It´s this time of the year again. The PWA seaon is over and we would like to catch up with our riders to rewind their year and to hear what they are up to for 2018!

We start with Alessio Stillrich, who had his best PWA season ever finishing 9th for the year! Have fun reading – some quite interesting stuff in there. Stay tuned for more:-)

Let’s rewind to the start of 2017 – how are you looking back on the season? The beginning of 2017 has been amazing as I travelled to Cape Town in the beginning of January. In March it was time to fly to Maui for the photoshoot and I did enjoy hat trip so much! I learned a lot as every year such as sailing a lot in different spots and also competing. The PWA season did not start too well but I am happy everything turned out great – now I am motivated for more!

Highs and Lows? The worst part was definitely my result in Pozo. Especially since it it my home spot, it was like a smash into my face. Fortunately the best part came shortly after that as I managed to get my best result to date in the PWA stop on Tenerife. This helped me a lot to leave all the frustration and insecurity behind me and to reset my mind. From then on I realised that I can do it!

Did you do anything different in terms of training and did it make a difference? Honestly I just tried to work on my style, to be more constant and to stick a bigger percentage of all the moves. Yes definitely, I think that constancy is one of the most important factors while comepting.

What is your favourite board in your portfolio you would never toss? My absolute favorite is the 82 Grip! It is the perfect wave all-round board as it works good in on- and offshore wind plus I am able to sail it from 3.0 up to 5.0m²!

Who do you look up to and why for inspiration in windsurfing and outside of the sport? I have actually always looked up to my team mate Victor Fernandez. His high and consistent level in all kind of conditions plus his nice and friendly personality always made me look up to him. Outside the industry it is a bit more difficult to say. Maybe Cristiano Ronaldo because of his hunger for victory and the hard work he makes every day to be the best. Nevertheless I admit that his personality is improvable!

What advice would you give to young groms looking to follow in your footsteps? Some years ago my mom always told me to have a second option in case the professional career as windsurfer doesn’t work out as planned. Even if I just agreed with her on that in 50% now that I am a bit more mature and responsable I completely agree with her. I also think it is important to not create too much pressure on yourselve in the beginning, everything will come with time and experience.

Who do you credit as part of your success? I would say my motivation and the way I enjoy our sport. I never get tired of sailing and every minute on the water is pure joy for me. I think this is one of the most important things, to have fun while training and “working”. I think I also have some talent and this obviously helps, but talent is nothing without work J.

Where do you see your future in the sport/immediate and long term plans? For now I am happy to make it in to the Top 10 and I hope to be able to stay there for the rest of my career. Nevertheless my big dream is to get to the top and I will be working hard the next years to reach this goal.

Funniest moment on tour from 2017? When my car stopped working one hour before one of my heats in Tenerife. Actually it was not too funny in that moment but luckily I made it to the beach on time with a taxi.

Turns or airs? Now that I am turning better and better I would say turns! It feels absolutely amazing to nail a good turn.

Home or Hawaii? I think home is always the best, but I enjoy Maui more and more every time I go there!

Thrusters or Quads? I have always been more the Quad guy.

High boom or low boom? Low boom.

Big winds or big waves? What can I say as Pozo local – big winds of couse!

What do you expect from your winter training and what skills do you want to improve? I expect to prepare myself in the best way to be able to continue growing as windsurfer and competitor. I want to focus on bettering up my waveriding skills, my constancy and my starboartack sailing.

Finally, what are you looking forward to in 2018? I hope to have another great seaon in 2018. This year has been amazing but I guess and hope that the next one will be even better. I hope to have a lot of fun travelling, training, hooking up with my team mates, friends, seeing new places and to be successful on the PWA tour! I start the year again with a trip to Cape Town – looking forward to it already!

Thxs a lot Alessio – looking forward to meeting you in Cape Town soon!

More about Alessio:https://www.fanatic.com/de/team/alessio-stillrich/