BEGINNINGS
My first ever event was in Austria, I think back in 2002. Josh Stone was looking after me. He saw me sailing in Margarita a while before and told me I should come to some events. I came out to Maui where he helped me and then my next step was Austria where he helped me to get a wild card. I was really light so I could plane all the time even though there wasn’t much wind. There wasn’t enough wind to compete but while we were training I sailed really well and Martin Brander spotted me. I was already riding JP and NeilPryde and, after Martin saw me, he invited me to Maui for their photo shoot. I was lucky enough to get my first contract and he paid my ticket to Maui. After that I was on the team and my career started. I was pretty happy, I’d asked permission for my school to take off for two weeks and I came back three months later. It was a real opportunity at the time. I ended up winning three freestyle World Titles and one Vice World Championship.