Robby Naish 60th birthday: King Robby answers questions from surf Magazine’s readers

Do you agree that there is too much diversity and complexity in windsurfing gear?

(Ronsurfdude)

It is what it is. You can certainly say that it was a lot easier to choose what to buy when there was only one board available, in one size, in one construction, in one color, with one sail size. There is something nice about simplicity. But you also cannot ask a sport not to eveolve and progress. And just look at what is possible today on a windsurfer, from speed to racing to foils to freestyle to freeride to wave. There is no question there are a lot of choices and it is pretty damn complicated. But in all honesty most people have limited conditions and ability, so the choice of what they should buy is much more focused. When most people buy a car, they do not look at formula race cars, drift cars, drag cars, pickup trucks, sports sedans, luxury cars, exotics, gas, electric, hybrid and mini vans before they decide what to buy. They kind of narrow down what kind of driving they will do and their ability to drive it before they look to buy. I think windsurfing is a bit the same.

What happened to the double inline back footstrap boards? Many wave riders ride upwind out of back

(FinFoil)

Good question. I loved having two back straps but had to stop using it when I switched to riding production boards. I used the front strap a lot going upwind and when popping over white water when underpowered. I learned to just put my foot way back into the single footstrap on the current style of wave board, with feet wide apart and it works. But it was more user friendly for me having that second back strap that „nobody else wanted.“

Who is in your opinion the most promising windsurfing athlete right now?

(Finjabg)

I really can not say. There is a lot of talent out there.

When will you come to Sylt the next time?

(Vomacur)

I am not really sure. I would have come this past year but was in the middle of a pretty time consuming business deal. I wish I had been there for it because the conditions looked epic. I will for sure go back again though… lots of great memories and good friends are there and hopefully there are more to come. Maybe 2023.

Are you still willing to ride Jaws?

(Elke Wiemar)

If the conditions and the timing line up then I will likely ride Jaws some more. The one good day this winter was just not good timing for me, and I really don’t like Westerly swell with Easterly winds anyway. It makes it really hard to get into the waves and you end up taking waves that you should not.. or being too deep etc etc. Just ask Jason (Polakow, who had some bad wipeouts this winter). I do not need to go at every opportunity to prove myself at this stage, but I hope to be able to get some more waves out there when the conditions are more inviting.

Do you regret making kitesurfing that big?

(Raban Cramer)

Absolutely not. I a proud that I was able to be one of the pioneers of the sport, helping to develop it and introduce it to many people around the world. Windsurfing is awesome. But Kitesurfing is also awesome!

What kind of foods makes you stay so fit?

(Melek Toraman)

I eat pretty well, considering that I always love to joke about junk food all the time. I eat a lot of pasta and a lot of mexican… and not a lot of meat or fatty foods. I do drink Red Bull every day, but I do not drink any alcahol at all since about twenty years. I do not smoke or do any drugs beyond aspirin or ibuprofin. I try to eat a balanced diet but am not drinking protein shakes every day or anything too crazy. I could certainly eat „better“ than I do, but life is a balance, and I enjoy eating and do it for pleasure more than for necessity or fitness.

In relation to professional windsurfing, did you ever regret a decision you made?

(Finjabg)

Fortunately becoming a professional windsurfer is one decision that I have never regretted for a single moment. Along the way there have been a few bad decisions here and there… but overall I think that I carved out a pretty positive path and life with the decisions that I did make. Nobody is perfect, and I am far from it. But I do not live with any huge regrets or have any glaring moments from my past that keep me awake at night. I think that I am lucky in that regard. I have always been pretty content with what I have and what I was doing and never set super high goals for myself. I just tried to do my best and tried to make good decisions for the long term wherever possible…. Hoping for a positive future rather than planning for it. So far so good I guess.

Becoming a professional windsurfer is one decision that I have never regretted for a single moment.”

I used to live in Scheveningen and remember a huge jump in the Worldcup against Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Do you remember too? How high was it?

(Roman Ludwig)

I loved Scheveningen. That was a great event and an epic era for our sport. I do not remember any single jump, but I remember the good days. We had one day with side offshore winds from the left (Diamond Head tack) and there were some big jumps for sure. I think the jumps that guys do today on modern equipment are much higher… but for the time … back in the 80s that was a pretty epic day!

Is there something you ever wanted to change about your style or skills that you wished you had? Have you ever been jealous about someone elses skills?

