YOUNG GUN STEPS UP
Nik’s windsurfing hero has always Robby Naish and ironically one of the big steps in Baker’s career was when he beat Robby at Ho’okipa wearing booties and a waist harness!
NB: I think I was eighteen at the time. It was my second Aloha Classic competition. I had just signed for Mistral and Rushwind. My boards were made by Robby’s dad and at the time I got on well with Robby. He was obviously a great guy, but at the same time he is also the most amazingly competitive person there is. Even to this day whether he hides it or not he is probably the fiercest competitor that you will ever know. He really is! I had the heat of my life at that stage of my career; he probably had the worst heat of his life! Anyway I beat him at Ho’okipa. I mean back then he never lost! Not only did he not lose, he wasn’t used to it and he didn’t like it if he did lose! At the time he was pretty used to winning. He certainly wasn’t handed all of his victories, he worked hard at it and he thrived off of that.
