WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.580 You need to stop at your peak. Once you're 31, 00:00:02.740 --> 00:00:05.040 32, you're old. From what I'm seeing and what 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.160 I'm experiencing myself, I think the most important 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:09.560 in sports is like the longevity. If you can stretch 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:17.699 your career, why not? Today we have the pleasure 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:21.359 of welcoming Sarakita Ofringa, a world champion 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.000 windsurfer, passionate athlete, and proud Arubian. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:28.780 who's made waves across the globe the the scariest 00:00:28.780 --> 00:00:30.879 i've done was competing in fiji i was shaking 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:32.600 on the board i looked at the photos and i was 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:34.920 like oh there was like a monster behind me she's 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:38.659 earned an incredible 22 world titles i gotta 00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:43.659 update my website it's 25 titles I think I have 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:47.340 this like worry of falling into an abyss of nothingness 00:00:47.340 --> 00:00:49.579 if I'm not competing anymore. Because I'm such 00:00:49.579 --> 00:00:51.880 a competitive person and it really drives me. 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:54.520 But for Sarikita, windsurfing is more than a 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:56.659 sport. It's a lifestyle. There's never really 00:00:56.659 --> 00:01:12.040 a break. Like I'm always chasing the wind. It's 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:17.319 been an amazing time. Today we had Aruba experience. 00:01:17.959 --> 00:01:21.859 The Patrona here definitely embraced us and gave 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:25.299 us this amazing opportunity to record something 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:29.780 in an authentic UNESCO -type building here in 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:32.719 Aruba, giving you a true Arubian experience. 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:35.700 See you guys in the next vlog. See you guys in 00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:38.299 the next one. Have a blessed time, blessed day. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:41.500 Big ups one more time to Aruba Experience and 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:45.319 the whole staff here. Susan, Susanette, thanks 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.000 again for hosting us and having some of the best 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:50.180 lunches out here, man. That chicken breast was, 00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:54.260 you know. Signing out. Bless. Welcome, Sadakita. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.099 Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. 00:01:57.299 --> 00:02:00.019 How are you? Good. I got to update my website. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:06.319 It's 25 titles. See, even the website can't keep 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:11.620 up. that's my own fault i gotta go and update 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:15.699 that one yeah yeah yeah so 20 25 titles and we 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:18.979 in 2025 so when did you win the first title i 00:02:18.979 --> 00:02:22.180 won my first world title when i was uh i either 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.580 i think 17 or 18 i don't remember but it was 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:29.819 in 2008 2008 okay so 17 years ago yeah but i 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:33.129 think After a few years, I started winning double 00:02:33.129 --> 00:02:36.069 titles. So for two disciplines. And last year 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:37.789 was the first time that I won all three disciplines 00:02:37.789 --> 00:02:42.030 in one year. Oh, wow. So that way I accumulated 00:02:42.030 --> 00:02:44.250 more titles than the amount of years that I've 00:02:44.250 --> 00:02:50.729 been competing. Awesome. So if we're looking 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:56.099 in the crystal ball of today. I know they always 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:58.699 say you can't ask a lady her age, but I always 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:03.199 do. So you're 33 right now? Yeah, I'm 33 now. 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:08.060 I'll turn 34 in a few months. Okay. And what 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:14.759 is life like today at 33? It's a lot of fun, 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:17.860 I would say. It's exactly what I want to be doing. 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:21.439 If you would have asked me 10 years ago, what 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:23.849 I'm doing right now is exactly what I want. would 00:03:23.849 --> 00:03:25.689 have wanted to be doing. So I'm traveling a lot 00:03:25.689 --> 00:03:29.530 for competition. I travel a lot to train as well 00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:31.750 in different locations to find the right conditions 00:03:31.750 --> 00:03:35.449 for certain competitions. I have photo shoots 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:37.689 for different sponsors in different locations. 00:03:38.490 --> 00:03:41.590 And I have some cool collaborations during the 00:03:41.590 --> 00:03:45.650 year also with, you know, my sponsors or brands 00:03:45.650 --> 00:03:49.389 or even... here on the island. And I feel like 00:03:49.389 --> 00:03:51.210 with projects like that, you meet really cool 00:03:51.210 --> 00:03:54.330 people as well, also in different areas. So I 00:03:54.330 --> 00:03:58.550 think just in general, it's very diverse, all 00:03:58.550 --> 00:04:02.330 the things that I get to experience. Yeah, because 00:04:02.330 --> 00:04:09.330 is it Enya? Yeah, Enya and Seyta are my local 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:11.069 sponsors here in Aruba now. Okay, because I think 00:04:11.069 --> 00:04:14.289 I've seen multiple Enya billboards since I came 00:04:14.289 --> 00:04:18.170 on the island. Yeah, the billboards are cool. 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:24.310 Awesome, awesome. So those, could you break down 00:04:24.310 --> 00:04:26.990 a bit more of those different elements of the 00:04:26.990 --> 00:04:30.709 sport? What exactly does that mean? uh yeah so 00:04:30.709 --> 00:04:33.050 my my year basically revolves around training 00:04:33.050 --> 00:04:36.610 for the world tour and this it's called the pwa 00:04:36.610 --> 00:04:38.610 and there's different disciplines on that tour 00:04:38.610 --> 00:04:40.790 and you go to different competitions different 00:04:40.790 --> 00:04:43.209 countries and at the end of the year you are 00:04:43.209 --> 00:04:46.649 the the one that earns the most points wins the 00:04:46.649 --> 00:04:49.550 world title so kind of like how the formula one 00:04:49.550 --> 00:04:52.209 is that it goes to different places uh around 00:04:52.209 --> 00:04:54.350 the world yeah and what are some of the locations 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:58.040 that you go to then if since i'm 14, I've been 00:04:58.040 --> 00:04:59.819 traveling to the Canary Islands. So that's like 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:02.220 a staple on tour. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:06.019 Tenerife, Lanzarote. That's always in July. So 00:05:06.019 --> 00:05:07.939 I've been going there for the past 17 years. 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:12.199 I just came back from Chile. The end of the year 00:05:12.199 --> 00:05:14.959 usually ends in Hawaii. I've been going to Germany 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.120 for a long time, Denmark. So windsurfing in Germany 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.079 as well? Yeah, in the northern part of Germany. 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:24.000 It's really close to Denmark. The Hamburg area? 00:05:24.649 --> 00:05:27.089 You drive past Hamburg. It's another two hours 00:05:27.089 --> 00:05:29.290 further up north. And then you take a ferry. 00:05:29.370 --> 00:05:31.509 It's an island. It's called Zült. And it's an 00:05:31.509 --> 00:05:33.709 island off the coast. But that's in the summer 00:05:33.709 --> 00:05:36.660 then. that's in september october which is usually 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:39.740 when the the autumn storms start in europe okay 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:42.420 yeah isn't the water a bit cold it's very cold 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:44.959 it's not in terms of temperature is not my favorite 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.120 event yeah i can imagine yeah but it puts me 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:49.800 out of my comfort zone and i think every single 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.240 time i'm done competing there i feel like i overcame 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.139 something you know so i'm very satisfied after 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:58.240 that event so yeah and other places i've competed 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:00.319 here in aruba before the last world cup we had 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.759 here was in 2011 that's a long time ago bonair 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.399 was pretty recent still and um yeah where else 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:12.230 yeah every some Usually the year looks the same, 00:06:12.230 --> 00:06:15.649 but every so often there's a new location. And 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:18.610 for me, this year was Chile. So when you mentioned 00:06:18.610 --> 00:06:22.829 that you won in all three categories, that was 00:06:22.829 --> 00:06:27.350 in 24 or in 25? Last year in 2024, I won. And 00:06:27.350 --> 00:06:29.889 what are those three categories? So on the PWA, 00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:35.060 you have racing, slalom. which is, there's a 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:37.220 starting line, there's four marks, and when the 