Svein Rasmussen
“Growing up in the historical town of Arendal on the south coast of Norway, I was having fun with skiing, delivering newspapers, kicking a bit of butt with karate and relaxing with meditation. The first time I saw a pic. of Matt Schweitzer in the National Geographic kid’s magazine, which my father subscribed to for me, my fate was sealed though. I was windsurfing up to 10 hours a day, I started racing and spent 15 years backpacking the globe with up to 30 events a year and 350 kg of checked in luggage. Windsurfing was my life and I learned how to lose with a smile and congratulate the winners.
I learned that hard work and good planning leads to luck and that giving is way better than receiving. Those simple pillars were good to have the day Starboard was born and we wanted to reshape the future of windsurfing with the support of a strong team. I learned how wonderful our planet is and now see how the beauty is disappearing faster than ever. My work these days is a lot a lot about planning on how our team and all of us water people can come together and work for the protection of the oceans.
What I learned in windsurfing and later on in the windsurfing industry is what I will utilise in the next chapter. Working for the future generations to give them a chance to enjoy the water and the planet the way we have. Look at people like Captain Paul Watson, Cyril Gutsch, Kelly Slater, Nicolas Hulot, Thor Heyerdahl, Emily Watson and so on; they are inspiring characters changing lives every day. We have a cool opportunity ahead and thanks to windsurfing I am able to participate!”
“Since I first planed across Brogborough Lake on a Chapter 295, my whole life has been shaped by the sport. My choice of university was purely based on sailing conditions and the yacht design course was the closest thing I could find to studying windsurfing. Since then I followed the windsurf path, which has led me to all corners of the earth, tasting life in different ways, introducing me to friends from every continent of the world (except Antarctica). Probably most importantly, through windsurfing, I met my wife, and through windsurfing we continued to travel the world and share amazing experiences. Finally with 2 kids to feed and clothe, windsurfing has given me my dream job at RRD designing sails. Best of all, and perhaps most surprising, is that I still love the sport with the same passion as when I first started. Whether it’s burning around on slalom gear and a GPS, trying to break my ankles crashing freestyle moves or smacking lips on a wave board, every different aspect keeps me motivated like those first sessions on the lake. That is why windsurfing matters to me!”