Antoine Martin | Guadeloupe

There are some people in the water that you know are going to go for it whether it’s over mast high or only knee high and one of those people is Antoine Martin. Although he’s well known for trying many manoeuvres in all kind of conditions he tells us he’s not as fearless as most people would believe. Despite that admission, we can see that nothing stops him from windsurfing with an intensity and passion that has made him a great windsurfer.

Name: Antoine Martin
Age: 20
Nationality: born in Guadeloupe
Status: girlfriend
Where are you currently based? Guadeloupe
Sponsors: JP, Neil Pryde, MFC, Tainos, Etra, Zoo Rock Cafe, Adenfi, Adf médico dentaire, Coté Sud, H2O. Without my local sponsors I wouldn’t be here!
How many languages do you speak? Which ones? English, French, Spanish, Creole
Why are you so passionate about windsurfing? I’m from an island so I’ve always been around water so I’ve become addicted to water. I started with surf and skimboard and other water sports but my favourite sport became windsurfing.
Most visited website? (Other than Facebook!) Any site that has news about windsurfing
Three words you believe describe you: crazy, happy, I enjoy life
A phrase or motto you live by: When you have a dream, go for it.

If you were a superhero, which power would you want to have? To feel no pain.

You’re going on a windsurfing trip to a desert island, other than your windsurf gear, what 3 things do you take with you?
Surfboard, goggles/mask, girlfriend

What poster did you have on your wall growing up?
I had many posters. I had a book of double page spreads from magazines of windsurfers.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional. with whom would it be?
I like my life! I wouldn’t swap with anyone.

Who would you like to sit next to on a long haul flight? There are some kids in Guadaloupe who like windsurfing. They are so motivated and they live for it and I want to pick one of these little guys to join me to fly over to Maui.

How long have you been windsurfing? Since I was 5 years old.

Where is your favourite windsurfing spot? Guadaloupe and Maui

If you have a number on your sails, what is the significance of the number you selected? F193 – It’s my birthday.

How did you deal with the crash at Jaws when it happened? You think beforehand that if something like this happens to you you’ll never survive. You see another guy falling in Jaws but when it it’s your turn you just think ok it’s my turn. You forget everything, let everything go and super concentrate and you’re not afraid.

Who was your inspiration when you started windsurfing and why? My cousin. He was a really good sailor. He would be here if he continued windsurfing. He stopped windsurfing when he was 18 but if he continued he’d have been sponsored.

Which move are you currently trying to master?
I have many moves I’m trying. It depends on the weather. When I’m in side off conditions I try some surf moves, when I’m in Pozo I try other moves. On Maui I try many moves because it’s not my tack. I’d like to do a perfect 360.

Which spot haven’t you sailed at yet which you’d love to try? Cabo Verde. It’s one of the best waves of the world. And Marshall Islands.

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?
When I want something I give my all. 100%. I would like to stay more relaxed.

What is a typical night out? What is a typical night in?
If I stay home it’s because I’m tired and I did too much! In Maui, we just windsurf but in Guadaloupe I go to the beach or go to the waterfalls during the day and at night I’ll just hang out with friends.

I’m a big believer in…. life is what you make it.

Call me crazy but…. when I go crazy on the water, I am afraid!

My favorite place on earth is…. Guadaloupe

My parents are…. fantastic

I could never…. live without my family and my friends

I’ve always wanted to…. go windsurfing

Life is nothing without…. windsurfing

Today I will…. try my new board

The internet is…. good and bad

If I had the power I would change…. the pollution in the world

I am…. super Titoun!

Boujmaa Guilloul : Morocco

Boujmaa is well known for his infectious smile and happiness but even more so for his windsurfing skills. He is definitely not one to shy away from attempting extreme and difficult moves and this makes him one of the more interesting windsurfers to watch and photograph. Boujmaa constantly pushes the boundaries in the windsurf sport and is widely recognized as one of the more radical and innovative sailors. Here’s a little insight into Boujmaa…

The Basics:
Name: Boujmaa Guilloul
Age: (29)
Nationality: Moroccan
Status: Not Single 🙂
Where are you currently based? Essaouira Morocco
Sponsors: Starboard, Severne, Mystic
How many languages do you speak? Which ones? 4, Arabic, French, English and some Spanish
Why are you so passionate about windsurfing? I don’t know, it is what make my life the way it is, I think I am where I am right now because of it.
Most visited website? (Other than Facebook!): Windguru, Windsurfjournal, Guilloul.com
Three words that others might use to describe you: Honest, generous, simple, friendly.
A phrase or motto you live by: I lived by this, since I heard it over 10 years ago: don’t dream your life, Live your dreams.