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:39.120 green flag goes up, the first one that rounds 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.939 all the marks and finishes, you win that race, 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:44.800 basically. And then after a set amount of races, 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:47.920 they check the points, and then you win that 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.620 contest. And then there's freestyling, which 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:54.019 is what I started in, which is doing tricks with 00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:55.560 your board and your sail. You don't need any 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.620 waves, it's flat water. That's actually the first 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:03.480 title that I won in 2008. um and they judge you 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:06.019 on the difficulty of the moves how well you perform 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:08.459 them and it's in a you have like a square box 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:10.899 so you need to perform perform the moves in that 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:14.079 square which are there like buoys and yeah there's 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:15.839 four buoys in the water there's a judging tower 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:18.339 there's a panel and they they all give you points 00:07:18.339 --> 00:07:20.000 for all the moves you score so there's a maximum 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.540 of you need to do four moves on each tack basically 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:26.279 and then they score you on that which is pretty 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:28.240 stressful because you only have like seven minutes 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.050 to perform eight moves which It really requires 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:33.410 a lot of training to be able to do that. And 00:07:33.410 --> 00:07:36.910 then the latest discipline I got into is wave 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:40.250 sailing, which is not apparent because in Aruba 00:07:40.250 --> 00:07:41.930 you really don't have that many waves. So it 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:44.029 took me quite some years to progress in that. 00:07:44.069 --> 00:07:49.170 I had to spend more time away from home, traveling 00:07:49.170 --> 00:07:52.149 to Cape Town, Australia, which are awesome places, 00:07:52.250 --> 00:07:56.980 but I sacrificed time at home, I would say. There, 00:07:56.980 --> 00:07:58.879 they score you on the way you surf the wave. 00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:01.040 And in some locations, you also get scored on 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.100 jumps. So it's super diverse, this whole tour. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:10.600 So was that then the last one that... Because 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:13.759 you meant... Maybe it was off -camera. You mentioned 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:17.730 that you've won... the single, and then you've 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:20.110 been winning double. Yeah. And now you just won 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:24.389 a triple. Yes. So that last one was the third? 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:26.829 The waves, yeah. So I started out freestyling, 00:08:26.829 --> 00:08:29.930 and I won a couple of titles with freestyle, 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:31.649 maybe I think like five or six. Then at some 00:08:31.649 --> 00:08:33.970 point, I was like, okay, you know, I want to 00:08:33.970 --> 00:08:36.740 keep... um challenging myself so i moved over 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:39.340 to slalom because a lot of times these contests 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:41.679 are coming together right so after the freestyle 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.940 contest the slalom contest starts so i was there 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:46.600 watching them racing and i got excited about 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:49.860 that so i started practicing that so i won that 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:53.059 the freestyle and the slalom title i won it four 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:55.100 or five times in a row like in the same year 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:59.139 um and then after i won the slalom title a couple 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:01.259 of couple of times i moved into wave sailing 00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:05.350 to just keep challenging myself And that title 00:09:05.350 --> 00:09:10.110 I won for the first time in 2019. Okay. And after 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:14.220 that... So at some point I was doing a little 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.240 bit too much because I'm the only athlete that 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:17.980 competes in all three disciplines on the tour. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:19.820 I think most athletes on tour, they only stick 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:23.039 to one discipline, let alone two, let alone three. 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:27.139 So can I ask, where does that come from? Is that 00:09:27.139 --> 00:09:30.559 a bit of the island thing where we tend to be 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:33.440 a bit more of a jack of all trades rather than... 00:09:34.649 --> 00:09:37.029 only specializing in one area i wonder if it 00:09:37.029 --> 00:09:38.909 is and the thing is if you look at the tour the 00:09:38.909 --> 00:09:41.090 people that are better at more disciplines are 00:09:41.090 --> 00:09:42.929 from the caribbean like the boys from bonair 00:09:42.929 --> 00:09:46.049 they're really good at at racing and freestyling 00:09:46.049 --> 00:09:50.769 for example yeah um so i yeah i think you you 00:09:50.769 --> 00:09:52.590 may be right maybe it's a thing from here that 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:54.049 we just like to do a little bit of everything 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:58.139 yeah But it's also just a lot of fun. I can't 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:00.019 see myself sticking to one discipline. I think 00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:02.980 the sport itself, it offers so much fun in all 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:05.480 the different disciplines. And I go to so many 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:07.379 different places depending on the discipline. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:09.480 And I just don't want to miss out on all of that. 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:12.360 Might as well do it all. You're just experiencing 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:16.299 life to the fullest. Yeah, if I can. Awesome. 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:25.590 So let's maybe tap into a bit. We're talking 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:28.110 about all the titles, and the titles is that 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:34.389 big moment where the champagne pops and the cameras 00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:40.590 flash. But what is your life like then, let's 00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:45.129 say, during training times? And what sort of 00:10:45.129 --> 00:10:48.269 mindset did you need to develop to be able to 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:53.750 compete at this level for so long? I basically 00:10:53.750 --> 00:10:55.990 compete like half a year. Like the season runs 00:10:55.990 --> 00:10:57.669 from May till November, I would say. And then 00:10:57.669 --> 00:10:59.809 from November till May, I kind of have off -season. 00:11:00.009 --> 00:11:03.769 Okay. But it doesn't mean that I'm... Like in 00:11:03.769 --> 00:11:07.450 off -season, if the tour finishes, I have this 00:11:07.450 --> 00:11:10.490 dip. So I tend to not winter for maybe two weeks, 00:11:10.549 --> 00:11:13.549 even up to a month at some point. But then you 00:11:13.549 --> 00:11:15.389 kind of just pick it up again. And then the off 00:11:15.389 --> 00:11:17.870 -season is the time that I actually try to find 00:11:17.870 --> 00:11:20.710 the best places around the world to... to train 00:11:20.710 --> 00:11:23.090 like I travel there to train in different conditions 00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:26.169 because every country every location has their 00:11:26.169 --> 00:11:28.789 wind season in the Caribbean it's from it runs 00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:32.309 from December till July maybe and then from July 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:34.590 to November it's hurricane season so there's 00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:36.759 no wind in the Caribbean yeah so i always need 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.559 to find the best places um for that so actually 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:41.299 what i'm trying to say is actually it feels like 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:43.879 there's no there's never really a break like 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:46.919 i'm always chasing the wind um chasing the wind 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.980 yeah but i think the good thing about it is i 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.440 think i think i can call windsurfing my job but 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:54.200 at the same time it's still my biggest passion 00:11:54.200 --> 00:11:56.580 you know so if i'm chasing the wind it's because 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:59.700 i i want to it's not like oh it's a job i have 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:02.419 to go to this place to to train it's your career 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:06.000 A career is different than a job. Oh, career, 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.740 yeah. Actually, it's a good way of putting it. 