Wave World Champion 2025: Interview with Marc Paré - "The North Sea is my playground"
It's not so easy to catch the new wave world champion. Instead of having a few after winning the title, Marc Paré is already working on new sail designs. And not under palm trees on Maui, but in cold Sweden, at the headquarters of his sponsor Simmer Style. Every minute of daylight and every breath of wind is used for testing, the rest of the time is filled with meetings and development work. Late one evening, we finally manage to speak to Marc. Our colleague John Carter was ahead of the game in this case and caught Marc for a chat straight after the final on Maui - so you can experience the new wave world champion in an interview with a lot of emotion after the contest and a bit of reflected distance a few weeks later.
Congratulations on winning your first world title. How does it feel?
Thank you so much! It feels amazing and it’s a huge relief after working so hard towards this goal for so many years. At the same time, I don’t think I fully understand or believe the calibre of this accomplishment.
Has it sunken in yet?
Not really. I haven't been really thinking about it, I've been just focused on other stuff. Maybe at some point it's going to sink in. But for now, I'm just looking ahead to doing new things and improving stuff. No time to think back at the moment.
How was the reception in Europe, how did you celebrate?
On Maui, we went with a few of my friends and grabbed some sushi after the contest was over. My other friends were waiting for me to go party, but I fell asleep on Ricardo’s couch (laughs). I think after all the stress I went through, as soon as my body had the chance to relax, everything caught up to me. I haven't been home in Spain yet, but my parents came over to Sweden and paid me a surprise. My boss organized it. Then Surfers, the local shop in Varberg, prepared a party, so that was really nice. It was special and it was nice to have the Surf community to come to the shop and celebrate!
How was your mindset coming into and during the Aloha Classic?
I was just really focused and doing my thing and playing my game to try and do my best sailing and defend my first place the best way I could. We all know how good Braw’ is at sailing Ho’okipa, so I didn’t want to give him any slack and definitely didn’t want to leave it up to him. In the end I didn’t manage to defend it the way I wanted but at the same time super happy with my sailing throughout the event, to finish 5th at the Aloha and of course to clinch the World Title!
How did it feel when you went out in the first semi-final and then Marcilio made it through to the final?
It was a close battle coming into Maui, as even if I was sitting ahead with a good advantage points-wise, the scenario that Braw needed for him to become World Champion, was totally possible. When I didn’t advance to the finals, I was really pissed and broken. I really took it like losing the title there. As I mentioned, my plan was to not leave it up to Braw to decide, I wanted to defend my place by getting into the top 3, so he didn’t have any options. So losing was really hard to take with the title being so close to achieve. But I was extremely happy it went my way in the end!
What did you do after the heat when you were eliminated…did you cry…Did you watch the other heats?
I think I hadn’t been this upset in a long time, even if my chances were still there. Yes, I cried and tried to take in the loss. Called my family and chilled in the car and watched F1 to not have a heart attack watching the event unfold… But before the final I called my dad and he told me to watch the final and whatever the outcome, to enjoy every moment. So that’s what I did, and can’t explain how amazing, nerve-wrecking and special that was. Sitting there with my friends cheering on and giving me company and having my parents on the phone was just insanely special. It’s a moment I will never forget. The nerves, the happiness, the relief, the love… was just a super intense and unique moment.
Before Maui, you won the final in gnarly bolt onshore Sylt…what was it like transitioning to riding Ho’okipa after going to battle in a storm in Sylt?
It’s a pretty big contrast. Even if I’ve spent a lot of time on Maui training over the years, it always takes around a week or so for me to get fully back in sync with the spot. It’s not that much about the moves or turns you can do on the wave, but more about the timing with the wave and in my case specially how to pick the right waves between all the competitors and sailors that are also looking to get the right waves.
I've spent more time on the North Sea than at home on the wave. This is my playground."
On the epic finals day on Sylt, what was going on through your head when you walked to the beach and saw the wild conditions?
Not much. I was excited that day. A lot of the people said it's too dangerous, the waves are breaking against the wall. But I've spent more time in the North Sea than I've spent at home sailing in waves. This is my playground. I had been training for the past month in this stuff by myself. It was a calming point for me. I've done my job in this. I've trained, so I'm not really scared. I was comfortable in a way because I knew that it was not something new, I knew what I was facing. It gave me this sense of relaxed mental state that I was enjoying it in a weird way.
A lot of people describe you as very focused and working hard. Is it something you have to push yourself to or is it just natural to you?
It's just natural. This world title mainly made me realize a few things. Number one, people saw the potential that I had and what I was doing more than I was realizing, because I just do it because I like it. Also, if you do the other jobs in development, everything is fun. It's windsurfing. I just simply like it. Probably, people believed in me more than I did in myself to achieve the world title. I just hammered on and did my work. I didn't do it to win or to get fame. It's because there's passion for it, I think.
Did you have to sacrifice some things on the way?
Yeah, for sure. It happens all the time. I'd rather be in Chile now and sailing good waves and barbecuing with my friends. Also, there's personal sacrifices like with the family, friends, relationships. It's pretty selfish at the end of the day. You become quite a selfish person even if you don't want to be. But you have to if you want to move forward and get better, I think.
