You need to stop at your peak. Once you're 31,
32, you're old. From what I'm seeing and what
I'm experiencing myself, I think the most important
in sports is like the longevity. If you can stretch
your career, why not? Today we have the pleasure
of welcoming Sarakita Ofringa, a world champion
windsurfer, passionate athlete, and proud Arubian.
who's made waves across the globe the the scariest
i've done was competing in fiji i was shaking
on the board i looked at the photos and i was
like oh there was like a monster behind me she's
earned an incredible 22 world titles i gotta
update my website it's 25 titles I think I have
this like worry of falling into an abyss of nothingness
if I'm not competing anymore. Because I'm such
a competitive person and it really drives me.
But for Sarikita, windsurfing is more than a
sport. It's a lifestyle. There's never really
a break. Like I'm always chasing the wind. It's
been an amazing time. Today we had Aruba experience.
The Patrona here definitely embraced us and gave
us this amazing opportunity to record something
in an authentic UNESCO -type building here in
Aruba, giving you a true Arubian experience.
See you guys in the next vlog. See you guys in
the next one. Have a blessed time, blessed day.
Big ups one more time to Aruba Experience and
the whole staff here. Susan, Susanette, thanks
again for hosting us and having some of the best
lunches out here, man. That chicken breast was,
you know. Signing out. Bless. Welcome, Sadakita.
Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.
How are you? Good. I got to update my website.
It's 25 titles. See, even the website can't keep
up. that's my own fault i gotta go and update
that one yeah yeah yeah so 20 25 titles and we
in 2025 so when did you win the first title i
won my first world title when i was uh i either
i think 17 or 18 i don't remember but it was
in 2008 2008 okay so 17 years ago yeah but i
think After a few years, I started winning double
titles. So for two disciplines. And last year
was the first time that I won all three disciplines
in one year. Oh, wow. So that way I accumulated
more titles than the amount of years that I've
been competing. Awesome. So if we're looking
in the crystal ball of today. I know they always
say you can't ask a lady her age, but I always
do. So you're 33 right now? Yeah, I'm 33 now.
I'll turn 34 in a few months. Okay. And what
is life like today at 33? It's a lot of fun,
I would say. It's exactly what I want to be doing.
If you would have asked me 10 years ago, what
I'm doing right now is exactly what I want. would
have wanted to be doing. So I'm traveling a lot
for competition. I travel a lot to train as well
in different locations to find the right conditions
for certain competitions. I have photo shoots
for different sponsors in different locations.
And I have some cool collaborations during the
year also with, you know, my sponsors or brands
or even... here on the island. And I feel like
with projects like that, you meet really cool
people as well, also in different areas. So I
think just in general, it's very diverse, all
the things that I get to experience. Yeah, because
is it Enya? Yeah, Enya and Seyta are my local
sponsors here in Aruba now. Okay, because I think
I've seen multiple Enya billboards since I came
on the island. Yeah, the billboards are cool.
Awesome, awesome. So those, could you break down
a bit more of those different elements of the
sport? What exactly does that mean? uh yeah so
my my year basically revolves around training
for the world tour and this it's called the pwa
and there's different disciplines on that tour
and you go to different competitions different
countries and at the end of the year you are
the the one that earns the most points wins the
world title so kind of like how the formula one
is that it goes to different places uh around
the world yeah and what are some of the locations
that you go to then if since i'm 14, I've been
traveling to the Canary Islands. So that's like
a staple on tour. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura,
Tenerife, Lanzarote. That's always in July. So
I've been going there for the past 17 years.
I just came back from Chile. The end of the year
usually ends in Hawaii. I've been going to Germany
for a long time, Denmark. So windsurfing in Germany
as well? Yeah, in the northern part of Germany.
It's really close to Denmark. The Hamburg area?
You drive past Hamburg. It's another two hours
further up north. And then you take a ferry.