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:11.779 A career is different than a job. Yeah. But then 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:14.399 even above that, I feel like it's just my passion 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.360 also, you know? So I'm lucky that I can make 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:22.080 it a career, I would say. So yeah, I go to these 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:24.860 places to train. So it doesn't feel like there's 00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:26.740 any break actually, but I don't really need it 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.039 either. I just want to keep on going. I think... 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:32.870 The changes that I've made since I'm younger 00:12:32.870 --> 00:12:34.529 is that I try to take care of myself a little 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:37.950 bit more. Traveling is pretty difficult to maintain 00:12:37.950 --> 00:12:40.990 yourself, I think, to have routines. I still 00:12:40.990 --> 00:12:44.070 struggle with that. But I make sure that I go 00:12:44.070 --> 00:12:46.730 to the gym more frequently or at least on a consistent 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:48.889 basis, even if I'm traveling. I try to eat better, 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:51.409 not eat out all the time. So those are changes 00:12:51.409 --> 00:12:54.870 that I've made now, for example, physically at 00:12:54.870 --> 00:13:00.980 least. I've also learned over the years to take 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:03.399 time to come back home, I would say. Because 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:05.519 in the beginning, I was so excited about traveling 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:07.259 or I felt like I couldn't go home because it 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:09.860 was expensive, this and that. But in the end, 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.320 it recharges you more to come back. Mentally, 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:17.070 most importantly. Just to come home and... throw 00:13:17.070 --> 00:13:19.070 your luggage down and your mom makes a dinner 00:13:19.070 --> 00:13:20.769 for you or you know you don't have to take care 00:13:20.769 --> 00:13:23.230 of everything all the time then yeah yeah i've 00:13:23.230 --> 00:13:25.110 learned that also over the years that even if 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:27.570 it's four or five six days a week it's always 00:13:27.570 --> 00:13:29.490 worth it to come back home for a little bit so 00:13:29.490 --> 00:13:38.730 yeah nice um so you just mentioned about uh about 00:13:38.730 --> 00:13:41.549 passion that that that this is your passion and 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:44.110 it's something that you started from uh in in 00:13:44.809 --> 00:13:48.250 your teenage years, basically, and continued 00:13:48.250 --> 00:13:53.029 on throughout your life. How would you, so if 00:13:53.029 --> 00:13:56.970 we switch from passion now to purpose, how would 00:13:56.970 --> 00:13:58.929 you feel that you're connected to the purpose, 00:13:59.129 --> 00:14:03.279 to your purpose in life? Hey, good question. 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:07.480 Deep question. How I'm connected to my purpose 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:09.480 in life. Is it possible to say that I'm still 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:13.000 looking for it or am I doing it? That's possible. 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.779 If you feel that you're still searching for it 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:20.019 or you're chasing the wind and figuring out where 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:27.480 that pebble in the wind lands. I think... In 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:30.340 my mind, I feel like it's never enough. I've 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:32.580 done a lot with windsurfing and I've achieved 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:35.519 a lot. I mean, 25 world titles sounds like a 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.399 lot. Yeah, but then still somewhere in the back 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.379 of my mind, I feel like I'm still searching for 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:43.799 what it is I'm doing. What else is there to achieve 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.240 then within the sport other than more titles? 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:52.500 For me, in the beginning, it's... I want to win 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:55.340 a title. It says you're the best in the world. 00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:58.980 But then, for example, my title that I won in 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:01.399 2008 in freestyle compared to the title that 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:04.820 I won last year in freestyle, I can't even compare. 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:07.879 I'm so much better now than I was then. So then 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:09.980 I realized after a couple of titles, actually 00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:12.039 what I'm chasing is the progress in the sport, 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:15.019 getting better at the sport itself. Yeah. So 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:17.879 more the journey element of it rather than the 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:20.440 finale. Yeah, and that's the fun part. The title 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.100 is not the end. You wake up the next day and 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:25.259 life goes on, you know? You have a title in the 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:28.480 bag, but next year you're competing. You're back 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.240 at square one. So then I've learned very quickly 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.860 that it's the progress and getting better at 00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:37.639 it because it just becomes more fun to master 00:15:37.639 --> 00:15:39.860 your craft, I would say. And that's why I also 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:42.559 develop myself in different disciplines because 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:45.309 it kind of opens up your mind. every discipline 00:15:45.309 --> 00:15:48.269 has different gear. So you need to set them up 00:15:48.269 --> 00:15:51.129 in different ways. There's different conditions. 00:15:51.549 --> 00:15:54.330 So with wave sailing, I had to learn to read 00:15:54.330 --> 00:15:57.279 a wave, for example. Like I would... go down 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.000 the line and the wave is breaking behind me, 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:00.740 for example. So I didn't have a clue about that. 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:02.759 And for me, it's really fun now to look back 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:05.279 and see how much I've learned since then. Can 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.759 I say something funny? With my whole ignorance 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:10.220 of the sport and the topic, I just had to think 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:16.039 about Moana for some reason. What did you say? 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:20.480 You had to learn to read the wave. So could you 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.879 maybe break that down a bit more? What does that 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.950 mean, read the wave? because when you compete 00:16:26.950 --> 00:16:28.690 or even when you're sailing itself you want to 00:16:28.690 --> 00:16:31.169 hit the wave in the most critical section which 00:16:31.169 --> 00:16:34.029 is right before it's breaking if you go any further 00:16:34.029 --> 00:16:36.289 it's it's called the shoulder so the wave is 00:16:36.289 --> 00:16:41.710 pretty round and there's no um uh how do you 00:16:41.710 --> 00:16:44.950 say that there's no there's no risk on the shoulder 00:16:44.950 --> 00:16:47.490 so you kind of you can be like Messing around 00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:49.049 down there, but the real action is happening 00:16:49.049 --> 00:16:51.990 behind you. So when you're free sailing yourself, 00:16:52.169 --> 00:16:53.950 you also notice that part of the wave has much 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:56.210 more power. It has much more satisfaction to 00:16:56.210 --> 00:17:00.769 hit that end section, for example. And yeah, 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:04.190 the waves are different around the world. So 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:07.869 I think when I was competing in Germany, when 00:17:07.869 --> 00:17:10.329 I just started out wave sailing, I had no clue 00:17:10.329 --> 00:17:11.910 about the spot. And apparently there was like 00:17:11.910 --> 00:17:17.289 a dike. With rocks? Shit, it was a dyke again. 