After winning a Wildcard to The Redbull Prince of The Lake, Maarten decided to take a sabbatical from college and went to Aruba in 2005. Fast forward to 2008, he participated in his first PWA event. Advancing a few rounds, he found himself mainly in the top 20 position during his first year. In 2009, he began competing in all EFPT’s and PWA’s, consistently hitting the top 10 and sometimes the top 5 at the EFPT. In 2010, he finally achieved an overall 9th position in the PWA and continued to do so in the following years, occasionally reaching the top five in some events.
It has always been a dream for Maarten to windsurf on the World Tour. To ride and test for the best brands, and be part of the JP Neilpryde Team, creating and testing the best gear. He loves the thrill of landing new moves or pushing the sport alongside the best riders out there.
"If you can imagine it, you can create it."
To all out there, it always felt like a dream and what could only happen to others. I came from a place where there was little to no chance to progress in windsurfing. Dream big and plan how you will get there. You will get great challenges on your path and most people and most around you might tell you are a fool (walls of perception I guess..). I’m very glad that I got surrounded with people who were excited and had faith in me. I would only dream to learn double forwards or to compete in the World Tour. Passion for the sport, determination and a will to never quit can get you anywhere.
Man, I just love the sport and my drive didn’t change since the day I started. Future goals; get more people passionate about windsurfing, winging, standup and continue to learn and grow my level also in waves.
FAVORITE SAIL
WIZARD PRO
FREESTYLE - 2x PWA World Champ!
The Wizard is our pure, no - compromise freestyle sail. Power when you need it, incredibly neutral when you want it to be and with pop that will blow your mind. Everything you need to help you slide through your first spock all the way to perfecting double power moves. The 2024 edition features Powerfuse panels to reduce weight and a Taffeta luff panel for extra springy pop!