It's an island. It's called Zült. And it's an
island off the coast. But that's in the summer
then. that's in september october which is usually
when the the autumn storms start in europe okay
yeah isn't the water a bit cold it's very cold
it's not in terms of temperature is not my favorite
event yeah i can imagine yeah but it puts me
out of my comfort zone and i think every single
time i'm done competing there i feel like i overcame
something you know so i'm very satisfied after
that event so yeah and other places i've competed
here in aruba before the last world cup we had
here was in 2011 that's a long time ago bonair
was pretty recent still and um yeah where else
yeah every some Usually the year looks the same,
but every so often there's a new location. And
for me, this year was Chile. So when you mentioned
that you won in all three categories, that was
in 24 or in 25? Last year in 2024, I won. And
what are those three categories? So on the PWA,
you have racing, slalom. which is, there's a
starting line, there's four marks, and when the
green flag goes up, the first one that rounds
all the marks and finishes, you win that race,
basically. And then after a set amount of races,
they check the points, and then you win that
contest. And then there's freestyling, which
is what I started in, which is doing tricks with
your board and your sail. You don't need any
waves, it's flat water. That's actually the first
title that I won in 2008. um and they judge you
on the difficulty of the moves how well you perform
them and it's in a you have like a square box
so you need to perform perform the moves in that
square which are there like buoys and yeah there's
four buoys in the water there's a judging tower
there's a panel and they they all give you points
for all the moves you score so there's a maximum
of you need to do four moves on each tack basically
and then they score you on that which is pretty
stressful because you only have like seven minutes
to perform eight moves which It really requires
a lot of training to be able to do that. And
then the latest discipline I got into is wave
sailing, which is not apparent because in Aruba
you really don't have that many waves. So it
took me quite some years to progress in that.
I had to spend more time away from home, traveling
to Cape Town, Australia, which are awesome places,
but I sacrificed time at home, I would say. There,
they score you on the way you surf the wave.
And in some locations, you also get scored on
jumps. So it's super diverse, this whole tour.
So was that then the last one that... Because
you meant... Maybe it was off -camera. You mentioned
that you've won... the single, and then you've
been winning double. Yeah. And now you just won
a triple. Yes. So that last one was the third?
The waves, yeah. So I started out freestyling,
and I won a couple of titles with freestyle,
maybe I think like five or six. Then at some
point, I was like, okay, you know, I want to
keep... um challenging myself so i moved over
to slalom because a lot of times these contests
are coming together right so after the freestyle
contest the slalom contest starts so i was there
watching them racing and i got excited about
that so i started practicing that so i won that
the freestyle and the slalom title i won it four
or five times in a row like in the same year
um and then after i won the slalom title a couple
of couple of times i moved into wave sailing
to just keep challenging myself And that title
I won for the first time in 2019. Okay. And after
that... So at some point I was doing a little
bit too much because I'm the only athlete that
competes in all three disciplines on the tour.
I think most athletes on tour, they only stick
to one discipline, let alone two, let alone three.
So can I ask, where does that come from? Is that
a bit of the island thing where we tend to be
a bit more of a jack of all trades rather than...
only specializing in one area i wonder if it
is and the thing is if you look at the tour the
people that are better at more disciplines are
from the caribbean like the boys from bonair
they're really good at at racing and freestyling
for example yeah um so i yeah i think you you
may be right maybe it's a thing from here that
we just like to do a little bit of everything
yeah But it's also just a lot of fun. I can't
see myself sticking to one discipline. I think
the sport itself, it offers so much fun in all
the different disciplines. And I go to so many
different places depending on the discipline.
And I just don't want to miss out on all of that.
Might as well do it all. You're just experiencing
life to the fullest. Yeah, if I can. Awesome.
So let's maybe tap into a bit. We're talking
about all the titles, and the titles is that
big moment where the champagne pops and the cameras
flash. But what is your life like then, let's
say, during training times? And what sort of
mindset did you need to develop to be able to
compete at this level for so long? I basically
compete like half a year. Like the season runs
from May till November, I would say. And then
from November till May, I kind of have off -season.
Okay. But it doesn't mean that I'm... Like in
off -season, if the tour finishes, I have this
dip. So I tend to not winter for maybe two weeks,
even up to a month at some point. But then you
kind of just pick it up again. And then the off
-season is the time that I actually try to find
the best places around the world to... to train
like I travel there to train in different conditions
because every country every location has their
wind season in the Caribbean it's from it runs
from December till July maybe and then from July
to November it's hurricane season so there's
no wind in the Caribbean yeah so i always need
to find the best places um for that so actually
what i'm trying to say is actually it feels like
there's no there's never really a break like
i'm always chasing the wind um chasing the wind
yeah but i think the good thing about it is i
think i think i can call windsurfing my job but
at the same time it's still my biggest passion
you know so if i'm chasing the wind it's because
i i want to it's not like oh it's a job i have
to go to this place to to train it's your career
A career is different than a job. Oh, career,
yeah. Actually, it's a good way of putting it.
A career is different than a job. Yeah. But then
even above that, I feel like it's just my passion
also, you know? So I'm lucky that I can make
it a career, I would say. So yeah, I go to these
places to train. So it doesn't feel like there's
any break actually, but I don't really need it
either. I just want to keep on going. I think...
