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 NZKI  www.nzki.co.nz Category: Adventures and Tours |
| Interview With Gisela Pulido - Worlds Best Female Kite Surfer |
| Saturday, 30 May 2009 03:55 | ||||
She collects cuddly toys, laughs at Pluto, listens to Snoop Dog and rally star Carlos Sainz is a fan: The Red Bulletin meets Gisela Pulido, the world’s best female kite-surfer… at just 15 years old. At first glance, Gisela Pulido appears to be an entirely normal teenager with her fluffy boots, a slightly too large hoody, round glasses on the tip of her nose and a shy grin spread across her childlike face. But during dinner at Hangar-7, in Salzburg, Red Bull’s unofficial HQ, ‘Gigi’ turns out to be a witty conversationalist with a multi-layered personality: not only is she a professional, world-class athlete – she’s won the kitesurfing world championship five times in a row – but she’s also a smart businesswoman and a funny, laid-back girl. When you were 10 you moved with your father from your hometown of Barcelona, Spain, to Tarifa, in the south of the country, which is a Mecca for kitesurfers because there’s always wind. Your mother, however, stayed in Barcelona. Whose idea was that? Mine! The conditions in Barcelona aren’t good enough to to train professionally. So I asked my father if we could move somewhere where I could become a pro. That was already my goal back then. Do you miss your mother? Of course, but we speak on the telephone every day and I try to see her as often as possible – at least every two weeks. Can your father make up for the absence of your mother? He does everything for me: he trains me, he gives me paternal tips, he talks with me about whatever worries I have, even about boys. And he gives me a sense of security, like a mother would. It’s somewhat unusual, to say the least, for a 10-year-old to put sport above everything else. Where does this determination and toughness come from? I am totally competitive. When I was younger I was in a swimming club. We used to have competitions and beforehand, all the parents used to say to their children, “Don’t be nervous. Taking part is the most important thing.” I thought that was stupid. It would never have occurred to me to be nervous; I just wanted to win. In whatever you were doing? In whatever I was doing. Once, when I lost to my father at Ludo, I sat down the next day and practised throwing sixes so I could beat him the next time we played. This attitude has helped you win five kitesurfing world championships. Do you still have any sporting goals? Yes. I want kitesurfing to become an Olympic sport and then I want to win a gold medal in it. For Spain. That’s what I dream of most. You’ve been a world-class kitesurfer for five years, you’ve opened a kitesurfing school… and you’ve built a house, too. …for my old age. It all sounds rather grown-up. Hmm, I’ve never really thought about it. But yes, I travel all over the world and meet a lot of interesting people – mostly older than me – and that’s all an education, so I am probably fairly grown-up. How do your school friends react? Are you an outsider? Not at all. As soon as I get home, I’m a regular schoolgirl again. I have a lot of laughs with my friends. They’d make fun of me if I tried to be ‘clever’ with them. Do you have a lot of friends? Yes, but more boys than girls. I have a clique of five or six boys I always go kiting with. They’re really good and I can still learn things from them.  How much time do you get to spend with your friends? If I’m at home, I go to school until 3pm, then I go kiting, after that I do weight- training then I do my homework. So the days are pretty full. But at the weekends, we like going to my favourite pizzeria that makes the most delicious pizzas. Lots of people my age hang out there. Sometimes we go swimming together in the evenings. Do you have role models? Not really, but I’d like to win as many world championships as [nine-time world surfing champ] Kelly Slater. And I think Lionel Messi’s great because I love football. Especially FC Barcelona! When I was younger, Barcelona was my first sponsor. I even have the club logo on some of my kiteboards. Carlos Sainz is also a role model… but then he did tell me he was a fan of mine. How mature a kitesurfer are you? Or, how much can you still improve? Between the ages of 10 and 14, I wasn’t any good! I grew a lot and had to completely rework my technique. Now I’m older and am getting stronger and stronger physically. I’d say I’ve reached about 40 or 50 per cent of my potential. Do you compare yourself to the guys? I mean, there’s almost no competition from any other women. No, not to the guys. To Aaron! You mean Aaron Hadlow, the men’s world champion? Exactly. He’s perfect. It all looks so gentle and slow with him. If you watch his tricks on video, you don’t need slow motion; he does them all so cleanly and calmly. And will you be a kitesurfer forever? No, later I want to be a TV presenter for extreme sports. But before that, I want to study journalism in English. Photo credits: RB Photofiles 
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AtkinsNola35
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... Cars and houses are expensive and not everybody is able to buy it. Nevertheless, business loans was invented to aid people in such kind of cases. |
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