What does it take to become a team rider for The OTC? How do you become an ambassador on a board? Why is Sam Anstey, at the age of 18, prepared to shout from the rooftops about why The OTC is such an awesome brand?
Sam is one of the young guns in the team rider pack and he looks up to the older generation of team riders for inspiration. Sam proactively and enthusiastically promotes The OTC to everyone and the reason behind this is a grateful acknowledgement of everything The OTC has done for him.
Sam loves the constant learning he gets from windsurfing and the pure fun. He also enjoys the freedom windsurfing brings him. He began windsurfing at the age of 11, recalling, “I wanted to give windsurfing a go. After taking part in a Start Windsurfing Course with The OTC (provided by the Will Mackaness Trust) I really enjoyed it, so I carried on with Team 15 at The OTC.
“What I enjoy most about windsurfing is having awesome sessions on the water and sharing amazing experiences with friends. I look up to a lot of people in the windsurfing world.
“The OTC has helped me an extraordinary amount, with everything in my windsurfing journey - from teaching me in the first instance, to supporting me to improve now. It means so much for me, having been windsurfing at The OTC for all of my windsurfing life and having been inspired by many people that are part of the OTC team, it’s amazing to think that I am part of it now!
“The OTC has been a place where I always feel welcome, I feel I can always have fun there and it is somewhere that I can always improve as a windsurfer and a person!"
“There are many windsurfers that inspire me, and I feel bad leaving people out! Anyway, guys like Ross Williams, Thomas Traversa, Tris Best, Kevin Greenslade and many more inspire me.
“I try to spend time on all sorts of windsurfing gear, but most of my time is spent on slalom and wave gear. It’s always a close battle between slalom and wave sailing. What I get out of windsurfing is excitement, enjoyment, freedom, and just pure fun!
"Tris has helped me in so many ways, he has given me so many opportunities that I will never forget. He has personally been a huge inspiration.
“My favourite place to windsurf has got to be Portland Harbour, but there are some amazing other locations locally such as Kimmeridge, Ringstead and Overcombe! Being a team rider involves representing The OTC at events and doing my best to make Tris and the team proud of me. I compete in the UKWA Slalom tour and this year was lucky to take part in the Mauritius Attitude Challenge.
“I would say to anyone thinking of trying windsurfing: go ahead and try it; what are you waiting for?! Be patient, it might not go amazingly straight away. Best thing I have found is to just speak to loads of other windsurfers and get their opinions and ask others for help. Also, time on the water is crucial; keep going and you will improve. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!
“I can’t imagine where I would be without windsurfing, I have made a lot of friends! I just love to be on the water no matter what type of board sport, and I just love the feeling of harnessing in all the elements required to windsurf!"
“I windsurf because it’s the best sport in the world! For me it’s just always so much fun, and the opportunities of exploration and improvement wherever you go seems endless!
“The OTC has been a place where I always feel welcome, I feel I can always have fun there and it is somewhere that I can always improve as a windsurfer and a person! I have learnt how important it is to have fun whilst windsurfing, and the help from the whole team at the OTC with my windsurfing skills have been unbeatable!
“The future for me and my windsurfing? Hopefully many more opportunities to learn new skills, travel to new places, meet new people, and hopefully many more good times!
“One of my best memories of being an OTC Team Rider is, I remember we had a lovely evening once at Pennsylvania Castle on Portland, it was a get together to celebrate the anniversary of The OTC. We had a group of local legends and OTC team riders there; we were all sharing stories of good windsurfing sessions and funny experiences all evening and to top it off Tris spoke of how proud he was of everyone, and with everybody there to thank him and the rest of the OTC team for the incredibly hard work they put in. It just reminded me how good it is to windsurf and how amazing the people are in the sport.
“I can’t imagine where I would be without windsurfing, I have made a lot of friends! I just love to be on the water no matter what type of board sport, and I just love the feeling of harnessing in all the elements required to windsurf! The best part of being a team rider for me: it’s the people that I am surrounded by and the feeling of being in an awesome family of super talented people!"
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