The changes that I've made since I'm younger
is that I try to take care of myself a little
bit more. Traveling is pretty difficult to maintain
yourself, I think, to have routines. I still
struggle with that. But I make sure that I go
to the gym more frequently or at least on a consistent
basis, even if I'm traveling. I try to eat better,
not eat out all the time. So those are changes
that I've made now, for example, physically at
least. I've also learned over the years to take
time to come back home, I would say. Because
in the beginning, I was so excited about traveling
or I felt like I couldn't go home because it
was expensive, this and that. But in the end,
it recharges you more to come back. Mentally,
most importantly. Just to come home and... throw
your luggage down and your mom makes a dinner
for you or you know you don't have to take care
of everything all the time then yeah yeah i've
learned that also over the years that even if
it's four or five six days a week it's always
worth it to come back home for a little bit so
yeah nice um so you just mentioned about uh about
passion that that that this is your passion and
it's something that you started from uh in in
your teenage years, basically, and continued
on throughout your life. How would you, so if
we switch from passion now to purpose, how would
you feel that you're connected to the purpose,
to your purpose in life? Hey, good question.
Deep question. How I'm connected to my purpose
in life. Is it possible to say that I'm still
looking for it or am I doing it? That's possible.
If you feel that you're still searching for it
or you're chasing the wind and figuring out where
that pebble in the wind lands. I think... In
my mind, I feel like it's never enough. I've
done a lot with windsurfing and I've achieved
a lot. I mean, 25 world titles sounds like a
lot. Yeah, but then still somewhere in the back
of my mind, I feel like I'm still searching for
what it is I'm doing. What else is there to achieve
then within the sport other than more titles?
For me, in the beginning, it's... I want to win
a title. It says you're the best in the world.
But then, for example, my title that I won in
2008 in freestyle compared to the title that
I won last year in freestyle, I can't even compare.
I'm so much better now than I was then. So then
I realized after a couple of titles, actually
what I'm chasing is the progress in the sport,
getting better at the sport itself. Yeah. So
more the journey element of it rather than the
finale. Yeah, and that's the fun part. The title
is not the end. You wake up the next day and
life goes on, you know? You have a title in the
bag, but next year you're competing. You're back
at square one. So then I've learned very quickly
that it's the progress and getting better at
it because it just becomes more fun to master
your craft, I would say. And that's why I also
develop myself in different disciplines because
it kind of opens up your mind. every discipline
has different gear. So you need to set them up
in different ways. There's different conditions.
So with wave sailing, I had to learn to read
a wave, for example. Like I would... go down
the line and the wave is breaking behind me,
for example. So I didn't have a clue about that.
And for me, it's really fun now to look back
and see how much I've learned since then. Can
I say something funny? With my whole ignorance
of the sport and the topic, I just had to think
about Moana for some reason. What did you say?
You had to learn to read the wave. So could you
maybe break that down a bit more? What does that
mean, read the wave? because when you compete
or even when you're sailing itself you want to
hit the wave in the most critical section which
is right before it's breaking if you go any further
it's it's called the shoulder so the wave is
pretty round and there's no um uh how do you
say that there's no there's no risk on the shoulder
so you kind of you can be like Messing around
down there, but the real action is happening
behind you. So when you're free sailing yourself,
you also notice that part of the wave has much
more power. It has much more satisfaction to
hit that end section, for example. And yeah,
the waves are different around the world. So
I think when I was competing in Germany, when
I just started out wave sailing, I had no clue
about the spot. And apparently there was like
a dike. With rocks? Shit, it was a dyke again.
Not a valley. Anyways, we'll translate that.
Yeah, a dyke. Just rocks. And I just remember
I was so focused on a wave. And the next moment
I was... On top of this lake full of rocks, broke
my fins, broke my board. Oh, damn. And then I
realized later the wave is only breaking there
because it's very shallow, you know? So these
are things that you learn along the way. Yeah,
yeah. Or to not panic when the wave in Hawaii,
the first time I sailed in like five, six meter
waves, I was held down pretty long. Yeah. And
I feel like I kind of, back then it used to scare
me. Now I'm so much better at it, you know? So
it's, yeah. Because in general, the waves in
Hawaii are way bigger. Bigger and stronger, most
importantly. Now in Chile, it was also pretty
big. The scariest I've done was competing in
Fiji, which was two years ago. Biggest wave of
my life. And I was shaking on the board. How
big was the wave? Taller than, yeah, six meters,
I think. Wow. Which it's hard to imagine. But
then when you see the photos or you see it. Anyway,
what I thought myself was to not look back on
that wave. So I looked at the photos and I was
like, oh, there was like a monster behind me.
Can you send us the photos? Yeah, I can send
you those photos. But for me, that's like a total
highlight to do something like that, especially
coming from here. Like I never would have thought
I would have done that. Yeah. But to come back
to the purpose part, like what I said before
is like first were the titles, then the progress.
