Friday, January 11, 2013

Angulo

Sharing video Josh Angulo at home


I had embedded this video during my post inspired by Ted. He had asked, what are your favorite videos. Since then  'UMI PICTURES"[ who owns the rights to this video] does not allow imbedding, So I lost the feed. and that's OK. This is after all their property. But they do allow the link at the top. So visit this guys Vimeo page. He does great work.




So here is Josh Angulo from 2009 Windsurfing in the kind of down-the-line conditions I dream about. And while this is the windsurfing of my dreams, I understand that I will never sail as well as Josh.
He is a legend: an inspiration for me: and just a great guy.


You see the difference between Professional Windsurfers, and Pros in any other sport...is that Professional Windsurfers care about their Fans. And when they are not doing amazing things on the water, they actually care about us, the average guy.


I have met and sailed with Josh twice. Once while participating in the 2011 Windsurfing Magazine Board Tests. While being a "Guest-Tester" was a high moment for me in my Windsurfing career; it was not for my wife. I had dragged her along with me at a time when she was physically unable the go windsurfing. I was so damn stoked to be there, focused on myself; that I didn't even notice. But Josh did. He spent close to an hour just sitting and talking with her. He didn't need to do that; but he did. In fact when he came to the Tests to show his new gear he just stayed in our house along with all the other folks, just like me. For the record: the World Champion didn't have his own suite: he slept on a sofabed in the hallway.


The next time in met Josh, he had actually traveled to Long Island to participate in Mike Burns East Coast Wind Fest. Both on and off the water he was just one of us. Down to earth; no pretentiousness. With one major difference: when he raced just for fun, in a fleet of 50 of LI's best...  He was so fast compared to the rest of us that he lapped the fleet, by such a margin, he came in 1st and 4th, in the same race!

Sunday, January 6, 2013