00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:22.190 Not a valley. Anyways, we'll translate that. 00:17:22.190 --> 00:17:26.910 Yeah, a dyke. Just rocks. And I just remember 00:17:26.910 --> 00:17:31.890 I was so focused on a wave. And the next moment 00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:34.609 I was... On top of this lake full of rocks, broke 00:17:34.609 --> 00:17:36.910 my fins, broke my board. Oh, damn. And then I 00:17:36.910 --> 00:17:38.710 realized later the wave is only breaking there 00:17:38.710 --> 00:17:40.670 because it's very shallow, you know? So these 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:42.589 are things that you learn along the way. Yeah, 00:17:42.589 --> 00:17:45.309 yeah. Or to not panic when the wave in Hawaii, 00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:47.269 the first time I sailed in like five, six meter 00:17:47.269 --> 00:17:50.430 waves, I was held down pretty long. Yeah. And 00:17:50.430 --> 00:17:53.990 I feel like I kind of, back then it used to scare 00:17:53.990 --> 00:17:55.809 me. Now I'm so much better at it, you know? So 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:58.890 it's, yeah. Because in general, the waves in 00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:03.410 Hawaii are way bigger. Bigger and stronger, most 00:18:03.410 --> 00:18:05.410 importantly. Now in Chile, it was also pretty 00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:07.690 big. The scariest I've done was competing in 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:09.769 Fiji, which was two years ago. Biggest wave of 00:18:09.769 --> 00:18:12.009 my life. And I was shaking on the board. How 00:18:12.009 --> 00:18:15.910 big was the wave? Taller than, yeah, six meters, 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:18.970 I think. Wow. Which it's hard to imagine. But 00:18:18.970 --> 00:18:22.029 then when you see the photos or you see it. Anyway, 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:23.829 what I thought myself was to not look back on 00:18:23.829 --> 00:18:25.809 that wave. So I looked at the photos and I was 00:18:25.809 --> 00:18:27.750 like, oh, there was like a monster behind me. 00:18:27.789 --> 00:18:29.230 Can you send us the photos? Yeah, I can send 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:31.490 you those photos. But for me, that's like a total 00:18:31.490 --> 00:18:33.410 highlight to do something like that, especially 00:18:33.410 --> 00:18:35.349 coming from here. Like I never would have thought 00:18:35.349 --> 00:18:38.309 I would have done that. Yeah. But to come back 00:18:38.309 --> 00:18:40.650 to the purpose part, like what I said before 00:18:40.650 --> 00:18:42.230 is like first were the titles, then the progress. 00:18:42.289 --> 00:18:44.470 Then now what I'm experiencing is that it's really 00:18:44.470 --> 00:18:47.069 great to share all the knowledge that I have 00:18:47.069 --> 00:18:49.960 as well. So I feel like I'm finding some purpose 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:52.619 and satisfaction in that as well. I love teaching 00:18:52.619 --> 00:18:54.900 kids, giving them that experience on the water 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.759 because it's not just a sport, but the whole 00:18:56.759 --> 00:19:00.160 experience being at the beach, learning how to 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.960 manage your sail while the wind is blowing into 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.619 it. Like you can't wrestle it. You have to like 00:19:04.619 --> 00:19:07.599 go with it. Go with the flow. Yeah. And so it's 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:09.539 really nice to see kids do that because the sport 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:14.819 is pretty like. A six -year -old kid can do it. 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.220 It looks maybe very difficult, but in the end, 00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:20.559 it's about balancing everything. So yeah, the 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:22.000 sharing the knowledge part is something that 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:25.200 I'm enjoying now also a lot. Awesome. Yeah. So 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:29.500 talking about kids, let's go back to... I'm going 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:35.380 to do some quick maths here. 91? Yeah, born in 00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:43.220 91. Oh, cool. I have a niece born in 91. So 91, 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.380 growing up in the 90s in Aruba, what was that 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:53.220 like for a young Sarakita? In the 90s? It's hard 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:55.579 to go back. I think I had a good time. I grew 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:57.220 up with my brother. He's three years older than 00:19:57.220 --> 00:20:01.119 I am. Like I said, we always did a lot of sports. 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.279 I think my parents were super supportive of Quincy 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:08.660 and me. We had the... possibility of trying everything 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:12.019 and anything we liked instruments sports so whatever 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:14.900 he was interested in i mean there were some rules 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:16.380 of course like if you wanted to do something 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:18.299 we'd have to do it we'd have to do it for a year 00:20:18.299 --> 00:20:20.640 or something and they were pretty strict with 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.339 that but i i kind of like the approach of just 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:28.960 seeing what we liked you know um and in a sense 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.779 i actually followed my brothers in my brother 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:34.480 into a lot of sports like running tennis windsurfing 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:36.640 quincy was the one that was he picked it up so 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:39.339 much quicker than i did um so i always had someone 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:43.819 to look up to um and other than that yeah what 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:46.240 i really liked also where we lived we can always 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:52.259 be out in the street biking uh yeah Not so much 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:57.019 technology, I would say. He still was way more 00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:59.920 of an outside kid. A lot of outdoors, yeah. I 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:02.319 think we had a good time, yeah. So what does 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.380 Quincy think now about his little sister with 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:08.400 25 world titles? I don't know, I should ask him. 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:10.980 But in a sense, he's still kind of my coach. 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:13.599 He's a man of little words, I would say. But 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.779 we have an understanding. For example, this last 00:21:17.779 --> 00:21:21.569 year... sometimes he tells me congrats but I 00:21:21.569 --> 00:21:24.210 think the last contest where I didn't perform 00:21:24.210 --> 00:21:27.369 so well was in Tenerife and I finished fourth 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:30.609 or something which was okay but like he hadn't 00:21:30.609 --> 00:21:32.809 written me about the event well he called me 00:21:32.809 --> 00:21:34.650 about the event before but it was quite quiet 00:21:34.650 --> 00:21:36.710 for a few days and then I get a phone call and 00:21:36.710 --> 00:21:39.369 he's like hey you should have probably done better 00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:41.970 there or like he was like telling me all the 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:44.869 points where I should have done better or improve 00:21:44.869 --> 00:21:48.950 on And I kind of like the straightforward feedback 00:21:48.950 --> 00:21:51.769 because he's such a knowledgeable windsurfer 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:55.549 also. So he still windsurfs a lot? He windsurfs 00:21:55.549 --> 00:21:57.349 less now. He has a family and everything. We 00:21:57.349 --> 00:22:01.549 go kitesurfing together a lot. He finished 10th 00:22:01.549 --> 00:22:03.289 in the world because we were traveling together. 00:22:03.509 --> 00:22:06.069 So I think somewhere in 2010, he was ranked 10th 00:22:06.069 --> 00:22:08.630 in the world. I didn't know that. So yeah, I 00:22:08.630 --> 00:22:12.349 trust my brother's judgment a lot. It's good 00:22:12.349 --> 00:22:14.369 to have a person like that. Yeah, yeah, for sure. 00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:20.549 For sure. Awesome. So then we enter in the teen 00:22:20.549 --> 00:22:24.970 years, which is more the 2000s. What was that 00:22:24.970 --> 00:22:28.789 like for you? Starting to develop in the sport 00:22:28.789 --> 00:22:32.769 more while simultaneously, I'm assuming, but 00:22:32.769 --> 00:22:35.210 you can correct me if I'm wrong, having more 00:22:35.210 --> 00:22:39.259 of a regular school life here in Aruba. I was 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:44.339 very busy with sports all the time. I swam competitively 00:22:44.339 --> 00:22:47.759 from 9 till about 16 or till 17 years old. And 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.140 that was actually my main sport until I was 17. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:57.119 So swimming, tennis and windsurfing is what I 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:01.539 did. So swimming kept me pretty busy, I would 00:23:01.539 --> 00:23:03.740 say. That was like the main thing. And then for 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:06.680 school, I feel like... I didn't have a hard time 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.059 with school. I would pass my test relatively 00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:15.519 easily. So yeah, I managed to combine school 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.859 and windsurfing and all the other sports that 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:23.660 I did. Having said that, I did my first World 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:26.539 Cup when I was 12 and I finished fifth in windsurfing. 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:29.140 And then when I was 14, I finished third in the 00:23:29.140 --> 00:23:33.339 world, kind of. Even so, it still didn't take 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:36.400 over the windsurfing part. I already got my sponsors 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:41.440 when I was 14. But all the way through high school... 