Do you work with a mental coach?
This is something that I started working on, but it wasn't until since I hurt my foot that I found a really good one. And something that I've been realizing now, this year, I've been more present in the heats. In the past I was competing in a dream, in a blur. Don't ask me why, I think it's also a matter of understanding myself, maturing in a way, also getting older, which we've seen across all the competitors. They all start doing better when they get older. It's like being in control of the emotions.
How was it to come back to Simmer?
It felt nice and I think I can attribute a part of the success to that. We all have a lot of trust in each other and everyone is doing a million things at a time and trying their best. They work pretty much Monday to Sunday. We all rely on each other. This just gave me this kind of relaxation because they do all the things in their hands and in their capabilities to give me all the tools that I need. At the same time, I help in return with everything I can. We all give 200%. It's more work, for sure, but it's a lot more relaxing and rewarding in a way, being able to keep it in this tight circle.
Varberg in Sweden, where the Simmer Headquarters are, is more or less your second home right now, right?
Ever since last year, since I broke my foot, I've been spending quite a bit of time here in between trips. Things have changed a little bit for me. It's not only about traveling and competing like it was in the past. I'm more and more involved in the sail design, to the point that now I'm starting to do some of the files myself. I'm also more involved in the brand, working mainly on product development. Despite being a small company, we all try to do our best. I think it's slowly reflecting, so it's nice.
Do you just do the sail designing or are you also involved in the board designs?
Yeah, I'm also involved in the board designs, but we have a little bit different dynamic there. I give feedback and ideas and then we work on that together. But with the sails I'm now capable to go in the program and change certain things. That's also really nice to be able to be here, to spend time with Tomas (Persson, the main Simmer sail designer). He’s very motivated to teach me and pass on information. I really, really enjoy this part and I find it really rewarding. I used to remember when I opened a sail file, it's just little panels everywhere and so hard to understand. And now I know exactly what's there.
So the plan is that you grow into sail designing at Simmer?
Yeah, this is the plan. R&D is a big part of what I like and a big part of what motivates me. I've always liked testing stuff, but I find it really rewarding to be able to understand what you're ridin. It's not easy, that's for sure. It takes time, but I really like it. Maybe I'm a bit too perfectionist sometimes and I get too caught up, but I think it's something positive.
What part of a sail is your main focus right now?
Basically, you have the sail outline, then you start with the luff curves and from there, you need to adjust the cut line. It's all these little details. Lately, we've been playing a lot with different materials and new constructions and this has opened up a whole new thing. Before they used materials that had been there for a while, so it was quite mathematical, but now we have to think about it a lot differently because now we have a material that is really sensitive and affected by how we place it and how the panels look like. We´ve been analyzing a lot what the best panel layout is, how we place the fibers, and now we're building some new leading edge on the sail. It's always this trade-off of finding the best compromise between stretch and stiffness. I can get a little bit caught up in it, but I love it.
What do you think the main steps in sail design will be in five or ten years? Will there be any recognizable changes from now or will it just be details?
I think the base is there, but we're going to see changes and improvements, but mainly construction-wise and if there's new materials coming up and we start using that. Different constructions that make the sail lighter with wider wind range and all of that. I think this is where we're headed now.
I'm not the most talented person in terms of that I can just do whatever just by feel. I'm more an analytical person."
You said that the world title was a goal. What's the next one?
For sure, it would be nice to get another title. But I don't want to get caught up in it because I think this is how you start doing shit. If I do good and I win another one, then so be it. Otherwise, I'm still going to do my best. Try to get as good as I can in everything. Improve the weaker sides of my sailing and work on the gear. If you're doing it only for a title, now I could just let go and that's it. But this is not what I do it for. My goal is just to always keep on improving, getting better, getting gear that allows me to sail better and without thinking.
Do you have any other things on your bucket list that you want to tick off?
I've always wanted to go to Alaska, so maybe I could do that in the future. It's just an expensive project to do that, but I would love to do it. Move-wise, I'd love to be able to do the same on starboard tack as in port tack and get really consistent. If I feel ready and everything lines up, why not going for a triple? It's a balance of not getting hurt, but also pushing your level. I'm not the most talented person in terms of that I can just do whatever just by feel. I'm more an analytical person. I look at things, I study, look at how to improve it. Of course, you need a little bit of the “Big balls/Fuck it”-attitude to improve, but I always try to have it calculated, under control.
Last question: What's behind the colourful wetsuit you wore in the summer?
Farrell, the owner of O’Shea, passed away last year, unfortunately. When he was competing in the 80s and 90s, he used to have a colorful wetsuit like that. It was a tribute. Farrell helped me a lot to go back to Simmer. He had a lot of appreciation for me. At first, I thought the design is really extreme. At first, I didn't know if I would be able to wear that because I normally don't like to be seen so much. A lot of people started asking to buy it, but guys at O’Shea are not sure if they really would want to wear it at their home spot. It's quite extreme. It's a lot of colors.