Then now what I'm experiencing is that it's really
great to share all the knowledge that I have
as well. So I feel like I'm finding some purpose
and satisfaction in that as well. I love teaching
kids, giving them that experience on the water
because it's not just a sport, but the whole
experience being at the beach, learning how to
manage your sail while the wind is blowing into
it. Like you can't wrestle it. You have to like
go with it. Go with the flow. Yeah. And so it's
really nice to see kids do that because the sport
is pretty like. A six -year -old kid can do it.
It looks maybe very difficult, but in the end,
it's about balancing everything. So yeah, the
sharing the knowledge part is something that
I'm enjoying now also a lot. Awesome. Yeah. So
talking about kids, let's go back to... I'm going
to do some quick maths here. 91? Yeah, born in
91. Oh, cool. I have a niece born in 91. So 91,
growing up in the 90s in Aruba, what was that
like for a young Sarakita? In the 90s? It's hard
to go back. I think I had a good time. I grew
up with my brother. He's three years older than
I am. Like I said, we always did a lot of sports.
I think my parents were super supportive of Quincy
and me. We had the... possibility of trying everything
and anything we liked instruments sports so whatever
he was interested in i mean there were some rules
of course like if you wanted to do something
we'd have to do it we'd have to do it for a year
or something and they were pretty strict with
that but i i kind of like the approach of just
seeing what we liked you know um and in a sense
i actually followed my brothers in my brother
into a lot of sports like running tennis windsurfing
quincy was the one that was he picked it up so
much quicker than i did um so i always had someone
to look up to um and other than that yeah what
i really liked also where we lived we can always
be out in the street biking uh yeah Not so much
technology, I would say. He still was way more
of an outside kid. A lot of outdoors, yeah. I
think we had a good time, yeah. So what does
Quincy think now about his little sister with
25 world titles? I don't know, I should ask him.
But in a sense, he's still kind of my coach.
He's a man of little words, I would say. But
we have an understanding. For example, this last
year... sometimes he tells me congrats but I
think the last contest where I didn't perform
so well was in Tenerife and I finished fourth
or something which was okay but like he hadn't
written me about the event well he called me
about the event before but it was quite quiet
for a few days and then I get a phone call and
he's like hey you should have probably done better
there or like he was like telling me all the
points where I should have done better or improve
on And I kind of like the straightforward feedback
because he's such a knowledgeable windsurfer
also. So he still windsurfs a lot? He windsurfs
less now. He has a family and everything. We
go kitesurfing together a lot. He finished 10th
in the world because we were traveling together.
So I think somewhere in 2010, he was ranked 10th
in the world. I didn't know that. So yeah, I
trust my brother's judgment a lot. It's good
to have a person like that. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
For sure. Awesome. So then we enter in the teen
years, which is more the 2000s. What was that
like for you? Starting to develop in the sport
more while simultaneously, I'm assuming, but
you can correct me if I'm wrong, having more
of a regular school life here in Aruba. I was
very busy with sports all the time. I swam competitively
from 9 till about 16 or till 17 years old. And
that was actually my main sport until I was 17.
So swimming, tennis and windsurfing is what I
did. So swimming kept me pretty busy, I would
say. That was like the main thing. And then for
school, I feel like... I didn't have a hard time
with school. I would pass my test relatively
easily. So yeah, I managed to combine school
and windsurfing and all the other sports that
I did. Having said that, I did my first World
Cup when I was 12 and I finished fifth in windsurfing.
And then when I was 14, I finished third in the
world, kind of. Even so, it still didn't take
over the windsurfing part. I already got my sponsors
when I was 14. But all the way through high school...
i i was still swimming competitively you know
but i think um so just all around uh athlete
athlete yeah maybe but i think what i got lucky
with here in aruba is that we have such good
conditions so even though i wouldn't windsurf
during the week i could winter every single weekend
compared to someone living in europe yeah they'd
have to take a break in the winter time true
whereas here we could spend so many hours so
yeah and i think all those different sports also
added to the windsurfing because you Get awareness
of your body. And the swimming definitely helps
you to be very familiar with the water. I think
that's the best thing that's happened to me.
Yeah, I'm super comfortable in the water. So
I'm very grateful for my swimming career. And
then as you're wrapping up high school, you mentioned
that you studied in Holland as well. Yeah. What
did you study? I studied science and innovation
management in Utrecht. Why the choice for that?
To be very honest, I was very late to find my
study. I think I was already so wrapped up in
windsurfing that I was already doing what I wanted
to do. So then the studies, I passed my test
and everything. And I took a sabbatical. I had
one year off. So I just windsurfed all year long.