Shallow Waters

If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
My Father, I never had a proper dinner with him.

If you were a superhero, which power would you want to have?
I don’t know, I believe with the power of unity everything is logically possible.

Favorite or most used app?
I use a lot of Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook

If you were invisible for a day what would you get up to?
No idea. I have never thought about it, but probably will do something good, or for the good of humanity, I wish I had power to remember my deepest thoughts and put them alive..

If I take a look inside your refrigerator what would I find?
Cheese, Chocolate, Veggies, Fruits.

Windsurfing

How long have you been windsurfing?
16years

Where is your favorite windsurfing spot and why?
Morocco, because it’s Home, beside that, Maui, Capverde and Australia, because this places has something unique than everywhere else I have been to.

Who was your inspiration when you started windsurfing and why?
When I started, I looked up to the boys at my friends at the local windsurf club, when started to see magazines and video, Goya was my hero, levi and Polakow as well 🙂

If you weren’t a windsurfer, what would you be doing?
At School I planed to become a language teacher and then I worked a bit a windsurf clubs back home and I thought I could be a windsurf teacher as well. But professional windsurfing is the best thing that could happen to me.

Which windsurfing move do you wish you had invented?
Triple loop.

What are you doing when you’re not windsurfing?
At home I will be surfing or spending time with friends talking stories and having tea in local coffee shops.

What kind of training do you do, be it physical or mental, to keep you in shape for windsurfing?
Road bicycle, body weight workouts, a bit of stretching. No mental workout.

Which spot haven’t you sailed at yet which you’d love to try?
California. Italy..

Deep Waters

Other than family, what do you cherish in your life and why is it so important to you?
Religion, it is where I feel kind of safe, where my mind find balance in what kind of choices I should make when it comes to important decisions.

How do you want to be remembered?
I don’t really know, I think the way I am, might mark a good memory in people’s heads.

What has been your greatest achievement outside of windsurfing?
Built a house 🙂

How do you personally define success?
I think success can be reached once we are happy with the simplest things in life, be satisfied by the least and stay optimist no matter heavy events we go trough, “overcoming the material life”

Please finish all these sentences:

I’m a big believer in….Destiny

Call me crazy but…. I am not scared to die windsurfing.

My favorite place on earth is…. On a wave

My parents are…. The best 🙂

I could never…. Smoke cigarette

I’ve always wanted to…. Try a different lifestyle than a pro windsurfer

Life is nothing without…. Love

Today I will…. Live to the fullest

The internet is…. Good and bad

If I had the power I would change…. People lives if needed.

I am…. Who I am because of who we all are.

Billbong Pipemasters 2013

It’s been a couple of days now and much has been discussed and debated but after all the reflecting on the Pipemasters’ results is said and done, no one can argue that it wasn’t an epic final day that kept us all on the edge of our seats as we watched with anticipation as to who was going to draw breath coming out of the barrels and who was going to score big or go home. Competitors got to surf a Pipeline that met up to all the expectations predicted by the swell gurus and spectators were treated to a show that exceeded all those expectations. These photos relive some of those moments from Saturday’s unforgettable Billabong Pipemasters 2013.

Aloha Classic 2013

The Aloha Classic was warmly welcomed back this year to Ho’okipa with both the AWT & PWA organizations coming together to hold a windsurfing contest that was a huge success with great conditions and exciting action. Top Pros which ranked from the AWT brackets advanced as wildcards to the PWA brackets and this saw some of the best windsurfers in the world competing against each other.

The local boys dominated with their knowledge of Ho’okipa and their strong windsurfing styles with Marcilio Browne taking out the PWA World Wave title, Levi Siver deservedly winning the Aloha Classic and Bernd Roediger taking first place in the AWT contest for the second year in a row. All three sailors call Ho’okipa their home spot and winning here, at the mecca of windsurfing, must be a very special moment and truly gratifying. We asked each of these inspirational athletes and deserving winners their thoughts about winning at Ho’okipa and their thoughts on the other winning riders. Here’s what they had to say along with some of their images from the JP Aloha Classic Maui 2013 contest:

MARCILIO BROWNE : PWA WORLD WAVE CHAMPION 2013

Sum up your initial emotions on winning the PWA World Wave Championship and your thoughts & feelings about it now that it has all sunk in…
My first emotion was a lot of happiness and relief. But not relief for winning or loosing , but more for that event being finished , as we were all so close on points it was a bit stressful for me on the last few days , i couldn’t help not thinking about it , so it felt good when it was finally over . Now i am still so happy , had a couple of relaxing but also busy days in Maui , not that much time to think about it . I was either surfing or sailing everyday and also organizing the house and all my gear for this Chile trip , so now i am writing this from the plane which is probably the first moment i’ve sat down and did nothing .

