CRAIG GERTENBACH
“Keeping motivated is fairly easy, I just go windsurfing as often as possible, on almost every holiday, many weekends and test trips. This already makes me want to improve the products that I use, or that my kids, wife, team riders, friends and windsurf centres I visit use. Being in touch with your products and end users is the key to actually knowing their strengths and weaknesses. And the motivation comes automatically then to me, as I´m a fairly competitive person in whatever I do. I don´t like to lose and I love to see our riders or customers enjoying our products. Hearing that we have extended an older windsurfer’s career who wanted to stop, by developing the super easy to use Gecko, gives me as much motivation as seeing our team riders winning World Championships. I think that is also something I have learnt over the years to appreciate, that windsurfing is not only about wave sailing or slalom at the highest level – the older I get, the more I really enjoy each sailing session, regardless of the equipment I use, conditions or the location.
Working at a brand with such a rich history “since 81” here at Fanatic, is also quite a responsibility, customers see us as an icon in the industry, especially in terms of constructions and quality – so we don`t take that lightly and feel the pressure to constantly innovate, improve and offer the best service. Our forum is a great way to not only gain input from our customers and interact, but also is perfect for getting motivated, as customers often leave a message about products they have finally bought and positively tested, based on our input – that is a great motivator as it underlines our competence in giving the right advice on the right products. Lastly being part of a perfect team is the best motivation, working and sailing together with the younger generation of Klaas Voget and Daniel Aeberli, keeping Sebastian, myself and Karin fully motivated!”
Being part of a perfect team is the best motivation.