Blast From The Past

Alexandre Grand-Guillot (Fanatic / Duotone) made his debut on the world tour back in 2014 and is still only 22-years-old. The Frenchman has been an ever present name on the Youth stage, while in the last couple of seasons he has been making the transition on to the full world tour. Alex is an aspiring, highly motivated young athlete who harbours hopes of one day becoming world champion and he is also next up in our ‘Blast From The Past’ feature…

Hi Alexandre, can you take us back to where you were for very first windsurf experience?

It was in Normandy, France, at my home, on the beach in Urville. My club is still there!

When was it?

I must have been 8-9 years old, so it must have been summer of 2007 or 2008.

Who were you with?

I did a ‘sea discovery week’ with my twin brother. Windsurfing was one of the activities we were going to do during the week.

What do you remember from this very first “session”?

The first impression must have been ‘wow it's not easy to hold the sail’, but very quickly the gliding sensation came and I really liked the strength and speed ratio.

What equipment did you use?

I had a big board for beginners, a ‘cruiser’ if I remember correctly and a 1.8m2 sail… 
I am lucky to have started in a club which has very good equipment for both beginners and the experts, so I was in a very good environment to start.

Describe your feeling when you plan for the first time…

It takes a little time before getting planing for the first time, but yes when it happened, it was crazy, this feeling of sliding and flying over the water was incredible and the more I progressed, the more speed I had. That's when I got hooked I think.

How did you realise that you were becoming a professional windsurfer?

I really realised that I wanted to try a career in windsurfing during a training camp organised by Philippe Cachat in Lanzarote. We were several young people together and we had met professionals. After that, I wanted to put all the odds to my side to realise my dream of becoming a champion of windsurfing in the wave discipline. I’m today at the very beginning of my career, I’m 22 years old, so there is still a lot of work and and a long way to go, but for nothing in the world would I change this choice to make my dream a reality.

Give advice to the next generation…

I think I’m still part of the next generation but if I can give advice, it’s listen to yourself, surround yourself with good people, who are gonna push you forward, work hard and enjoy every moment on the water and every moment of life!

Thanks, Alex!