JC: How did you land Red Bull as a sponsor?
AA: The deal came about five years ago. They originally took me on their team because I was top four in the PWA slalom rankings. I decided to give up slalom a few years ago so I can concentrate on waves and they supported me on this decision, now they are happy because I was third overall last year. Red Bull just look at a lot of young athletes and how they might fit in. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time with the right profile. Now I am working hard to still be with them by doing all sorts of activities both in and outside windsurfing. I never really liked school and I left early when I
started competing. I always wanted to be involved with TV so now I am lucky to also be working with a show that is involved in extreme sports and I usually like to speak about water sports or sports involving girls.
“ The most important thing to prove yourself is results and then when everybody recognizes you then you can play with your image more ”
JC: You seem to have quite a presence on Facebook and twitter!
AA: I like it, as do most people my age. Everybody does it! I like Instagram and Facebook which are both really great ways to score new sponsors. I have managed to attract two new ones both from my social media posts. Social media is not just about showing what you do related to your sport but you show your whole life on there. People really like to follow the real lifestyle of their favourite athletes, not just which competitions they are going to. They like to know what you do during your day. I just post everything I do, everything I think is fun and I have been contacted by some quite big sponsors who like the way I do this, so it works! I am trying to do similar to the way a lot of the surfing world tour girls portray themselves.