WindsurfingUK issue 11 June 2019 | Page 30

30 PROFILEANT BAKER How did you find moving back to the UK? Was it easy to readjust? I had been living in Australia since I retired and one day I woke up and realised my time there was done. The next day I moved back to the UK, moved in with my brother and began racing again. I won a few more UK titles as well as one year winning the speed and slalom titles. It felt great to be back! What’s been your involvement with windsurfing up until a few years ago when you stepped away? When I returned from Australia, I helped my brother set up the Fanatic/North agency here in the UK and began doing demos and basically building the brand in the UK. I started a few things in windsurfing but nothing really stuck so I decided to put my sales talent to good use and went to work in London. Talk to us about why you moved into other areas for a while. I expected a quality of life which the watersports industry was not able to support at that time. Nik had an awesome agency doing Fanatic and North but that wasn’t big enough to support me as well, and the other businesses I started were reliant on conditions etc. So Nat (my gorgeous fiancée) and I decided I needed to get a real job; I started my sales career which took me into the recruitment industry. It was one of the best career decisions I have made as it’s been amazing: it’s so much fun and also very lucrative. I still run my own recruitment consultancy business and love it. I’ve just opened an office in Worthing which means I don’t have to go to my London office every day which is awesome (and lets me get on the water in my lunch break). So, what prompted you to get back in the ring, take a punt on some different brands and set up 77sports? I have always loved the sport and a break away has only got me more excited! My passion lies in helping others to love the sport I love, and I know that I’m in an ideal position to help as I can share all the understanding and knowledge I have on equipment and technique due to developing gear for 30 years. I started by searching the market to see which brands were up to the standard of what I was familiar with, and I was excited by what I found. S2 Maui were the first I spoke with as they have some of the best and most advanced race sails on the market, the Venom. Then Patrik who has, without exception, the most advanced designs and develops with progress in sight. I knew these two brands together would make an unstoppable pairing so armed with these I set about coming up with a delivery strategy that was unique and that came to me during a trip to Tenerife. During the trip I met the guys from Challenger Sails and loved their products too. On my return I had a chat with my old friend Patrice Belbeoch from Exocet and XO and also loved the whole range. So now I was armed with the best products covering all areas and I wanted to get everyone on them to prove this. Having been in the industry for a long time, I wanted to use the standard retail network to make this happen so I set about visiting all the shops and stood there showing these products uk WIND SURFING