And then somewhere in May, I had to decide what
I wanted to study in August. So I just chose
some of the courses that I was good at, I would
say. And that's just how it happened. And then
you did... So it was a habeo? No, I went to university.
I got my bachelor's degree. Bachelor in science.
So that was in three years? Yeah. So you went
to VWO here then? Yeah, I did VWO here. Took
a year off, then went to Holland to study. I
think what I got lucky with is that I actually
like to study. I don't mind sitting down for
hours. reading reading a text you know so i think
yeah that helped me also but but anything of
of let's say that diploma has has it been put
into work in your career since you know the the
thing with windsurfing is that i don't i don't
have a coach i don't have a manager i i am i'm
managing everything myself and along the way
you learn how to do that but i think studying
has helped me to get better at that quicker,
you know? Just the fact that I had to write papers,
that I had to work together in groups, that I
had this schedule. So that discipline kind of
also helped for my windsurfing life afterwards,
I would say. And I guess it gives you this a
bit of comfort knowing that you have a diploma
in your pocket. I'm pretty sure I'm not going
to use it, but I think the whole experience of...
Being in Holland, regardless of the studies actually,
just managing yourself away from the island,
that was a whole thing. And I still think that's
the most important experience I've had in my
life, just to move away to Holland. To be on
your own for that amount of time and then learn
how to be fully on your own. Exactly. That helped
to give you the confidence of traveling anywhere
in the world and being on your own. Yeah. I mean,
the organization part and stuff like you, you
know, here in Aruba, I had my parents that would
take me to the airport, pick me up. In the beginning,
they were organizing accommodation and stuff.
Then I moved to the Netherlands and all of a
sudden you get to decide everything. So I kind
of planned my year that I would make sure to
pass all of my tests so I didn't have to do any
redos. So then I would have two weeks off and
then I would always find the windiest spot in
the world, book a ticket there. Rent a car, take
myself and my gear to the airport, check it in,
find a place to stay in those places. So again,
the sport was also part of the motivation to
pass immediately. Yeah, very much. To not have
any delays. Yeah, yeah. To not have any excuses
not to be able to go and do your sport. Yeah,
exactly, exactly. Awesome. So we kind of touched
on it earlier. But how would you say your Caribbean
roots have influenced your athletic career? Yeah,
I was thinking about that for a bit. I mean,
probably everyone would answer the same thing.
I'm not sure. But I think just being from Aruba
or being from the Caribbean, it's like... multicultural
melting pot um you meet so many people from different
backgrounds we grow up speaking at least three
languages you learn another two at school um
so i feel like you're kind of open to other cultures
and other people yeah and i think i don't know
but i think it kind of helped me while i was
traveling going to going to new places like i
didn't i don't have a language barrier very often
even if i don't speak something fluently i can
communicate which i think for me is the most
important in my travels to be able to because
you also speak spanish yeah spanish and french
portuguese at some point portuguese damn how
many languages yeah like a like four fluent i
would say and then two more or three more that
i can communicate at least awesome so yeah for
me the language thing is a big thing like well
during travels um and i think coming from here
you're also kind of laid back i mean everyone
has their different their own personality and
stuff um i'm definitely a bit more laid back
and i'll see what happens like i'm not super
organized and like i don't need to control everything
i would say yeah um but still coming from the
caribbean so maybe i wouldn't necessarily maybe
Even though we don't know each other that well,
but I wouldn't necessarily say you're not organized
because based on everything you said so far,
it seems like you're pretty organized. But it's
more about being so strict on all the little
details that you allow room to flow. Almost the
opposite, I would say. I think I'm so flexible
that whatever happens, I'll just adapt to that
kind of. Okay. So I very often leave. I think
I plan what I need to plan that I know needs
to be done. But there's a couple of things that
I know other people would be like, I need to
know. Such as? I could fly to a place a day before
and not have accommodation sorted, for example.
And other people would be like, I need to know
where to sleep or I need to know that I can rent
a car tomorrow. But I've experienced so many
things at some point that I feel like it kind
of works out. You know some people in some places.
I message the right people to know that things
will be okay, kind of. I don't know how to explain
it exactly. I know exactly what you mean. Actually,
a few weeks ago, I happened to have to go to
Curacao. And I was so busy with work, everything
before my flight that I didn't have a moment
to book the place to stay. I needed a car. I
didn't have a moment to look at the cars, etc.
And then while I was on the plane, I just got
the Wi -Fi and I started looking with the terrible
internet in the sky. I booked an accommodation.
Then the guy messages me on booking .com because
it was kind of like a guest house. Then he asked
me if I have a car. I said, no, I don't have
a car yet. He's like, oh, you want any recommendations?