00:23:41.630 --> 00:23:44.130 i i was still swimming competitively you know 00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:48.069 but i think um so just all around uh athlete 00:23:48.069 --> 00:23:51.269 athlete yeah maybe but i think what i got lucky 00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:52.910 with here in aruba is that we have such good 00:23:52.910 --> 00:23:55.289 conditions so even though i wouldn't windsurf 00:23:55.289 --> 00:23:57.509 during the week i could winter every single weekend 00:23:57.509 --> 00:24:00.069 compared to someone living in europe yeah they'd 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:02.329 have to take a break in the winter time true 00:24:02.329 --> 00:24:04.250 whereas here we could spend so many hours so 00:24:04.250 --> 00:24:07.950 yeah and i think all those different sports also 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:11.869 added to the windsurfing because you Get awareness 00:24:11.869 --> 00:24:15.230 of your body. And the swimming definitely helps 00:24:15.230 --> 00:24:18.109 you to be very familiar with the water. I think 00:24:18.109 --> 00:24:19.769 that's the best thing that's happened to me. 00:24:20.049 --> 00:24:22.069 Yeah, I'm super comfortable in the water. So 00:24:22.069 --> 00:24:25.769 I'm very grateful for my swimming career. And 00:24:25.769 --> 00:24:29.410 then as you're wrapping up high school, you mentioned 00:24:29.410 --> 00:24:33.150 that you studied in Holland as well. Yeah. What 00:24:33.150 --> 00:24:35.930 did you study? I studied science and innovation 00:24:35.930 --> 00:24:40.190 management in Utrecht. Why the choice for that? 00:24:42.399 --> 00:24:47.220 To be very honest, I was very late to find my 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.700 study. I think I was already so wrapped up in 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:53.359 windsurfing that I was already doing what I wanted 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:56.380 to do. So then the studies, I passed my test 00:24:56.380 --> 00:24:59.200 and everything. And I took a sabbatical. I had 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.099 one year off. So I just windsurfed all year long. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:04.339 And then somewhere in May, I had to decide what 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:07.259 I wanted to study in August. So I just chose 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:11.099 some of the courses that I was good at, I would 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:14.299 say. And that's just how it happened. And then 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:19.740 you did... So it was a habeo? No, I went to university. 00:25:19.740 --> 00:25:23.259 I got my bachelor's degree. Bachelor in science. 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:28.519 So that was in three years? Yeah. So you went 00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:32.279 to VWO here then? Yeah, I did VWO here. Took 00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:34.440 a year off, then went to Holland to study. I 00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:36.279 think what I got lucky with is that I actually 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:37.980 like to study. I don't mind sitting down for 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:41.720 hours. reading reading a text you know so i think 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:46.240 yeah that helped me also but but anything of 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:49.940 of let's say that diploma has has it been put 00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:54.579 into work in your career since you know the the 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:57.240 thing with windsurfing is that i don't i don't 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:00.519 have a coach i don't have a manager i i am i'm 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:03.779 managing everything myself and along the way 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:06.359 you learn how to do that but i think studying 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:11.220 has helped me to get better at that quicker, 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.019 you know? Just the fact that I had to write papers, 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:17.619 that I had to work together in groups, that I 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:21.079 had this schedule. So that discipline kind of 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:24.259 also helped for my windsurfing life afterwards, 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:26.900 I would say. And I guess it gives you this a 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:30.200 bit of comfort knowing that you have a diploma 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.660 in your pocket. I'm pretty sure I'm not going 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:35.880 to use it, but I think the whole experience of... 00:26:36.490 --> 00:26:38.930 Being in Holland, regardless of the studies actually, 00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:41.509 just managing yourself away from the island, 00:26:41.690 --> 00:26:45.130 that was a whole thing. And I still think that's 00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:46.630 the most important experience I've had in my 00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:50.789 life, just to move away to Holland. To be on 00:26:50.789 --> 00:26:54.690 your own for that amount of time and then learn 00:26:54.690 --> 00:26:57.970 how to be fully on your own. Exactly. That helped 00:26:57.970 --> 00:27:00.529 to give you the confidence of traveling anywhere 00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:03.670 in the world and being on your own. Yeah. I mean, 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:06.150 the organization part and stuff like you, you 00:27:06.150 --> 00:27:07.769 know, here in Aruba, I had my parents that would 00:27:07.769 --> 00:27:10.069 take me to the airport, pick me up. In the beginning, 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:11.950 they were organizing accommodation and stuff. 00:27:12.190 --> 00:27:14.150 Then I moved to the Netherlands and all of a 00:27:14.150 --> 00:27:16.309 sudden you get to decide everything. So I kind 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:18.910 of planned my year that I would make sure to 00:27:18.910 --> 00:27:21.470 pass all of my tests so I didn't have to do any 00:27:21.470 --> 00:27:24.809 redos. So then I would have two weeks off and 00:27:24.809 --> 00:27:28.170 then I would always find the windiest spot in 00:27:28.170 --> 00:27:31.299 the world, book a ticket there. Rent a car, take 00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:34.240 myself and my gear to the airport, check it in, 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.859 find a place to stay in those places. So again, 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.180 the sport was also part of the motivation to 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:44.779 pass immediately. Yeah, very much. To not have 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:47.700 any delays. Yeah, yeah. To not have any excuses 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:50.059 not to be able to go and do your sport. Yeah, 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:54.920 exactly, exactly. Awesome. So we kind of touched 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:59.460 on it earlier. But how would you say your Caribbean 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:07.640 roots have influenced your athletic career? Yeah, 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:13.819 I was thinking about that for a bit. I mean, 00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:16.160 probably everyone would answer the same thing. 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:19.039 I'm not sure. But I think just being from Aruba 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:22.680 or being from the Caribbean, it's like... multicultural 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:26.740 melting pot um you meet so many people from different 00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:28.680 backgrounds we grow up speaking at least three 00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:31.559 languages you learn another two at school um 00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:36.940 so i feel like you're kind of open to other cultures 00:28:36.940 --> 00:28:41.079 and other people yeah and i think i don't know 00:28:41.079 --> 00:28:42.880 but i think it kind of helped me while i was 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:45.420 traveling going to going to new places like i 00:28:45.420 --> 00:28:49.740 didn't i don't have a language barrier very often 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:51.900 even if i don't speak something fluently i can 00:28:51.900 --> 00:28:54.059 communicate which i think for me is the most 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:55.839 important in my travels to be able to because 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:59.099 you also speak spanish yeah spanish and french 00:28:59.099 --> 00:29:03.000 portuguese at some point portuguese damn how 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:08.359 many languages yeah like a like four fluent i 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:12.000 would say and then two more or three more that 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.059 i can communicate at least awesome so yeah for 00:29:16.059 --> 00:29:18.059 me the language thing is a big thing like well 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:22.079 during travels um and i think coming from here 00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:24.500 you're also kind of laid back i mean everyone 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:26.700 has their different their own personality and 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:30.099 stuff um i'm definitely a bit more laid back 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:32.019 and i'll see what happens like i'm not super 00:29:32.019 --> 00:29:36.720 organized and like i don't need to control everything 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:39.859 i would say yeah um but still coming from the 00:29:39.859 --> 00:29:43.259 caribbean so maybe i wouldn't necessarily maybe 00:29:44.009 --> 00:29:45.890 Even though we don't know each other that well, 00:29:45.950 --> 00:29:48.109 but I wouldn't necessarily say you're not organized 00:29:48.109 --> 00:29:49.910 because based on everything you said so far, 00:29:50.049 --> 00:29:52.930 it seems like you're pretty organized. But it's 00:29:52.930 --> 00:29:56.690 more about being so strict on all the little 00:29:56.690 --> 00:30:02.569 details that you allow room to flow. Almost the 00:30:02.569 --> 00:30:06.730 opposite, I would say. I think I'm so flexible 00:30:06.730 --> 00:30:08.829 that whatever happens, I'll just adapt to that 00:30:08.829 --> 00:30:13.880 kind of. Okay. So I very often leave. I think 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:17.220 I plan what I need to plan that I know needs 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:19.579 to be done. But there's a couple of things that 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:21.839 I know other people would be like, I need to 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:27.240 know. Such as? I could fly to a place a day before 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:29.400 and not have accommodation sorted, for example. 