10 Years On
10 years ago Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7) started to see the light that would bring dark side to the windsurfing arena after a successful event in Karpathos, Greece. Over the last 10 years Point-7 have continually grown and are now an established brand producing world class sails in all windsurfing disciplines. We recently caught up with Andrea to find out more about his rollercoaster journey so far…
PWA.If I remember correctly it was in June 2006 or 2007 in Karpathos when you first had a “black Sail” out in the open during the Speed European championship, how did it go?
AC: “It was actually the summer of 2007. In 2006 we presented the first range of sails, but not the racing AC-One sail. We did bring the first AC-One to Karpathos in 2007 and my friend Massimo Masserini had advised me to lend sails to Jose Bahadour. Jose was 47 I think at that time, from Guadalupe. Tall heavy speed sailor. There was Antoine, Bringdal, and Jose on the 6.7m and 6.2m was beating everyone. I remember on the last day of that event, he was already first, and they announced no wind. There was already 5 of us working at Point-7, but from home, as we still had no office! We were jumping around our homes, checking every minute the forecast, and updates on the site to know if he was going to keep the winning position. It was an amazing win. That was the first push for the business to grow and starting to get noticed and new distribution network. That was the start of the career of the AC-One on the international scene. It is true though that the AC-One was the first black sail for Point-7. We then brought the other sails to be black straight after that.”
PWA: I remember the first comments saying that a sail with black material will burn with the sun and break in a week, this obviously has been proven wrong, was it hard to convince people that your sails were as durable as any other?
AC: “Finally after 10 years we don’t get this question anymore. We are still very happy to explain the advantages that our Black Laminate has over other materials, but sure, people thought it would have problems it was the main topic for us to prove. It took time to make people understand that the black monofilm is actually better than any other colour in the sun. Being darker the Anti UV glue, it’s blocking the UV-rays and so the material does not harden and break with time. So it’s the best available! The quality and time proved us right, if we are only making sails in black since 10 years! Otherwise if each sail would have been warrantied due to the monofilm, we would not be standing here today! After 10 years, for a brand, things become more easy if you did the right work. Your partners, clients, suppliers and everyone involved around the brand are supporting much more and have more trust, and that point we can do even better."
PWA: After all this time, are you in the place you wanted to be 10 years ago?
AC: “To tell you the truth, it took along time to get where we are today. 10 years is a long time, but for a business, it actually feels very short. I guess none of us would have imagined so much success. Being in the top 5 sail brands in the world, having results at the PWA in the different disciplines, many good riders who want to be part of our P7 Black Team, distribution and sales over 40 countries around the world. There is still a lot to do, and to develop. We have a lot of passion and dreams so we still feel that our adventure has only just started.”
PWA: If you had to choose one aspect of the brand that you are most proud of in these years what would it be?
AC: “The team, and I’m not talking about the competition side of the team only. The people is what make a brand and give it its image. So I’m totally proud of the people who have joined our dream and adventure and made Point-7 have the lifestyle, the image that it has today. I think we really based our brand, not only to be a company who sells a unique product, but a brand who is on the beach with our windsurfing friends, living the lifestyle that our sport offers.”
PWA: You have quite a big team spanning all 3 PWA disciplines — is it difficult to manage a big team?
AC: “It depends what you want from the team. You can have many riders, give them a budget and tell them to send you results at the end of the year. During the season you don’t even know what they do. Then like that it’s easy…
However, we have a very different concept about this. We want our riders to be in touch with us at all times, and to be part of the brand. Then at this point it becomes more work. We want to offer them more than what others offer them. To have this though, it’s also more work for them, and not every rider is ready to work in that direction. Windsurfers are free spirits — individuals, but windsurfing is now changing. It’s becoming a real sport. There is less space to think about going partying at night and much more focus to be fit to win the next day. Or to think that talent and gear are enough. I’m personally behind the team, and this year, I’ve been watching more to better understand the things that can be improved to bring the team to the next level, and I realised that my own experience in the competition can bring even more in the next years to the team. We had developed the winter training in Tenerife, but now it’s time to go to the next step.”
PWA: Thanks a lot Andrea and we hope to see Point 7 in the PWA for at least another 10 years ;-)
AC: Thank you! PWA is too important for our sport. Without this level of professional competition platform, a sport would not be so popular and motivating brands to push the sport.