Every morning, Charles Dunn Co's Dan Johnson wakes up before dawn to catch some waves in Manhattan Beach. But his dedication to surfing isn't what earned him Dunn's 2013 Rookie of the Year, but rather his commitment to being one of the South Bay's most knowledgeable and active brokers. (And his commitment to the values on the sign he's propping up, you'd think after winning that award someone would hang it up for him.) Dan's career took off with a portfolio sale of six multifamily properties in West LA. His most recent sale: a 50% interest in a 32-unit property in Venice Beach.

Dan just switched his specialty to office sales and leasing in Dunn's SoBay office under the mentorship of managing director Rich Higgins. Before beginning his career in the commercial real estate biz, Dan spent a year in Vietnam teaching English to children aged 4 to 11. He earned his TEFL/TESOL certification after graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English.