures his current businesses (development, construction, capital raising, property management) and his preference for building long-term assets rather than transactional brokerage work.

Whether you’re interested in hospitality, real estate development, event production, or simply looking for Charleston’s best new poolside hangout, this episode offers inspiration, strategy, and behind-the-scenes stories from a serial entrepreneur who turned a rundown property into a thriving community hub.