(Alexander Ladischensky)

Good question. Not really. Nobody can have everything. I was, for example, the perfect size and weight for all disciplines fort he first couple of decades of windsurfing. Once the sport progressed into vertical fins and a more upright sailing style, I slowly became a bit too short and light weight to really be competitive on the racing side of things. But I certainly never wished to be taller or heavier, as that would have been a disadvantage for other things. From a riding perspective, there have always been really good sailors with different styles. I have been impressed by many people over the years and for sure learned a lot by watching other people… but never wished that I could ride like them.

How are you doing in terms of fitness? Do you need more time to recover after a big session than at the age of 40? What do you do to stay fit?

(Günter Stoiber)

I for sure feel the aches and pains of a good session more than I used to. Especially my neck, elbows, lower back and right knee are not as pain free as they used to be. I definitely have to take ibuprofen sometimes. I had cortizone injections in my neck twice in the past due to pain and loss of feeling and strength in my right arm… and finally had stem cell injections in my neck last year. (too many bad landing and crashes over the years both windsurfing and kiting… I have never been in a car accident or other sporting accident) But overall I am still quite fit and strong and can still push when I am out there. I work out in my home gym a bit more now than I used to in order to keep strong between sessions. I also swim in the pool and run the bottom oft he pool with weights for breath holding and cardio. I also skateboard in my driveway with my curfboard to stay loose and for cardio. Recently I have had a few episodes of heart afibrillation while surfing or stand up paddling… something that is a bit scary. I am trying to figure that out now… but otherwise my health is really good and I am pretty fit for my age both on and off the water.

I am pretty fit for my age both on and off the water.”

What other wave windsurfers did you admire or did you think were better than you?

(Norman Nennmann)

The list used to be pretty short, but is slowly growing longer over time as new talent continues to come into the sport year after year. On the wave side there have historically been few guys that were really competitive allround to the point where they could win events. But there have been many guys that have really great style, or a certain move that was just awesome, or were incredibly good at one spot in one kind of conditions but then not so spectacular if they sailed somewherte else. I have been lucky enough to have been able to ride with several generations of new riders over the past almost fifty years. Whether I was better than them or they were better than me was not important. From Jurgen Honscheid to Mike Waltze and Pete Cabrinha in the early days, to Dave Kalama, Robby Seeger, Mark Angulo, Josh Angulo, Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Rush Randle, to Jason Polakow, Scott Carvill, Josh Stone, Kevin Prichard and onto the stars of today from Thomas Traversa, Levi Siver, Robby Swift, Camille Juban, Ricardo Campello, Marcilio Brown, Victor Fernandez, Philip Koster, Morgan, Jake, and for sure many other that I forgot to mention. I have been able to ride alongside the best in the world… watching many of them come and go through the years and watching the sport evolve and grow with them. It has been a true honor and privilege.

I have been able to ride alongside the best in the world. It has been a true honor and privilege.”

Any tips to become a good windsurfer - apart from spending much time on the water?

(Torsten Fischer)

Time on the water is key. If you can not be on the water, and cross training (especially pull ups to keep your lats and forearms strong) is good. And any board riding helps other boardriding… so surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, SUP… all will help to make your windsurfing better when you do get back into the wind.

I've been surfing for 45 years now. I now surf on modern equipment, but can enjoy an old Mistral Naish Board or Mistral Competition again. Do you have that too, Robby?

(Adbouwens1111)

If I lived in Kailua or on a lake somewhere I would for sure still have a classic old-school longboard style windsurfer. But living on Maui, we simply do not have the conditions for it. It is too windy most of the time, and when it is not windy…. There are other sports to do!

Are there boards or sails that are very special for you? Or that you have a special bond with? I remember the custom shapes in RIP with the big skull designs - one had a "Do not touch"-Sticker. Do you still have that?

(Sören Kuhlmann)

Oh yes, for sure! I do not have every board from my entire career, but I have most of the special ones and at least one board from each generation of custom and production that I used from every year. I have my first skull asymetrical, my first custom slalom board with the blue flames from Scheveningen, all of my successful Pan Am boards, all of my Jaws guns since the beginning… and sails from every season as well, going back to the 80s. I also have dozens and dozens of fins from all the years with so many crazy designs you would be blown away. It is a lot of equipment that now takes up a lot of room… but it is kind of a history of at least one part of the sport as seen through my personal gear basically from the late seventies until today. So I can not get rid of it.