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:32.119 And other people would be like, I need to know 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:33.859 where to sleep or I need to know that I can rent 00:30:33.859 --> 00:30:36.839 a car tomorrow. But I've experienced so many 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:38.579 things at some point that I feel like it kind 00:30:38.579 --> 00:30:40.779 of works out. You know some people in some places. 00:30:41.869 --> 00:30:45.410 I message the right people to know that things 00:30:45.410 --> 00:30:47.309 will be okay, kind of. I don't know how to explain 00:30:47.309 --> 00:30:50.269 it exactly. I know exactly what you mean. Actually, 00:30:50.309 --> 00:30:55.069 a few weeks ago, I happened to have to go to 00:30:55.069 --> 00:30:58.950 Curacao. And I was so busy with work, everything 00:30:58.950 --> 00:31:02.589 before my flight that I didn't have a moment 00:31:02.589 --> 00:31:06.069 to book the place to stay. I needed a car. I 00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:08.170 didn't have a moment to look at the cars, etc. 00:31:08.569 --> 00:31:11.089 And then while I was on the plane, I just got 00:31:11.089 --> 00:31:14.509 the Wi -Fi and I started looking with the terrible 00:31:14.509 --> 00:31:18.349 internet in the sky. I booked an accommodation. 00:31:18.789 --> 00:31:22.109 Then the guy messages me on booking .com because 00:31:22.109 --> 00:31:25.410 it was kind of like a guest house. Then he asked 00:31:25.410 --> 00:31:27.049 me if I have a car. I said, no, I don't have 00:31:27.049 --> 00:31:29.609 a car yet. He's like, oh, you want any recommendations? 00:31:29.829 --> 00:31:32.930 Sure. He sends me two links. I add the guy on 00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:34.970 WhatsApp. Say, hey, I need a car. He's like, 00:31:35.029 --> 00:31:37.450 okay, I'll meet you at the airport. So book everything 00:31:37.450 --> 00:31:40.609 on the flight over. Exactly that. Yeah. Things 00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:43.529 like that. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like things just 00:31:43.529 --> 00:31:46.990 fall into place. Yeah. So that's a bit of that 00:31:46.990 --> 00:31:51.069 mellowness and komt goed vibe of the Caribbean 00:31:51.069 --> 00:31:57.799 roots. Awesome. So now you already mentioned 00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:02.140 that your brother has played and still plays 00:32:02.140 --> 00:32:08.160 a significant role in sort of being that knowledgeable 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:11.940 person in your life that you can turn to and 00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:15.059 ask for advice or would give you advice, coaching, 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:21.730 etc. You could expand more on the role that your 00:32:21.730 --> 00:32:25.710 brother has played, but also others throughout 00:32:25.710 --> 00:32:28.789 your journey from a mentorship perspective. So 00:32:28.789 --> 00:32:32.569 who has been mentors in your life? I think it 00:32:32.569 --> 00:32:34.609 was my family as a whole. We're a small family. 00:32:35.190 --> 00:32:38.970 My dad, my mom, my brother and I. And this whole 00:32:38.970 --> 00:32:40.609 windsurfing journey, we started it together. 00:32:41.329 --> 00:32:44.509 So the first World Cups kind of that we went 00:32:44.509 --> 00:32:48.940 to, we went there together. First hand, I learned 00:32:48.940 --> 00:32:51.140 from my parents what it takes to travel to these 00:32:51.140 --> 00:32:53.140 places. Like I said, booking the tickets, getting 00:32:53.140 --> 00:32:55.839 accommodation, car. What I really liked from 00:32:55.839 --> 00:32:57.720 my parents also is that they wouldn't just leave 00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.720 us at the windsurfing spot. They would actually 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:01.539 also take us around to visit the island, you 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:03.599 know? Oh, yeah. You can get really caught up 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:07.079 in the sport and staying on that beach. Yeah. 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:08.640 And then you leave and you're like, what did 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:09.980 I see of the place, you know? Yeah, exactly. 00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:12.819 What did I explore? Yeah, I think my parents 00:33:12.819 --> 00:33:15.599 really instilled that in my brother and I. And 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:19.539 then Quincy... he's a super skilled windsurfer 00:33:19.539 --> 00:33:24.220 and there are things that you like for example 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:26.259 if we're teaching I will still say that Quincy 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:28.700 is a better teacher than I am you know he's better 00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:31.359 at explaining certain techniques and keeping 00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:33.859 it simple I would say and that's he does the 00:33:33.859 --> 00:33:39.160 same for me there's Yeah, just technique, my 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:41.519 stance or certain conditions. He sometimes points 00:33:41.519 --> 00:33:43.579 things out that maybe I didn't think about. And 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:48.160 I feel like there's a good feedback between the 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:52.740 two of us. And he's been to many places that 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:55.680 I'm still competing at. So he knows exactly where 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:59.640 I'm at and what I'm dealing with. Besides that... 00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:04.700 I started the tour so young I was 13 14 years 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:07.140 old but I think I was not inquisitive but I was 00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:10.679 a very talkative kid maybe or I was not very 00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:13.920 shy you know so I would just walk up to the then 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:16.980 the then 20 million times world champion and 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:19.300 just ask them for tips you know or how they would 00:34:19.300 --> 00:34:20.880 do this and that and I think maybe because I 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:22.699 was a kid they were like very friendly to me 00:34:22.699 --> 00:34:24.860 but I think it's just this openness that we have 00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:27.559 from here already yeah and again I mentioned 00:34:27.559 --> 00:34:30.409 it before but you see it also with the with the 00:34:30.409 --> 00:34:32.909 i grew up kind of with the the guys from bonair 00:34:32.909 --> 00:34:36.449 when they they reached like the top very quickly 00:34:36.449 --> 00:34:37.849 and these were the guys that i was looking up 00:34:37.849 --> 00:34:41.349 to as well um oh yeah because bonair is actually 00:34:41.349 --> 00:34:44.690 it's it's bigger on the windsurfing yeah right 00:34:44.690 --> 00:34:46.949 now there's way more wind servers on that island 00:34:46.949 --> 00:34:50.969 they really uh they really support the sport 00:34:50.969 --> 00:34:54.940 also I was just there and you get there and there's 00:34:54.940 --> 00:34:57.500 like 100 people windsurfing, you know? And it's 00:34:57.500 --> 00:35:00.559 also really alive among the locals. But they 00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:03.000 have three guys, Tonki, Tati and Kiri. They're 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:07.039 cousins, brothers and cousins. And they really 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:09.559 brought freestyling to life. So when they started, 00:35:09.659 --> 00:35:11.219 this discipline was very new and they were like 00:35:11.219 --> 00:35:13.639 at the forefront. So this is when I also started 00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:18.639 windsurfing and I always looked up to them. So 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:20.940 for me, it was also very... always very good 00:35:20.940 --> 00:35:23.579 to go there learn from them and then we also 00:35:23.579 --> 00:35:27.320 met on tour afterwards which was nice to not 00:35:27.320 --> 00:35:29.900 feel alone kind of when you're traveling because 00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:32.440 there's people that like like -minded people 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:34.280 or people that that understand where you're from 00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:37.280 so we kind of formed this like little pack when 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.219 we were traveling so that was always nice so 00:35:39.219 --> 00:35:41.039 in the beginning was with my parents and my brother 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:43.219 then my brother and i traveled and then we would 00:35:43.219 --> 00:35:45.579 stick with kind of like the caribbean crew nice 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:51.420 Yeah. And I mean, all the windsurfers are a certain 00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:53.219 type of people. They're all pretty laid back 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:57.019 and they're pretty easygoing. But then there's 00:35:57.019 --> 00:35:58.840 still groups. And I feel like with the Caribbean 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:02.099 ones, we were the most like -minded kind of. 00:36:02.099 --> 00:36:12.539 Yeah. So at 33 now, till when do you think you'll 00:36:12.539 --> 00:36:16.199 be continuing? traveling the world competing 00:36:16.199 --> 00:36:19.519 on uh on this level yeah i um i thought about 00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:21.800 that a lot if you would have asked me like eight 00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:24.059 years ago eight years ago i think it's been about 00:36:24.059 --> 00:36:25.460 10 years that i've been saying like yeah i'll 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:27.840 stop next year i'll stop next year and then every 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:29.900 year i keep going and now i kind of changed it 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:32.239 since two years or since three years i'm saying 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:34.760 like Yeah, let's just see where it goes. I think 00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:36.940 the mindset is changing a little bit in sports. 