LIVE Chat: Josh Stone TONIGHT 7.30pm
The LIVE Chat will take place right here on Wednesday 20th June at 7.30pm (UK time).
The discussion will open up LIVE at the bottom of this post at 7.30pm.
Josh Stone
Name: Josh Stone
Sail number: USA 6
Country: US
Residence: Maui, Hawaii
Disciplines: Wave & Freestyle
Results: 2 time Freestyle world champion, 3rd place world ranking wave
Sponsors: Goya
Current favourite equipment set up: 4.5 Banzai and 72 Goya wave board
Current favourite windsurfing spot: Ho’okipa
Last windsurfing session: Yesterday
Windsurfing hero: None…I think everyone is a hero just for being out there.
My perfect day on the water would be: EVERYDAY at Ho’okipa is pretty much perfect.
Three things you didn’t know about Josh: I don’t drink booze (anymore), I own a bunch of restaurants and I’m OVER 40! Yikes.
Thanks! Chat done!
Aloha Amy. Thanks to Boards for giving me the chance to reconnect with some of the windsurf community. Keep ripping everyon!!!
That’s it guys! One more minute left and the chat is done. Thank you very much Josh.
I think the person who wins the world title is the best competitive windsurfer in the world…I think there are INCREDIBLE windsurfers out there everywhere and to call one the best is tough…Maybe the best in a specific location or conditions.
Someone said earlier about the crazy days on tour, come on share, what was the craziest thing you ever did? Or that happened when you were there?
Hahahaha….the CRAZY was endless!!! We did so much nuts stuff it would take a huge book to put it all down. It was a surreal life to say the least, and the rumors are probably only half as radical as it really was. Nice to be settled down a bit and smelling the roses! hahaha
Do you think the person who wins the world title is the best windsurfer? Or do do think it is not decided my competition?
There’s A LOT of excellent spots in Maui and Hawaii. Kanaha, Camp 1, Sprecks, Kihei, and even the West side of Maui are awesome. On Oahu you have Diamond Head (my young stopping grounds) and on the North Shore you have Backyards which is Susnet beach really. Super fun
What are the other spots on Maui worth windsurfing? Is there good windsurfing on any of the other Hawaiian islands?
Sorry guys…I’m back if you’re still here.
Hi Guys, Josh has had to rush off a little early so the chat will finish up there. Any further questions please post and we will get Josh to follow up and answer very soon. Thanks
Aloha,
Each time I try a pushloop, it seems to be a backloop and I over rotate. Any tips ?
Aloha Alain…that is definitely how it always starts! The trick is to PUSH the sail at the end of the push loop like a shove it, towards the nose of the board. that’s why it’s called a push loop. You don’t push to start…you push to finish.
Mahalo
Thanks everybody! South Swell is pumping and the kids are on me to take them surfing!!! Thanks for chatting and hope to see all of you in the water soon!!!! MAHALO!
I’ve heard this from a number of windsurfers who come out to Maui. I think that the level of sailing has gotten so high that the pros on tour are REALLY working hard to keep up their level. Also, in our time, pros lasted for many years, so we could build our images and of course learn how to interact with the community. The kids are very young now and most likely shy. I think they will learn to engage the community better….there’s some cool kids coming out of Maui that I’m sure will have the ALOHA/IRIE MAN spirit
The guys busting out the moves are amazing, don’t get me wrong!! But personality and attitude of people of Goya and you Josh, Have got people fired up more than anyone else in history of windsurfing! You guys were and are great for the sport! Ambassadors of windsurfing. You were the people that inspired us and people that are now on the top of the table of the PWA! Nice to speak to you, I must put the kids to bed. Thank you again hope to see you soon. Quiver windsurfing.
Awesom Darren…Tell the kids good night and ALOHA from Maui!
When you were on the tour the seemed to be a great load of personalities in the sport, you, Brian talma etc were competing at the top level, but having so much fun and had a load of press for always being happy to meet fans etc. now, the does not seem to be as much of this, maybe there are not so many ‘personalities’ in windsurfing, what do you think? Do you think the sport would be better if we had more fun and games and nice times promoted like in the past?
You gave us the inspiration !!!
hi josh, with the wave tour stops at the moment do you think an hawaiian can win the world title? or will they have to wait for more riding events to get on the calendar?
That’s a good question….I doubt that a Hawaiian can win the wave tour in its present format, UNLESS they move to the Canarias for a long period to train. There’s the talent pool here for sure, but we always sail perfect down the line. Poor us! Hahahaha
We`re busy with our firm, but once a month we make a break for a few windsurfing days at the sea ! Live`s a beach!!!
You got to do it! Playing is the BEST part of living!