I have at least one board from each generation of custom and production that I used from every year.”

How many waveboards would you recommend for a 90-kilo-surfer in euro conditions?

(Olaf Meyer)

In all honesty, I think with modern equipment you really only need one wave board for all conditions. Sure, if you are a professional you will have bigger and smaller, onshore and sideshore boards etc. But I for example, now only have one wave board and I can ride it with a 5.0 or a 3.0. It might not always be perfect, but it is always good enough. For Euro conditions I think if you are 90 kilos and need a 3.0, you should not go out. I think 4.0 or maybe 3.5 would be small enough for even really strong winds. If you need smaller than that I do not think it is much fun or safe. And for 90 kilos, I guess a 6.2 is still doable to have fun with.

Which brand do you admire?

(Arcstrand)

In our industry, or outside our industry? Within our industry that would be a tough question. Outside our industry I admire many brands, but especially those that found a business through their passion and sport and always or at least most of the time stayed true to themselves over the years. I know I am sponsored by them, but even if I was not, to me Red Bull is a brand that I have always had huge respect for. What Dietrich Mateschitz created and built was/is truly unique and incredible on so many levels. I have also been impressed with the Porsche brand and of course Ferrari, who took their passion for motor sports and have managed to balance out racing with the actual business of selling cars. But there are many examples in and outside of sport where companies have done well by finding their own path... from Patagonia to Quiksilver to Tesla.

How much money did you get for your company?

(Uwe Herholz)

A reasonable amount. But I never kiss and tell. ;-)

What do you think about the evolution of windsurfing, compared to windfoiling?

(Holger Reis)

Windsurfing evolved and changed and grown over many many years. Technologies were invented that allowed us to make lighter boards and better rigs and fins and sails… which allowed the sport to progress. It took years – decades and was an amazing time of invention and exploration and fun fun fun. Today everything on the water seems to be on foils. It for sure has brought the speed and excitement to sailing in much lighter winds than ever thought imaginable several years ago. Now with wingfoiling there is a whole new dimension to accessibility to foiling with a very quick learning curve and less equipment to deal with that is also found at a lower cost. It is cool to see how things have evolved. I know to a die-hard windsurfer there may be some sadness in seeing so many kitesurfers and wingfoilers on the water and less windsurfers. But when I started windsurfing nobody even knew what it was...and they did not even know what the name of the sport was. It was unique and exclusive. Almost nobody did it. That was part of the appeal. We are a bit more in that direction now. People have a lot of options for getting out in the wind and water now. That is ok. Everyone does not have to windsurf. It does not make windsurfing any less fun when it is less popular… it is just less crowded!

What would you do different in your life if you could be 30 again?

(Torsten Fuchs)

I have learned a lot over the years. We all make mistakes and I have made a few here and there. But in general I have had an incredibly rich, rewarding and lucky life so far. It would be selfish of me to ask for more than I have already been given. So rather than dwell on what I would do differently, where I would invest money or time, where I would go, who I would see or not see if given a chance to do it all over again, I would probably be absolutely thrilled to just it all over again just the same way. I am very thankful for the life that I have and for who I am and for the friends and family that I have. I guess that I am not really one of those people that is always thinking about „what if.“

How do you make sure that after the selling of you company the products still come in the Naish-style?

(Alfred Höhn)

Things will certainly change a bit over time, but that is ok. Most of the development people and art department are still the same and will carry on the path that we have laid out over the past twenty five plus years. But I am also excited to see what will come with some fresh ideas and direction. I still own the Naish trademarks, so there is a degree of oversight on product etc to make sure it does not go off the rails… but I do not want to micro manage and try to make the new owners keep things the same. Part of the reason for selling was the hope that the Naish brand can grow and flourish in the future with new energy and new possibilities. That will only come through me letting go. But I am also staying on as an athlete and will offer my ideas and feedback etc. but they do not necessarily have to listen to me like they used to. I am excited to see what comes.

I do not want to micro manage and try to make the new owners keep things the same.”

How can we make windsurfing interesting again for more people?