It’s been a while since the PWA were at Ho’okipa. Did it mean more to you that you won your championship at Ho’okipa, which is now your home break?
For sure , it did. The Aloha Classic was always my favorite event to watch as a kid and i always wanted to do it , so to have the title being decided on that event having the support of my friends , sponsors , dad and Caitlin on the beach was unreal , i couldn’t ask for more .

Your thoughts on Levi winning the JP Aloha Classic…
I think he is the most deserving guy to win that event by far . I was so happy that he pulled it together , sailed so well and won it . He has been one of the best Hookipa guys for over 10 years and had never won an event there before . So now he finally did it , it was meant to be ! I am very happy for him .

Your thoughts on Bernd winning the AWT Ho’okipa Contest for a second year....
It didn’t surprise me at all . Bernd rips , he is an amazing competitor , goes for it on every wave , every heat . In my opinion this year he was sailing even better than last year , so i am very stoked that he won the AWT .  

2014 is just around the corner. What are you looking forward to most about this coming new year?
Just to enjoy every trip, every event . I will keep on training and trying to improve as much as i can but my main goal is to have fun . 

LEVI SIVER – ALOHA CLASSIC WINNER 2013

Sum up your initial emotions on winning the JP Aloha Classic and your thoughts & feelings about it now that it has all sunk in…  
It feels really good and rewarding for sure.  I thoroughly enjoyed the sailing in the event and to win that way was a good sensation.  They made some good choices in the event allowing 20 minute heats gave us a real chance to express how we sail and two best go through was smart I thought.  With that format there’s a real good chance you’ll have the 4 sailors that are sailing the best that particular day make it in the final together.  I like the way they moved guys around every round too. 

Ho’okipa is your home break and it has been the mecca of windsurfing for so many years. Did winning at Ho’okipa mean more than any of your other wins?
It did for sure because I have more pressure here because people expect that from you and it can put added pressure.  I wasn’t gonna go down that street this event. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone but myself. I wanted to smile and sail with my friends and that state of mind really worked for me. 

Your thoughts on Marcilio winning the PWA World Championship…
Epic!  They diversified the tour by adding Ho’okipa and it made a wide open door. It breathed life into the tour and made a statement that everyone already knew that you can’t forget the full dimension of our sport.
Brawzino is the best all around sailor in the world right now and I know I’m not alone with that feeling.  I’ve seen him destroying Ho’okipa for years now and the footage I’ve seen of him in Pozo is ridiculous.  He earned it and deserved it and I know it inspired alot of other sailors too.     

Your thoughts on Bernd winning the AWT Ho’okipa Contest for a second year….
Bernd’s a rare breed.  You can actually see his sailing improving in the event. I’ve never seen that happen before.  He took  his sailing to the next level last year in the event and he did it again this year.  He also has a different style then anything I’ve seen before it’s really his own. To watch the birth and rise of another great form of wavesailing get’s me excited to keep pushing my sailing.      

2014 is just around the corner. What are you looking forward to most about this coming new year?
I wanna go ride epic perfect waves and get more inspired! I really wanna make another movie about exploring the untouched places out there.  I like the process of having a vision on paper then going out there and trying to make it happen with a few surprises along the way. 

BERND ROEDIGER – AWT WINNER 2012 & 2013

Sum up your initial emotions on winning the the AWT at Ho’okipa for a second year in a row and your thoughts & feelings about it now that it has all sunk in…
Yikes, that’s a lot of summing! There are so many emotions from shock to joy to pride to plain old fashion dumbfoundedness! Is that a word?.. No, mom says no it’s not, but you get the idea. It doesn’t really sink in until the next day you go out windsurfing and you realize just what happened last time you touched the sand here. That’s when a whole other host of emotions come flooding in. That happy/sad you get when you think back to the very first time you ever dreamed of this, and every time you’ve dreamed of it since… that you spent one day in that dream, and in one day that dream disappeared from your life. The truth is that victory isn’t happiness; victory, I think, is the last glorious death of happiness. It’s the dreams that keep you alive, that get you up every morning, that take life beyond little superficial things like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.

