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year. Just one small mistake can be costly. I was unfortunate
enough to have some equipment failure in Fuerte which really
affected me, as much mentally as it did physically. But I saw that
I can have strong heats and I keep this in mind. So as far as
competition goes, I’m still motivated, I enjoy it and I really enjoy
the European Tour a lot as well. I’m super passionate about
windsurfing and I’m sure I’ll be cruising around well into old age.
As a freestyler you put your body through the ringer
often – especially with newer school aerial power
moves. What precautions do you put in place to stay
injury free?
Maybe that’s the problem. I never really did, I kinda just went
for every new move as soon as it came up. I tried new moves
of my own. I began to wear an impact vest a lot, even on lakes
(like when the chop was big) because I had had enough of the
hard slams on my back all the time, getting the mast or boom
to the ribs. I would also wear longer wetsuits because the sail
would cut into the shins on a lot of moves, or you’d hit it with
the mast. It’s just crazy how hard you can hit the water. The
problem is there is nothing there to prevent the countless
whiplashes. Talk to any pro freestyler, they’ve had more than
their fair share of whiplash crashes.
We saw a comment from you a while ago again
about the lack of support riders get considering this
punishment. What can the industry do to help sailors
pushing the limits of the sport?
Well provide exactly this: have a professional who is travelling
with the tour, who is free to visit and offers medical support
and advice. Someone who can get to know the athletes and
can see trends in their injuries and make sure they are
keeping up with physio schedules, eating right, you know,
keep an eye on everyone. Sometimes we will visit the doctor
and they would tell us to take it easy, other times they will
tell us all is good, then we know we can really push.
Have you found you’re backing off slightly in terms
of how big you go?
Not exactly, no. Since the operation I landed my first double
forward loops. I tried them first some six years ago and
ended up in A&E with concussion and post-traumatic stress
for 18 months after. That didn’t go to plan. I’ve landed my
first triple air rotations as well now, the sort of triple air
flaka/pasko thing. I did that actually the summer before the
surgery in Tenerife, a couple of the PWA wave guys saw it
and then this summer I did a lot more in Fuerte. Risco is the
place for this move, it’s insane!
To answer the question, I think I still push hard, just less
often. As in I don’t go out every session and think #sendit!
What advice would you give anyone looking to step
up in freestyle, or pro windsurfing in general for that
matter?
Go for it, it opens the door to some seriously epic
opportunities. I somehow find myself 24/7 travelling now. I
mean my aim was not to always be travelling but I wouldn’t
turn down an opportunity. Now I find myself struggling to
clock a few days here and there at home. I actually meet my
family more outside of the UK than in it. It’s just unreal, so
long as you are happy to work hard during the times you
aren’t on the water then anyone can make that happen. My
main bit of advice is that being a pro windsurfer is not all
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