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:41.719 I mean, LeBron is my age. Still going. I'm 40. 00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:45.039 Yeah. And he's still going, man. And why not? 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:48.880 There is this thing of you need to stop at your 00:36:48.880 --> 00:36:53.900 peak. Or once you're 31, 32, you're old. And 00:36:53.900 --> 00:36:56.780 I think... From what I'm seeing and what I'm 00:36:56.780 --> 00:36:58.719 experiencing myself, I think the most important 00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:01.539 in sports is the longevity. If you can stretch 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:04.860 your career, why not? If you can physically handle 00:37:04.860 --> 00:37:07.579 it, then just go for it. I feel really fit. I 00:37:07.579 --> 00:37:10.860 feel good. I still love it a lot and maybe even 00:37:10.860 --> 00:37:12.719 more than I did before. I appreciate everything 00:37:12.719 --> 00:37:17.659 so much more. Now to think of it, because I'm 00:37:17.659 --> 00:37:20.559 not a super big sports guy, but I do watch quite 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:27.730 a few documentaries. analyze the human, the psychology 00:37:27.730 --> 00:37:34.409 behind some of the greatest athletes. Would you 00:37:34.409 --> 00:37:42.170 say that the athletes, at least of our sort of 00:37:42.170 --> 00:37:45.690 millennial generation -ish, that they've been 00:37:45.690 --> 00:37:50.440 way more... health conscious and way more body 00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:54.420 conscious and continuing to keep themselves in 00:37:54.420 --> 00:37:59.119 the best state to be able to achieve more longevity 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:04.280 versus let's say two, three decades ago. I think 00:38:04.280 --> 00:38:05.679 so. I think there's so much more information 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:08.679 out there now, like on diet, on stretching, mobility, 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:11.460 all of that stuff. I think even LeBron James, 00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:14.800 he spends so much money on just maintaining his 00:38:14.800 --> 00:38:16.900 body. Yeah, they say it's like a million plus 00:38:16.900 --> 00:38:19.940 per year. Yeah, going to the physio, chiropractor, 00:38:19.980 --> 00:38:22.099 just keeping your body in shape instead of tearing 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:25.760 it down. Because all of these sports are high 00:38:25.760 --> 00:38:29.260 -impact sports, so your body really deteriorates, 00:38:29.260 --> 00:38:31.449 you know? So you have to take care of it. And 00:38:31.449 --> 00:38:34.909 I think nowadays we just know so much more and 00:38:34.909 --> 00:38:36.989 we know how to take care of ourselves better, 00:38:37.190 --> 00:38:41.769 I think. So that's probably also a big part of 00:38:41.769 --> 00:38:44.889 why that needle is shifting more towards being 00:38:44.889 --> 00:38:49.130 able to compete longer and have more longevity. 00:38:49.130 --> 00:38:51.650 Yeah, and you see it. Even in tennis, I think 00:38:51.650 --> 00:38:54.909 it's such a physically difficult, hard sport. 00:38:56.090 --> 00:38:58.550 Athletes like Rafael Nadal and Djokovic, they're 00:38:58.550 --> 00:39:02.500 like 36, 37. or rafael retired but djokovic is 00:39:02.500 --> 00:39:06.059 like still at the top you know and he's quite 00:39:06.059 --> 00:39:08.239 a bit older than the rest so if you can stretch 00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:10.380 it why not yeah and i don't think there's anything 00:39:10.380 --> 00:39:16.400 bad about fading out maybe because as i said 00:39:16.400 --> 00:39:19.400 people said you should stop at your peak but 00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:20.960 if you're at your peak then i feel like you have 00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:23.219 so much more to give you know yeah yeah and also 00:39:23.219 --> 00:39:25.179 for the generation after i think these people 00:39:25.179 --> 00:39:28.510 want to compete against you you know true And 00:39:28.510 --> 00:39:30.969 if it can keep you on your toes to compete with 00:39:30.969 --> 00:39:33.789 younger people, then why not? I think I have 00:39:33.789 --> 00:39:39.690 this worry of... falling into an abyss of nothingness 00:39:39.690 --> 00:39:41.889 if i'm not competing anymore because i'm such 00:39:41.889 --> 00:39:44.230 a competitive person and it really drives me 00:39:44.230 --> 00:39:46.849 and it's been such a huge part of your entire 00:39:46.849 --> 00:39:50.150 life so far yeah so what am i going to be competitive 00:39:50.150 --> 00:39:52.849 at afterwards if i don't win surf like there 00:39:52.849 --> 00:39:56.570 can be the second act yeah but you're not thinking 00:39:56.570 --> 00:39:59.190 about that as yet yeah at some point at some 00:39:59.190 --> 00:40:00.949 point but i feel like i can give it another three 00:40:00.949 --> 00:40:03.269 or four years or something yeah so we'll see 00:40:03.789 --> 00:40:05.269 We'll see. I've been lucky enough to not have 00:40:05.269 --> 00:40:08.909 any injuries or any setbacks. Yeah. Awesome. 00:40:09.269 --> 00:40:14.409 Yeah. So that was looking into the crystal ball 00:40:14.409 --> 00:40:17.690 of the future. Let's rewind the clock a little 00:40:17.690 --> 00:40:22.769 bit and go back to 18 -year -old Sarikita. And 00:40:22.769 --> 00:40:29.349 if she was sitting right next to you, what advice, 00:40:29.610 --> 00:40:32.659 what life advice would you give her? with all 00:40:32.659 --> 00:40:36.719 that you know now today? Yeah, I would maybe 00:40:36.719 --> 00:40:38.840 tell her to trust herself a little bit more, 00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:45.840 like her own judgment and not maybe feeling like 00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:48.019 other people's opinions matter more. Just to 00:40:48.019 --> 00:40:50.039 tell her that her own opinions also matter a 00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:52.699 lot. And maybe to take up a little, not a little, 00:40:52.760 --> 00:40:55.300 a lot more space, I would say. A lot more space. 00:40:55.380 --> 00:40:58.059 Yeah, just to be yourself and not make yourself 00:40:58.059 --> 00:41:03.039 any smaller, I would say. Nice. yeah i think 00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.760 so so could could you expand a little bit on 00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:08.280 what that period was like for you then uh in 00:41:08.280 --> 00:41:12.940 in that context um i mean i think i've always 00:41:12.940 --> 00:41:18.559 had a i don't feel like it was a huh when i was 00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:21.699 18 yeah everything was new and stuff um but i 00:41:21.699 --> 00:41:25.920 think in general i am or have been like a bit 00:41:25.920 --> 00:41:28.840 naive person so i would i don't know because 00:41:28.840 --> 00:41:34.150 of what i think that's just how i was um so yeah 00:41:34.150 --> 00:41:37.409 i feel like i didn't really feel like my opinions 00:41:37.409 --> 00:41:39.409 mattered so much you know i was around older 00:41:39.409 --> 00:41:41.849 people a lot of the time yeah so i felt like 00:41:41.849 --> 00:41:43.889 maybe whatever they said was more important and 00:41:43.889 --> 00:41:46.690 stuff but over the years i've learned that actually 00:41:46.690 --> 00:41:50.750 the way i'm thinking matches that person or um 00:41:50.750 --> 00:41:54.170 yeah it's also correct what i'm thinking and 00:41:54.170 --> 00:41:56.989 the age doesn't really matter that much i think 00:41:56.989 --> 00:42:00.250 yeah so to not be intimidated by other other 00:42:00.250 --> 00:42:03.829 people their age and seemingly being more knowledgeable 00:42:03.829 --> 00:42:06.090 than you are i think you yeah there's experiences 00:42:06.090 --> 00:42:09.309 that you've had and you can draw on and 100%. 00:42:09.309 --> 00:42:12.809 I think so. And the vast amount of experience 00:42:12.809 --> 00:42:17.210 that you would accumulate over traveling the 00:42:17.210 --> 00:42:20.389 whole world. Because I always say travel is some 00:42:20.389 --> 00:42:22.829 of the best education there is. Yeah, I think 00:42:22.829 --> 00:42:25.070 so. There's no education like travel education. 00:42:25.949 --> 00:42:28.050 Yeah, it's really fun. Learning and understanding 00:42:28.050 --> 00:42:31.210 different cultures. And it takes away a lot of 00:42:31.210 --> 00:42:34.590 the ignorances that people might also go through 00:42:34.590 --> 00:42:38.329 life with. with not understanding other cultures. 00:42:39.130 --> 00:42:41.889 I agree. I think the best experiences I've had 00:42:41.889 --> 00:42:45.510 were going to places that, like, for example, 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:49.010 Turkey. I feel like in Holland doesn't necessarily 00:42:49.010 --> 00:42:52.150 is in the best light. Yeah. Travel there with 00:42:52.150 --> 00:42:54.550 my mom and it's, to this day, it's one of my 00:42:54.550 --> 00:42:57.150 favorite places to travel to when I go. The food 00:42:57.150 --> 00:42:58.909 is amazing. The people are super friendly. The 00:42:58.909 --> 00:43:02.710 country is beautiful. So that was insane. Traveling 00:43:02.710 --> 00:43:06.849 to Korea, for example. didn't know anything about 00:43:06.849 --> 00:43:09.449 the culture at all you know and then you see 00:43:09.449 --> 00:43:12.690 they live completely different than we do but 00:43:12.690 --> 00:43:16.929 that also works so what what expand on that what 00:43:16.929 --> 00:43:19.190 is completely different than just like the food 00:43:19.190 --> 00:43:21.670 that they eat the way that they address people 00:43:21.670 --> 00:43:25.590 for example In Korea and Japan, for example, 00:43:25.590 --> 00:43:27.730 it's very different. But I think in Asia, people 00:43:27.730 --> 00:43:31.190 are more respectful. They're maybe not so straightforward. 