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| Instagram. | @Joeysanchez37 |
| Hometown. | Orange County, CA |
| Home spot. | Punta San Carlos, Baja |
| Sponsors. | Goya, Quatro, Pritchwindsurfing, RideEngine, Dakine, BlackProject, BWS Surf |
| A few words about yourself. | I started to work for SoloSports in Punta San Carlos in 2008 and then finally learned how to windsurf there in 2010. Through windsurfing it has taken me all over the world to meet and create new friends and connections that I never would have been able to dream of before. I spend usually April-November in Baja and then from Nov-March between Maui, snow and family in the US all with my beautiful wife Elise and our dog Solo. Windsurfing is still my favorite sport out of all the other water sports I do there. |
| What makes your ride? | There’s no better feeling then catching a fun glassy side-off peeling wave. Cranking a few turns at the start in the pocket and then flying over the lip clearing a section straight into another few turns. |
| What is your most memorable session? | This is a hard one since I feel there’s so many great ones. One that comes into my mind Best is when one time Kevin Pritchard arrived mid after noon in PSC the swell was firing and still picking up. He finally rigs up after settling in and it’s getting to golden hour time and the Punta is firing. We head straight down there to an empty line up and just trade wave after wave while smiling, laughing and asking ourselves is this real?? We sail until the sun is almost down and barely make it back to Camp before dark but just in time for a Baja Fog. |
| What inspires you? | Since I work at SoloSports I get to watch a ton of great windsurfers from around the world go out and become actual wave sailors at any age. I have seen some of our guests go from barely finding a wave to now smacking the lip and attempting aerials through out the years. Which makes me think if they can keep pushing and getting better there’s no excuse for me. On the other side of the age spectrum I love seeing the rare but the young next generation of sailors progress so rapidly in front of my eyes. Which makes me really have the drive to step it up to just attempt to keep pace with them. |
| Describe your gear and the conditions you use it in. | For sails I typically ride a 4.5 Fringe for most light to moderate wind and a 4.0 Fringe when it starts to get really windy. Rarely do I ride bigger or smaller sails unless in competition or it’s nuking wind. I love the Fringe for the side off conditions because it’s so light and really turns off the power in the bottom turn. All my components are Goya and I’m in love with my Skinny Pro Boom. For boards I have been lucky to play with a ton of different custom shapes from Keith through out the years. The boards typically are pure wave and on the shorter side in length from 6’8” to currently my 7’1” with a volume of 75L and in a thruster set up. |
| What does riding for Goya mean to you? | Besides being able to ride the best gear out there riding for Goya means to me
Familia- Ohana- Family I met Francisco and the crew my first year in Baja not knowing a thing about windsurfing and especially who he even was. That ended up not mattering because Francisco is so friendly and out going that there was an instant connection and a few years later in 2012 I finally showed up in Maui. I started working at the headquarters in Haiku for a few winters and really got to know Fran, Lalo, Jason, Pascal, Pio, Keith and their families. Just to feel and see that connection between everyone working there made me feel at home and apart of the family. Having that feeling makes me proud, excited and ready to keep pushing hard for them trying to share the passion for the sport that runs so deep in the company. |
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