Sure. He sends me two links. I add the guy on
WhatsApp. Say, hey, I need a car. He's like,
okay, I'll meet you at the airport. So book everything
on the flight over. Exactly that. Yeah. Things
like that. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like things just
fall into place. Yeah. So that's a bit of that
mellowness and komt goed vibe of the Caribbean
roots. Awesome. So now you already mentioned
that your brother has played and still plays
a significant role in sort of being that knowledgeable
person in your life that you can turn to and
ask for advice or would give you advice, coaching,
etc. You could expand more on the role that your
brother has played, but also others throughout
your journey from a mentorship perspective. So
who has been mentors in your life? I think it
was my family as a whole. We're a small family.
My dad, my mom, my brother and I. And this whole
windsurfing journey, we started it together.
So the first World Cups kind of that we went
to, we went there together. First hand, I learned
from my parents what it takes to travel to these
places. Like I said, booking the tickets, getting
accommodation, car. What I really liked from
my parents also is that they wouldn't just leave
us at the windsurfing spot. They would actually
also take us around to visit the island, you
know? Oh, yeah. You can get really caught up
in the sport and staying on that beach. Yeah.
And then you leave and you're like, what did
I see of the place, you know? Yeah, exactly.
What did I explore? Yeah, I think my parents
really instilled that in my brother and I. And
then Quincy... he's a super skilled windsurfer
and there are things that you like for example
if we're teaching I will still say that Quincy
is a better teacher than I am you know he's better
at explaining certain techniques and keeping
it simple I would say and that's he does the
same for me there's Yeah, just technique, my
stance or certain conditions. He sometimes points
things out that maybe I didn't think about. And
I feel like there's a good feedback between the
two of us. And he's been to many places that
I'm still competing at. So he knows exactly where
I'm at and what I'm dealing with. Besides that...
I started the tour so young I was 13 14 years
old but I think I was not inquisitive but I was
a very talkative kid maybe or I was not very
shy you know so I would just walk up to the then
the then 20 million times world champion and
just ask them for tips you know or how they would
do this and that and I think maybe because I
was a kid they were like very friendly to me
but I think it's just this openness that we have
from here already yeah and again I mentioned
it before but you see it also with the with the
i grew up kind of with the the guys from bonair
when they they reached like the top very quickly
and these were the guys that i was looking up
to as well um oh yeah because bonair is actually
it's it's bigger on the windsurfing yeah right
now there's way more wind servers on that island
they really uh they really support the sport
also I was just there and you get there and there's
like 100 people windsurfing, you know? And it's
also really alive among the locals. But they
have three guys, Tonki, Tati and Kiri. They're
cousins, brothers and cousins. And they really
brought freestyling to life. So when they started,
this discipline was very new and they were like
at the forefront. So this is when I also started
windsurfing and I always looked up to them. So
for me, it was also very... always very good
to go there learn from them and then we also
met on tour afterwards which was nice to not
feel alone kind of when you're traveling because
there's people that like like -minded people
or people that that understand where you're from
so we kind of formed this like little pack when
we were traveling so that was always nice so
in the beginning was with my parents and my brother
then my brother and i traveled and then we would
stick with kind of like the caribbean crew nice
Yeah. And I mean, all the windsurfers are a certain
type of people. They're all pretty laid back
and they're pretty easygoing. But then there's
still groups. And I feel like with the Caribbean
ones, we were the most like -minded kind of.
Yeah. So at 33 now, till when do you think you'll
be continuing? traveling the world competing
on uh on this level yeah i um i thought about
that a lot if you would have asked me like eight
years ago eight years ago i think it's been about
10 years that i've been saying like yeah i'll
stop next year i'll stop next year and then every
year i keep going and now i kind of changed it
since two years or since three years i'm saying
like Yeah, let's just see where it goes. I think
the mindset is changing a little bit in sports.
I mean, LeBron is my age. Still going. I'm 40.
Yeah. And he's still going, man. And why not?
There is this thing of you need to stop at your
peak. Or once you're 31, 32, you're old. And
I think... From what I'm seeing and what I'm
experiencing myself, I think the most important
in sports is the longevity. If you can stretch
your career, why not? If you can physically handle
it, then just go for it. I feel really fit. I
feel good. I still love it a lot and maybe even
more than I did before. I appreciate everything
so much more. Now to think of it, because I'm
not a super big sports guy, but I do watch quite
a few documentaries. analyze the human, the psychology
behind some of the greatest athletes. Would you
say that the athletes, at least of our sort of
millennial generation -ish, that they've been
way more... health conscious and way more body
conscious and continuing to keep themselves in
the best state to be able to achieve more longevity
versus let's say two, three decades ago. I think
so. I think there's so much more information
out there now, like on diet, on stretching, mobility,
all of that stuff. I think even LeBron James,
he spends so much money on just maintaining his
body. Yeah, they say it's like a million plus
per year. Yeah, going to the physio, chiropractor,
just keeping your body in shape instead of tearing
it down. Because all of these sports are high
-impact sports, so your body really deteriorates,
you know? So you have to take care of it. And
I think nowadays we just know so much more and
we know how to take care of ourselves better,
I think. So that's probably also a big part of
why that needle is shifting more towards being
able to compete longer and have more longevity.