00:43:31.550 --> 00:43:34.250 In Japan, you ask them something and they say 00:43:34.250 --> 00:43:37.969 no like this. They don't know how to say no, 00:43:38.050 --> 00:43:41.730 for example. So then it's a bit confusing. And 00:43:41.730 --> 00:43:44.909 it just teaches you to put yourself in other 00:43:44.909 --> 00:43:47.090 people's shoes and how they go through life and 00:43:47.090 --> 00:43:49.170 what type of culture they have, I would say. 00:43:52.230 --> 00:43:55.750 Yeah, Asia was like a culture shock, kind of. 00:43:55.869 --> 00:44:04.070 So if we touch on a bit more of those places 00:44:04.070 --> 00:44:07.429 that you've been, so the example of Turkey was 00:44:07.429 --> 00:44:10.769 quite interesting, Korea. Is there any other 00:44:10.769 --> 00:44:13.969 place that stands out that taught you some big 00:44:13.969 --> 00:44:22.800 life lessons? Yeah. Cape Town for example I think 00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:25.380 is beautiful but there's like a really big contrast 00:44:25.380 --> 00:44:28.420 between rich and poor and then me as a windsurfer 00:44:28.420 --> 00:44:34.059 I don't really meet that poor side so much actually 00:44:34.059 --> 00:44:38.559 because you do end up in the more affluent neighborhoods 00:44:38.559 --> 00:44:43.440 but you still meet it more than for example where 00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:45.039 I'm from here in Aruba or if I'm in the Netherlands 00:44:45.039 --> 00:44:48.619 like everyone is pretty okay off yeah And again, 00:44:48.699 --> 00:44:50.539 like I said, that really opens up your eyes to 00:44:50.539 --> 00:44:54.000 how people go through life sometimes. So I think 00:44:54.000 --> 00:44:58.260 Cape Town has had an influence for sure. Where? 00:44:59.300 --> 00:45:04.340 I've been to Thailand, Myanmar, Korea. It's so 00:45:04.340 --> 00:45:10.840 different, everything. So now if we circle back 00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:15.019 here to Aruba, where passion and purpose started 00:45:15.019 --> 00:45:19.699 to meet each other. um you have the university 00:45:19.699 --> 00:45:23.960 where you teach uh where you teach kids how long 00:45:23.960 --> 00:45:26.260 have you had that the windsurf university started 00:45:26.260 --> 00:45:30.099 in 2021 so about four years now okay so trying 00:45:30.099 --> 00:45:32.059 to expand it but for now it's like a fun hobby 00:45:32.059 --> 00:45:35.960 yeah yeah so so tell us more about it um i started 00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:38.219 it with uda johanna she's from norway and we 00:45:38.219 --> 00:45:40.960 also compete together um and i think it was in 00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:45.300 covet times so we actually do live like camps 00:45:45.300 --> 00:45:47.760 on site so we meet the people in different locations 00:45:47.760 --> 00:45:50.119 and we coach them but then at some point you 00:45:50.119 --> 00:45:52.000 couldn't really travel anymore and we're just 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:54.059 trying to find a way to keep in touch with people 00:45:54.059 --> 00:45:56.500 so we started this online windsurf university 00:45:56.500 --> 00:45:59.980 so we could do online coaching online coaching 00:45:59.980 --> 00:46:02.760 yeah windsurf of windsurfing yeah so it would 00:46:02.760 --> 00:46:06.059 be how does that work it's more it's more theoretical 00:46:06.059 --> 00:46:08.780 i would say yeah but we have a lot of videos 00:46:08.780 --> 00:46:11.590 for example Or that person shares their videos. 00:46:11.809 --> 00:46:14.909 And for us, it's quite easy to point out certain 00:46:14.909 --> 00:46:17.110 techniques or mistakes or what they're doing 00:46:17.110 --> 00:46:20.130 wrong or right. And that usually is very helpful 00:46:20.130 --> 00:46:23.070 for people. Because in sports, it's not only 00:46:23.070 --> 00:46:24.510 about practicing the sport, but you actually 00:46:24.510 --> 00:46:27.170 need to think about it as well. So that session 00:46:27.170 --> 00:46:30.650 is a theory session so that you can really think 00:46:30.650 --> 00:46:31.989 about the movements that you're doing and then 00:46:31.989 --> 00:46:34.190 you take that to the water. Because that's how 00:46:34.190 --> 00:46:37.579 I train also. I film myself and then I re -watch 00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:40.980 it and I see where I can improve. And it gives 00:46:40.980 --> 00:46:44.400 you a different awareness. So in the university, 00:46:44.440 --> 00:46:47.840 you guys do a mixture of theory and practical. 00:46:48.380 --> 00:46:51.179 Yeah, so it started out as an online coaching 00:46:51.179 --> 00:46:53.920 program, but then we also, now we can travel 00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:56.420 again. So we just do coaching in different locations 00:46:56.420 --> 00:46:58.260 in the world and we call the program, we call 00:46:58.260 --> 00:47:01.539 it Windsurf University. But you still do like 00:47:01.539 --> 00:47:04.280 the online part of... Yeah, people still sign 00:47:04.280 --> 00:47:06.480 up for that. And then when you go to location, 00:47:06.599 --> 00:47:08.460 then they would show up at the locations and 00:47:08.460 --> 00:47:11.480 then they get the practical side of things. Yeah, 00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:15.440 it's like a four -day coaching program. Okay, 00:47:15.519 --> 00:47:17.699 nice. We go on the water with them, we film them, 00:47:17.860 --> 00:47:20.920 theory on the beach. So Uda is her name? Yeah. 00:47:21.719 --> 00:47:24.469 So she also lives in Norway. Yeah, yeah. But 00:47:24.469 --> 00:47:27.309 we're traveling all year long. Oh, yeah. I also 00:47:27.309 --> 00:47:29.050 live in Holland or Aruba, but I'm never there. 00:47:30.550 --> 00:47:33.949 Yeah. Yeah, you're a hard lady to pin down. Yeah. 00:47:35.250 --> 00:47:38.250 Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep moving. Awesome, 00:47:38.389 --> 00:47:45.750 awesome. Yeah, so is there any other thoughts, 00:47:46.050 --> 00:47:52.469 words, things that you want to let the people 00:47:52.469 --> 00:48:01.769 know? I mean, I think the main thing that I would 00:48:01.769 --> 00:48:04.030 say very often, I think what people see very 00:48:04.030 --> 00:48:06.050 often, in my case maybe, is kind of like the 00:48:06.050 --> 00:48:08.329 successes and that's what we also see of other 00:48:08.329 --> 00:48:09.869 people that are successful and you don't really 00:48:09.869 --> 00:48:13.010 necessarily see the behind the scenes. To just 00:48:13.010 --> 00:48:17.070 keep in mind that nothing is very straightforward. 00:48:17.349 --> 00:48:21.309 If anyone achieves that kind of success or any 00:48:21.309 --> 00:48:24.880 success, uh blood sweat and tears i guess that 00:48:24.880 --> 00:48:27.500 i that they put into that and to remind yourself 00:48:27.500 --> 00:48:30.559 also that if you're maybe on the way to something 00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:34.780 and you have some setback you're gonna have a 00:48:34.780 --> 00:48:36.960 lot more of those you know so you just you just 00:48:36.960 --> 00:48:39.300 gotta pick yourself up and then keep putting 00:48:39.300 --> 00:48:42.019 keep making the next steps um i think there's 00:48:42.019 --> 00:48:47.010 no way to achieve kind of greatness or or or 00:48:47.010 --> 00:48:50.349 be successful without failing first yeah so and 00:48:50.349 --> 00:48:51.949 and that's just that's just part of the process 00:48:51.949 --> 00:48:54.909 i think and and it would be boring if we could 00:48:54.909 --> 00:48:57.449 just manage everything like this you know exactly 00:48:57.449 --> 00:49:02.170 so yeah i think to to enjoy the process and and 00:49:02.170 --> 00:49:06.769 yeah it's an experience like on your way to wherever 00:49:06.769 --> 00:49:09.909 you're going you'll have your you'll get sidetracked 00:49:09.909 --> 00:49:12.170 or not sidetracked but it's like different things 00:49:12.170 --> 00:49:13.590 you're going to experience that you didn't that 00:49:13.590 --> 00:49:17.139 you didn't anticipate you didn't anticipate or 00:49:17.139 --> 00:49:18.980 wouldn't expect and i think it's all part of 00:49:18.980 --> 00:49:22.260 it so and and i think uh coming back to what 00:49:22.260 --> 00:49:26.139 you mentioned earlier about uh just really enjoying 00:49:26.139 --> 00:49:28.960 the journey yeah that in recent years you've 00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:32.780 been way more enjoying the journey than uh than 00:49:32.780 --> 00:49:35.380 than maybe in the earlier years yeah i mean you 00:49:35.380 --> 00:49:39.099 were enjoying it but but the focus was more on 00:49:39.099 --> 00:49:42.349 winning than on enjoying the process right Yeah, 00:49:42.389 --> 00:49:43.989 I was very young when I started and I was very 00:49:43.989 --> 00:49:45.489 lucky that my parents could actually take me 00:49:45.489 --> 00:49:47.809 to these places. And I'm super grateful for the 00:49:47.809 --> 00:49:50.190 experience and they were very important to me. 00:49:53.210 --> 00:49:56.250 But not that I would take it for granted, but 00:49:56.250 --> 00:49:58.429 I just wouldn't think about it. And now if I 00:49:58.429 --> 00:50:00.730 look back, I'm like, whoa, I did all of those 00:50:00.730 --> 00:50:05.150 things when I was 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23. Even 00:50:05.150 --> 00:50:07.010 now, if I think that I went to Australia when 00:50:07.010 --> 00:50:10.199 I was 23 and driving. eight hours from one spot 00:50:10.199 --> 00:50:14.380 to the next to the next like how so I'm learning 00:50:14.380 --> 00:50:19.599 more about my parents stresses and stuff um but 00:50:19.599 --> 00:50:22.400 yeah like now because I've had so many years 00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:25.260 I don't know I just appreciate it more and it's 00:50:25.260 --> 00:50:28.860 not just the the competitions and and the being 00:50:28.860 --> 00:50:31.460 on the water it's also kind of the family and 00:50:31.460 --> 00:50:36.329 friends that I have now on tour and uh what every 00:50:36.329 --> 00:50:38.389 country has to offer you know so i like to go 00:50:38.389 --> 00:50:40.469 sightseeing and learning more about the places 00:50:40.469 --> 00:50:44.550 and yeah yeah because yeah that's what you gotta 00:50:44.550 --> 00:50:49.710 do when you're there awesome yeah well miss can 00:50:49.710 --> 00:50:54.710 i call you miss yeah thank you very very much 00:50:54.710 --> 00:50:57.929 for um taking the time out to be on uh be on 00:50:57.929 --> 00:51:01.119 the podcast thank you for having me and um And 00:51:01.119 --> 00:51:03.900 we definitely going to continue to watch the 00:51:03.900 --> 00:51:07.260 journey from afar and cheer you on and continue 00:51:07.260 --> 00:51:14.380 to create and do and achieve epic shh. Thank 00:51:14.380 --> 00:51:18.449 you. Awesome. Hey, thank you so much. And with 00:51:18.449 --> 00:51:21.730 that, guys, we'll see you in the next one. But 00:51:21.730 --> 00:51:25.789 please like, comment and subscribe. And if there 00:51:25.789 --> 00:51:29.090 were any questions that I missed or any thoughts 00:51:29.090 --> 00:51:31.389 that you had about the episode, please let us 00:51:31.389 --> 00:51:34.969 know down below. And we highly appreciate each 00:51:34.969 --> 00:51:37.250 and every one of you. Thank you. Bless.