TEACHER
Right now we are launching the Maui Experience Camp. The first one is with Brawzinho and myself and lasts a week. We are basically doing our normal training program but sharing it with others. We will share our experience, knowledge and use visualisation through filming to pass on all the tricks and tips that we have learned throughout our careers. I have been training guys for a few years now. It has been very rewarding. Actually before I was a pro windsurfer my parents had windsurfing camps, so I grew up teaching windsurfing before I was a pro windsurfer. So for me, teaching does come naturally and I feel like there is a missing component in windsurfing. If you look at surfing, the best guys in the world, the guys that are at the very top, all have trainers and coaches. They are being filmed and they are breaking down their surfing through footage and they are getting feedback on how to enhance their performance. There is a lot of emphasis on equipment in windsurfing, people focus on their gear but not their technique. You can have the best gear in the world but if you are not using it right then you can go years without progressing!
I thought it would be cool to build a camp in Maui that is really focussed, where we bring guys in and build a foundation for their wave riding where they can increase their performance level in a shorter period of time. At the moment most of our clients are sailors that are in love with windsurfing. Just windsurfers that want to maximise their enjoyment of the sport. It is fun for them but also we love it too. We have a lot of knowledge to pass on. It can be a very inward experience being a pro windsurfer, but when you share that knowledge and experience that we have been collecting for decades and you see it come to life in another rider, that is very satisfying. It completes the circle for me. It’s a journey, I like that part of it.
I enjoy helping people improve and in the summer there are not a lot of events that I am interested in, so it helps fill out my year well. There are PWA events in Gran Canaria but I am not doing those anymore. The camps are a great way to bring something cool to the table in windsurfing. It is not just family men and doctors on our courses, I would like to work with up and coming kids and even pro windsurfers. There is a huge range of people we can work with. I go windsurf with Brawzinho and I am still asking him techniques on jumping. I have been windsurfing since I was a teenager and I still continue to learn so much, it doesn’t matter what your level is, you can always learn more. We are a bouncing board to sound your ideas off and with our filming we believe we can pass on a lot of knowledge and help guys reach the next level.