WindsurfingUK Issue 8 September 2018 | Page 25

25 fun . He started hooking me up with gear and I was helping with the testing and just trying to get as good as him ( he still has some moves on me ). They really needed a windsurfer who was in touch with the market and the consumers and since I had a great working relationship with Tony it was a perfect match . I ’ m really excited to be part of the team , Tony is seriously a genius , he is living like five years in the future and the amount of products he comes up with keeps it really fun .

What are your main areas of responsibility ?

I help test the product and decide what products should go to market . I am assembling a national and international team and working on the branding . I guess I am just trying to steer the whole brand in a fun and profitable direction . One of the big reasons I signed up is that Slingshot is to focus on the freeride and freestyle side of windfoiling , which is where all the fun is . I saw the rest of the industry just re-making Formula racing with massive wide boards and tons of beating up wind . With Slingshot it ’ s all about fun and usability and I think that ’ s what the consumers are really into .

With Slingshot it ’ s all about fun and usability and I think that ’ s what the consumers are really into

How do you plan on growing the windfoiling side of the brand ?

I think with Slingshot all the pieces are there to have good growth . Since they have been doing big things in kite and wake the distribution is already set up . The products are next level thanks to Tony ’ s forward thinking . The goal now is to get the boards in schools and with some star instructors . Buying a whole kit set up is a big leap and a lot of people aren ’ t sure they are ready to go all in with foiling . If we can just get them up and going once , they are going to find it so fun and easy that the barrier to entry will drop away . Once the products are under your feet they really sell themselves . uk

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