We talked about tactics, a nasty injury, emigrating to Tenerife and his breakthrough to the top of the World Cup. We also wanted to find out first-hand from a young pro what he thinks the current state of professional windsurfing is: a cheerful conversation with a relaxed, optimistic Julian Salmonn, who lives for and from windsurfing.
Julian, two podiums in a row. Congratulations! Can you link these two great successes to anything in particular?
E (Bruch, editor's note) said to me that it had simply "clicked" this year. I was still a bit reserved in my heats before and wasn't able to realise my full potential. I still haven't really got into the flow state like I did with free surfing in the contest, but I'd say I'm a lot closer than before. I really want to keep working on it now and hopefully I'll be able to show my full potential at the next event on Sylt or next season at the latest.
Is Dany your coach?
Yes, exactly, I've been working with Dany as a board sponsor for six years now and during this time we've always incorporated a bit of coaching. He's very busy with his company and family, so the whole thing hasn't been constant, but it's always happened when we've been able to fit it in. He was there in Gran Canaria, for example, and that helped me a lot. We worked out a tactic together that proved successful in Pozo. After careful calculation, I knew that if my wave rides were right, i.e. in the eight to nine point range, then I could basically beat anyone - even without jumps in the excellent range. So at the start of the heats I only concentrated on the waves instead of the jumps like most of the other riders. Dany signalled to me from the shore how things were going and where I could still pick up points.
I hope to be able to show my full potential at the World Cup on Sylt.
You just mentioned it: excellent jumps. You are more known for your stylish and radical wave riding than for jumping. I watched you training Pusch Forward with Dany in Cabezo last winter. Would you like to reach a similar level of excellence in jumping as you do in wave riding?
Yes, even though riding will always be my priority - because it's simply what I enjoy the most - I really want to get to a top level in jumping too. Shortly before the event in Pozo, I even landed my first Pusch Forwards, but they just weren't safe enough to incorporate into my heats. But now I'm even more motivated to keep improving my jumps. Pusch forwards, doubles and stalled doubles are definitely at the top of my to-do list.
Riding waves is what I enjoy the most.
You once injured your leg badly during jump training as a teenager. Do you still think about that? So you still have some kind of mental block?
No, fortunately not. But I wasn't allowed to jump for a summer with the screws in my leg and only rode waves, which is how I developed this love of riding.
But now I'm even more motivated to improve my jumps.
How did the leg injury happen?
With the one-footed backloop. I lost control and let go of everything in the air. Normally, the material then flies away from you in the wind and you plunge into the water like a candle. For whatever reason, the material stayed under me on this descent and I hit my board with my leg outstretched. My shin broke off to the side and into the bottom of my ankle. I was very lucky in my misfortune, also with my doctor in Germany, who operated on me. I actually don't feel anything from it today - and it was a really complicated injury.
Did that happen when you just moved here?
Yes, I injured myself in my first year on Tenerife. I came here when I was 15.
How did you manage to move from Giessen to Tenerife as a teenager?
After my father taught us how to windsurf during our holidays in Denmark, I really wanted to do an exchange year by the sea. Because of my love of windsurfing, but also my love of the sea. When we could surf well enough, we came to Tenerife on holiday and met a family who, over dinner one day, said without further ado that I could live with them and do my exchange year on Tenerife. I went to school in the north of the island and one year turned into two, three, and so on... I had originally extended my stay back then because I had broken my leg and therefore couldn't really use the first year (on the water). That has now turned into ten (laughs).
Could you imagine moving back to Germany?
Not really, no. Maybe to the coast in northern Germany, but I'd have to try that out.
Unfortunately, you hear it again and again, the theory that professional windsurfing is dead. You are a young, German windsurfing pro who lives in Tenerife. What do you think?
I can't complain. I've turned my passion into a career and can now call myself a professional. And overall, I also have a really good feeling about the sport: it feels like there is a lot more young talent again. When I used to compete in the juniors, some of the youth fleets were tiny, but now they are comparatively huge - there is a lot of young talent, especially in Gran Canaria. That's great to see. Even if the manufacturers are currently having a hard time after the corona boom, I think it's a good and nice time to be involved in professional windsurfing. With the united wave tour, the big junior fleets and new events, I have the feeling that the hype is coming back a bit. I think it's very important that the juniors are taken as seriously at the World Cups as they are here. In other words, to send them out in good conditions, livestream, podium and trophies.... The event organisers and the Head Judge have done a damn good job here. And it's not an easy job. I'm very grateful to them for everything.
I can't complain - I've turned my passion into a profession.
Do you feel that here on Tenerife?
I haven't seen so many windsurfers in Cabezo for a long time as I did this summer. Even over in the bay of El Médano, where we usually have a surplus of kiters, there were more windsurfers on the water than kites in the sky after a long time, and my friends' windsurfing centres were also packed.
It's been a long time since I've seen so many windsurfers on Tenerife as I did this summer.
To come back briefly to your career: Is it your goal to become world champion?
Yes, that's the big goal. Definitely. But what's even more important to me is getting there, the day-to-day life and training as a professional is what I enjoy the most, and I want to take that with me and enjoy it for as long as I can - because that's the most important thing, I think. In the contest, things sometimes go better and sometimes worse - sometimes it works out in your favour and sometimes not. Nevertheless, I want to keep pushing myself to a higher and higher level, especially with wind from the right and in the jumps we talked about earlier.
I want to enjoy life as a professional for as long as I can.
The last two World Cup events are Sylt and Maui. Will you be competing in both? What else is on the agenda?
Exactly, I'm still going to Sylt and Maui this year. In the future, however, I also plan to invest more time and energy in "freesurfing" or video trips. I think that's something that's a little lacking in windsurfing compared to surfing, for example: conveying that special feeling of freedom of travelling and exploring even more intensively. Last year, for example, I went on a magical Cape Verde trip with Arthur Aurutkin and filmmaker Julien Bru spontaneously (on forecast). Trips like that; surfing with just two friends at a point break, discovering new cultures and editing atmospheric videos, that's at least as important to me, or even more important, than winning a contest.