Yeah, and you see it. Even in tennis, I think
it's such a physically difficult, hard sport.
Athletes like Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, they're
like 36, 37. or rafael retired but djokovic is
like still at the top you know and he's quite
a bit older than the rest so if you can stretch
it why not yeah and i don't think there's anything
bad about fading out maybe because as i said
people said you should stop at your peak but
if you're at your peak then i feel like you have
so much more to give you know yeah yeah and also
for the generation after i think these people
want to compete against you you know true And
if it can keep you on your toes to compete with
younger people, then why not? I think I have
this worry of... falling into an abyss of nothingness
if i'm not competing anymore because i'm such
a competitive person and it really drives me
and it's been such a huge part of your entire
life so far yeah so what am i going to be competitive
at afterwards if i don't win surf like there
can be the second act yeah but you're not thinking
about that as yet yeah at some point at some
point but i feel like i can give it another three
or four years or something yeah so we'll see
We'll see. I've been lucky enough to not have
any injuries or any setbacks. Yeah. Awesome.
Yeah. So that was looking into the crystal ball
of the future. Let's rewind the clock a little
bit and go back to 18 -year -old Sarikita. And
if she was sitting right next to you, what advice,
what life advice would you give her? with all
that you know now today? Yeah, I would maybe
tell her to trust herself a little bit more,
like her own judgment and not maybe feeling like
other people's opinions matter more. Just to
tell her that her own opinions also matter a
lot. And maybe to take up a little, not a little,
a lot more space, I would say. A lot more space.
Yeah, just to be yourself and not make yourself
any smaller, I would say. Nice. yeah i think
so so could could you expand a little bit on
what that period was like for you then uh in
in that context um i mean i think i've always
had a i don't feel like it was a huh when i was
18 yeah everything was new and stuff um but i
think in general i am or have been like a bit
naive person so i would i don't know because
of what i think that's just how i was um so yeah
i feel like i didn't really feel like my opinions
mattered so much you know i was around older
people a lot of the time yeah so i felt like
maybe whatever they said was more important and
stuff but over the years i've learned that actually
the way i'm thinking matches that person or um
yeah it's also correct what i'm thinking and
the age doesn't really matter that much i think
yeah so to not be intimidated by other other
people their age and seemingly being more knowledgeable
than you are i think you yeah there's experiences
that you've had and you can draw on and 100%.
I think so. And the vast amount of experience
that you would accumulate over traveling the
whole world. Because I always say travel is some
of the best education there is. Yeah, I think
so. There's no education like travel education.
Yeah, it's really fun. Learning and understanding
different cultures. And it takes away a lot of
the ignorances that people might also go through
life with. with not understanding other cultures.
I agree. I think the best experiences I've had
were going to places that, like, for example,
Turkey. I feel like in Holland doesn't necessarily
is in the best light. Yeah. Travel there with
my mom and it's, to this day, it's one of my
favorite places to travel to when I go. The food
is amazing. The people are super friendly. The
country is beautiful. So that was insane. Traveling
to Korea, for example. didn't know anything about
the culture at all you know and then you see
they live completely different than we do but
that also works so what what expand on that what
is completely different than just like the food
that they eat the way that they address people
for example In Korea and Japan, for example,
it's very different. But I think in Asia, people
are more respectful. They're maybe not so straightforward.
In Japan, you ask them something and they say
no like this. They don't know how to say no,
for example. So then it's a bit confusing. And
it just teaches you to put yourself in other
people's shoes and how they go through life and
what type of culture they have, I would say.
Yeah, Asia was like a culture shock, kind of.
So if we touch on a bit more of those places
that you've been, so the example of Turkey was
quite interesting, Korea. Is there any other
place that stands out that taught you some big
life lessons? Yeah. Cape Town for example I think
is beautiful but there's like a really big contrast
between rich and poor and then me as a windsurfer
I don't really meet that poor side so much actually
because you do end up in the more affluent neighborhoods
but you still meet it more than for example where
I'm from here in Aruba or if I'm in the Netherlands
like everyone is pretty okay off yeah And again,
like I said, that really opens up your eyes to
how people go through life sometimes. So I think
Cape Town has had an influence for sure. Where?