Ho’okipa is your home break and it has been the mecca of windsurfing for so many years. Did winning at Ho’okipa mean more than any of your other wins?
For sure! I mean I’ve been windsurfing there since I was like eight years old! Dedicating day after day to that place, and to windsurfing. So to be able to win there for sure validates the obsession!

Your thoughts on Marcilio winning the PWA World Championship…
Obviously stoked for Brawzinho! That guy works so hard, trying to balance between being one of the best Hookipa riders out there today and training for those onshore PWA conditions. This year he achieved that perfect balance, showing all of us how amazing he can be in the onshore conditions by winning Klitmoller, and then making it to the man on man finals at Hookipa. He really tied together the two opposite poles of wavesailing, becoming the ultimate best windsurfer in the world.

Your thoughts on Levi winning the JP Aloha Classic…
Justice. Levi has waited so long for it. Years of pushing himself, his sport, to the next level of windsurfing. Breaking new ground for us every single time he sets foot in the water, but never setting foot on that top podium. I can’t imagine how that would feel, to have something like that eating away at your for so long. To finally be free of it, for good, to be able to finally see tangible validation for such a long fought war, justice!

2014 is just around the corner. What are you looking forward to most about this coming new year?
I really have no idea! I guess I’ve been lucky with the fact that no one has come through and structured my career into a set of goals or a list of jobs to do. Right now I can’t see my future in a straight line, but as a huge universe that’s expanding all around me. Every person I meet, every new place I go, my world gets a little bigger, a new location emerges on my map! Next year, I hope to be somewhere I had no idea existed, with new faces around me, absorbing every new experience like a sponge!

MANY THANKS TO MARCILIO, LEVI AND BERND FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS AND CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN ON YOUR WINS!

A Day in the Life of Victor Fernandez Lopez : E42, Spain

While we were in Maui we had the opportunity to document a day in the life of one of the current top windsurfers, Victor Fernandez Lopez. Here’s what he got up to!

Victor kick starts the day off with a healthy breakfast before checking out the day’s forecast and replying to emails.

Last year Victor stayed in the rain forest area of Haiku which is on the North Shore of Maui and only a few minutes drive from Ho’okipa. A quick gear check and a short drive to our next stop.

Unfortunately for Victor he had an ankle injury from the Sylt competition which he was still having treatment for in Maui with Sam from Deep Relief. Deep Relief has a solid reputation for their work and is well known for their effective treatment especially amongst the athlete community. Let’s hope you’ll never need to visit Sam but in case you do here’s the website! http://www.deepreliefmaui.com

After being KT taped for some extra support for his windsurfing session later in the day, Sam gives Victor a few exercises for his ankle.

Next stop, COFFEE! Baked on Maui is a great little coffee shop at The Cannery in Haiku and they serve some the most tasty pastries you can find on the North shore! You’ll often find many of the local windsurfers and surfers stopping off here. Victor has a few more errands before getting to Ho’okipa including picking up some MFC Fins which is also at The Cannery. MFC Fins are hugely popular with professional windsurfers and they also have a great range of SUP fins. For more info check out the website. http://www.mauifin.com/

We then head on upstairs for his first meeting with two of Positive H2O’s founding members, Pascal Bronniman & Jake Miller. Positive H2O is a movement for clean water that brings together a community of athletes, conservationists, non-profits and companies, which help to facilitate local solutions on a global scale. Their mission statement reads “we promote a lifestyle that is healthy, conscious, creative and in harmony with the environment. Having clean oceans and access to clean drinking water and sanitation for people in need are at the top of Positive H2O’s priorities.” Victor is one of H2Os team riders. Take a moment to check out their website and feel free to contact Pascal or Jake to see how you can help http://www.positiveh2o.com

We haven’t quite left The Cannery yet! We get a sneak peak at one of Victor’s new boards! Victor’s custom board is shaped by his Fanatic shaper, Sebastian Wenzel, and then these boards along with Victor’s feedback provide the basis of next year’s production boards for Fanatic.

After all errands are run it’s off to Ho’okipa for one of Victor’s last sessions while he was on Maui last year. Here are a few shots of Victor rigging up at Ho’okipa, adding his new +H2O sticker to his sail and setting up his Go Pro!

Many thanks to Victor for letting us follow him and also for putting up with my camera being stuck in his face for most of the day!

Most of the photos below were shot on this same day with the exception of a 2 or 3 which we thought were worth posting too!