VICTOR FERNANDEZ – 2016 PWA Wave World Champion
My focus is just having a normal life. Doing what I like the most, which is windsurfing and staying healthy. Also being surrounded by my friends, family and my wife! These people make me more focused for my job and help me relax when I compete. They all like what I do and understand why I focus so much energy into windsurfing. I train a lot in the water, but I have been focusing more on my strength outside the water. In the last six years I have been working with two trainers to help me avoid more injuries. If I am stronger then I can go harder when I am sailing. My coaches in Almeria tell me what I have to do depending on the time of the year. I do a lot of work in the gym. When we are competing I work more on my strength in the gym or in the pool. I stretch every day. When I am not competing I do TRX training and balance work outs. I eat healthy. I think all these things help me to sleep better and then the next day I am ready and focused! I am not a drinker. Sometimes I have a beer or a glass of wine with friends. I drink one or two beers but that is it. I am not a party guy. My drug is windsurfing. I want to get up early for the next day with a clear mind. If you go party until midnight, the next day you feel tired and will not perform as well. My focus with equipment is having speed with my boards. Speed is the key for me. If you have speed after a trick on the wave you are ready to set up for the next move. With more speed you go higher also. I have amazing equipment with the lightest accessories. The way my boards and sails are rigged make the sailing easier. I develop the best boards for every location and type of conditions. Already for Hawaii I have my favourite boards. I focused a lot on developing them and I also worked a lot on the fins with MFC.
I stay focused by listening to music while I am competing. On a competition day I like to test the conditions before I compete. It makes me more relaxed if I have tested different boards and know what setup is best for the day. Every day we compete, the conditions are different. When I go to the water for my heat I am confident I am on the right set up which I think is important. We have so many options these days you need to be sure you are on the right set up.
2017 I haven’t thought about yet; I will probably do the same thing but maybe go to Cape Town or Chile for some extra training.