A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina and Baltimore, Maryland, Samuel Luis Mendes attended Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut where he majored in Classics, wrote a column for the Yale Daily News and immersed himself in team sports. Though he competed in Polo, it was Rowing that captured his heart.  His father, the late renowned Argentine jockey, Jorge Pablo Mendes, endorsed his son's passion for this new sport, encouraging him to become proficient in all activities he chose to undertake.  Following graduation, Mendes took a year off to train for the Olympics that earned him a spot on the US team.  Competing in the Men's Eight Division in Seoul in 1988, his boat won a Bronze medal.

Mendes continued his studies in the Accounting and Finance Department of the London School of Economics, returning to the States following graduation to accept a position with the Target Corporation in Minnesota that evolved from his respect for the Dayton family and the Dayton Hudson Corporation.

At Target, Mendes entered the Property Development Department, where in the first year he became recognized as a visionary for positioning stores in regions on the cusp of growth, allowing Target to realize significant profit over projections and local competition, augmented by the hiring of seasoned managers from the stores' respective neighborhoods.

Eleven years after his start with Target, Mendes suffered an accident while trekking in Nepal that forced him to cut back on travel at the same time that he was ready to move towards a more entrepreneurial and family-oriented direction.  With his wife, Julia Moreno, Mendes launched a new enterprise, Julia's Canoes Inc., from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Sales the first year grossed $4 Million, exceeding expectations.  Plans are in the works to double that figure with a new line, Kid's Kanoes, introduced and distributed in 2003 to boating camps along the East Coast of the US.