(Ben Schwarz)

I am really not sure. I have never been that good at forseeing the future. But it is what it is. Windsurfing is an incredible sport. Just look at what people can do now on a windsurfer, from the Windsurfer LT class going back tot he roots, to a modern foil class with really good equipment in the Olympic iQFoil, to unbelievably good freeride, slalom, foil, wave and freestyle gear available. The athletic level of modern freestyle windsurfing is mind-boggling, as is the level of wave sailing. Speed is back, with several legends of the sport all pushing the 100-km/h-barrier and higher on the speed course. Windsurfing is cool. But it is pretty difficult to learn. It is pretty expensive. And you need quite some gear once you get good at it… Most people are not super patient and most people don’t have a lot of spare monay or spare time. And like I said, there are a lot of choices now; from mountain biking to wakeboarding to kitesurfing to wingfoiling to surfing and more. Maybe something will come along that suddenly explodes windsurfing into broader popularity again. But I do not have a clue at this stage what that would be.

Hey Robby, I am curious what you would consider your top 3 wave spots in Europe for wave riding and some nice aerials? Have a nice Birthday and stay healthy!!

(Yannik Erdmann)

Thanks for the birthday wishes… and I will try to stay healthy for sure! You know in all honesty I really do not really know where good European sideshore spots for aerials would be. I spent most of my years going to the same few spots over and over again… windy places, but not necessarily „down the line“ wave spots. We would go to Almanarre, Sylt, Tarifa, Scheveningen, Zandvoort, Guincho, Pozo, El Medano. But I never really spent much time exploring outside the competition locations and time windows. There must be some great spots (and some of the spots I mentioned can get sideshore if everything lines up perfectly, but most of the time it is more side-onshore). I would ask Thomas Traversa… every time I open a magazine he seems to have found another big sideshore wave in a different part of Europe! I wish I had a good answer for you. But living in Hawaii and doing most of my European travels over the years to World Cup events or trade shows has limited my real knowledge of much of Europes spots. When you find out where those three spots are, please tell me… I want to go too!!

I would ask Thomas Traversa… every time I open a magazine he seems to have found another big sideshore wave in a different part of Europe!”

Whats your favourite spot in Europe and when can we meet you on the water there?

(Gisela Benoist)

I really enjoy going to Sylt. I also like Torbole and Tarifa. And the Basque country of France. Hopefully I will be able to go to all those spots and more sooner than later!

How would you get a 7-year-old girl to the sport?

(Udo Bräutigam)

Of course not all people are the same and it is not good to generalize, but having a forty year old daughter, a sixteen year old daughter, a thirteen year old grand daughter and a nine year old grand daughter, I would encourage you to take a friend with her. You have to make it fun. And just because it is fun to you does not mean it sounds like fun to her. It seems that most girls do not necessarily want to do things with their dads at that age and getting a friend (or two) into it with them will make things easier. Girls like friends. I loved doing things on my own… but girls seem a bit (a lot) more social on average than I was. But again, regardless of age, everyone is different.

Do you remember one or more special days on the water from all those years?

(Mark Wijnstekers)

Of course I do! Do you have a few hours... I could tell you about a few. If I did not have an awful lot of good days on the water I would not still be doing this after so many years! The good days just keep coming…. I had a good day on the water today and it looks like tomorrow could be epic!

What were the coldest conditions you ever surfed in, and where was that?

(Ele Walker)

The coldest ever was either Omaezaki, Japan or La Torche, France. Both events were in the Spring, April if I remember correctly. We had cold days on Sylt a couple of times as well, but not as cold as those two events. I remember the water temp was 11 degrees in La Torche, but I can not remember what the air temp was. Japan was about the same. It was cold enough that you really needed gloves. Most people wore booties as well, but I can not sail in booties. It was certainly unpleasant for a warm island boy like myself, but I think even the locals did not exactly love it. Sailing in extremes like that were part of what made being a professional windsurfer so challenging and awesome. You were battling nature as well as your competitors... it was not always easy and it was not always pleasant, but in the end I loved it… the good waves, the shitty waves, the big crowds and the empty beaches, the good winds, the gusty winds and even the man made indoor winds… cold and all.

Why is the cool logo with the skull not on the boards and sails anymore?

(Thorsten Ruth)

That is really my personal logo that evolved into being used on products sometimes, and also on a signature line of Quiksilver products for a few years. It has been used on and off of different Naish products over the years and will certainly come back again on some products in the future. But it is something that works in some places and markets and for some products and not so much for others. If you can believe it, some people are „offended by it.“ So we tend not to use it too much as a result. There are people that can find negative in everything, and people that can be offended by just about anything. It is hard to navigate your way through the craziness and political correctness sometimes these days.

Big gallery with the highlights from Robby Naishs career on the top of this page!