I've been to Thailand, Myanmar, Korea. It's so
different, everything. So now if we circle back
here to Aruba, where passion and purpose started
to meet each other. um you have the university
where you teach uh where you teach kids how long
have you had that the windsurf university started
in 2021 so about four years now okay so trying
to expand it but for now it's like a fun hobby
yeah yeah so so tell us more about it um i started
it with uda johanna she's from norway and we
also compete together um and i think it was in
covet times so we actually do live like camps
on site so we meet the people in different locations
and we coach them but then at some point you
couldn't really travel anymore and we're just
trying to find a way to keep in touch with people
so we started this online windsurf university
so we could do online coaching online coaching
yeah windsurf of windsurfing yeah so it would
be how does that work it's more it's more theoretical
i would say yeah but we have a lot of videos
for example Or that person shares their videos.
And for us, it's quite easy to point out certain
techniques or mistakes or what they're doing
wrong or right. And that usually is very helpful
for people. Because in sports, it's not only
about practicing the sport, but you actually
need to think about it as well. So that session
is a theory session so that you can really think
about the movements that you're doing and then
you take that to the water. Because that's how
I train also. I film myself and then I re -watch
it and I see where I can improve. And it gives
you a different awareness. So in the university,
you guys do a mixture of theory and practical.
Yeah, so it started out as an online coaching
program, but then we also, now we can travel
again. So we just do coaching in different locations
in the world and we call the program, we call
it Windsurf University. But you still do like
the online part of... Yeah, people still sign
up for that. And then when you go to location,
then they would show up at the locations and
then they get the practical side of things. Yeah,
it's like a four -day coaching program. Okay,
nice. We go on the water with them, we film them,
theory on the beach. So Uda is her name? Yeah.
So she also lives in Norway. Yeah, yeah. But
we're traveling all year long. Oh, yeah. I also
live in Holland or Aruba, but I'm never there.
Yeah. Yeah, you're a hard lady to pin down. Yeah.
Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep moving. Awesome,
awesome. Yeah, so is there any other thoughts,
words, things that you want to let the people
know? I mean, I think the main thing that I would
say very often, I think what people see very
often, in my case maybe, is kind of like the
successes and that's what we also see of other
people that are successful and you don't really
necessarily see the behind the scenes. To just
keep in mind that nothing is very straightforward.
If anyone achieves that kind of success or any
success, uh blood sweat and tears i guess that
i that they put into that and to remind yourself
also that if you're maybe on the way to something
and you have some setback you're gonna have a
lot more of those you know so you just you just
gotta pick yourself up and then keep putting
keep making the next steps um i think there's
no way to achieve kind of greatness or or or
be successful without failing first yeah so and
and that's just that's just part of the process
i think and and it would be boring if we could
just manage everything like this you know exactly
so yeah i think to to enjoy the process and and
yeah it's an experience like on your way to wherever
you're going you'll have your you'll get sidetracked
or not sidetracked but it's like different things
you're going to experience that you didn't that
you didn't anticipate you didn't anticipate or
wouldn't expect and i think it's all part of
it so and and i think uh coming back to what
you mentioned earlier about uh just really enjoying
the journey yeah that in recent years you've
been way more enjoying the journey than uh than
than maybe in the earlier years yeah i mean you
were enjoying it but but the focus was more on
winning than on enjoying the process right Yeah,
I was very young when I started and I was very
lucky that my parents could actually take me
to these places. And I'm super grateful for the
experience and they were very important to me.
But not that I would take it for granted, but
I just wouldn't think about it. And now if I
look back, I'm like, whoa, I did all of those
things when I was 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23. Even
now, if I think that I went to Australia when
I was 23 and driving. eight hours from one spot
to the next to the next like how so I'm learning
more about my parents stresses and stuff um but
yeah like now because I've had so many years
I don't know I just appreciate it more and it's
not just the the competitions and and the being
on the water it's also kind of the family and
friends that I have now on tour and uh what every
country has to offer you know so i like to go
sightseeing and learning more about the places
and yeah yeah because yeah that's what you gotta
do when you're there awesome yeah well miss can
i call you miss yeah thank you very very much
for um taking the time out to be on uh be on
the podcast thank you for having me and um And
we definitely going to continue to watch the
journey from afar and cheer you on and continue
to create and do and achieve epic shh. Thank
you. Awesome. Hey, thank you so much. And with
that, guys, we'll see you in the next one. But
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were any questions that I missed or any thoughts
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and every one of you. Thank you. Bless.