Ive always admired your windsurfing style. Your wave riding is great to watch. Do you have any tips to really rail the board hard in turns?
thanks very much….I really appreciate that. Move your back hand back when you initiate the turn and try to drive your sail towards the nose of the board…then as you come off the top, pull your back hand forward to release sail pressure…
Who’s really ripping Maui now? Apart from you of course! Are there still the guys like naish, Goya, prior out all the time too?
Brazinio and Levi are by far the standouts right now. A young guy named Berndt Rodiger is coming on super strong and another young guy named Morgan. All the old timers, myself, Fran, Angulo, etc are still out there trying to keep up! hahaha
Do you find time to follow windsurfing press? How do you find all the changes going on, mags being closed down or like Boards. successfully focusing on online exposure?
I love having a mag in my hands, but the fact is ALL media is going in the online direction. It’s pretty much inevitable now. The cool thing is that it is very community based actually. Just A LOT going on…a little hard to follow
We can`t wait to see him in action, soon. Enjoy live with the kids!
Right on guys!
WOW! 5!!! That’s amazing. I actually didn’t really get Harley windsurfing until he was 11. He surfed since he was a little kid, and I waited until he asked me to take him sailing.
Who did you think could win the wave tour this year? Koster again?
So hard to say. The talent pool is unbelievable. I think because there aren’t any starbort tack events Koster has a huge chance of winning. His port jumping and on-shore wavesailing is incredible! I REALLY like Brazinio’s sailing lately though. He is absolutely crushing Hookipa. If he can translate that into port, he could have a shot.
What age did you introduce Harley into windsurfing? My daughter Roxy is starting at the age of five.
there are guys at our local spot busting out freestyle and wave sailing, they are in there late 40′s.
40 is the new 20!!!! Hahahaha. You should see Hookipa…its like a retirement home somedays. Mark Angulo, Fran, Me, all the old pros and I can tell you 40 isn’t slowing ANYONE down. You guys keep ripping it up. You’ll only get better with age!
True words !!
I see Harley is ripping now! How well do you think he could do when he’s older? Does he want to go pro do you think? Or has he not thought that far ahead yet?
Harley is AWESOME! I love windsurfing with the boy and it still blows me away when we launch to ride big Hookipa that it’s MY SON that I’m sailing with. He has the talent, but I would never push him to go pro, That is up to him and he would need to find his own drive. Could he do it? Easily.
Don`t worry, that you are over 40 now, we`re over 50 and still alive!!!!
And we have a lot of fun as always!!
Inspirational!!! hahahaha
What made you give up the TOUR? whould you consider going back and taking your chances?
The number one reason was family!!! Most important thing, and I was tired. 15 years of travelling 10 months a year is super fun when you’re young, but it starts to get hard as you get older.
Hey Josh, as one of the innovators of new school freestyle are you happy with where its gone in the past 10 or so years and where would you like ti see it go in the future, particularly with helping new younger people into the sport?
Cool question. I am super stoked to see the level explosion, and the primary focus was to get young people into the professional realm. That happened in a HUGE way. The only problem was that we didn’t give those young people the 101 on being pro, negotiating contracts, etc, and the industry I believe really has taken advantage of the younger pros, makign it hard for them to make a living. I would love to see the inovation continue, but I would like to see the youn guys have a future.
If you were going to choose another location as your local spot around the world, what would it be?
That’s a tough one, but it would most likely be Fiji…Na Motu…except I would get super bored once I was done sailing!!! Hahahaha.
What sails are you using? The banzaii? Which sail do you think is better for the uk wave sailing?
I am using the Banzai for sure. I love the power and using a slightly smaller sail with the same power output. I think it works great for all conditions inlduing the UK.
What do you think about a meeting on Fehmarn in November? We will have realy cool conditiones, ha,ha
Hahahaha! I doubt I can get Amy up there to freeze!
Can you double forward? Have you tried? Or pushie forward?
Fors ure bro! Just need the motivation…it’s actually not that hard.
That’s up to Fran if he wants to fly me in, and if I have time to go, AND if Hookipa isnt firing! Hahahaha
Arre you around at the Goya conferences?
Hahahaha…Man I don’t even know what they’re called!!! I am absolutely blow away by what the new school freestylers are doing. I couldnt have imagined it! I’m almost always wave sailing Hookipa now…I live 30 seconds away in Kuau…so I haven’t been keeping up on my freestyle sailing, PLUS my ankles aren’t really happy with the spins…hahaha. BUT I do love watching the guys rip it! Maybe my son Harley will take over the torch.
What of the new school wave moves can you do and are you working on now? What do you think to all the jumps and stuff the guys are doing now?
Totally stoked on the pushloop forward which I am working on now. Goiters have been the rave at Hookipa and I’m getting them dialed again. I am competing on the AWT Tour…American Windsurfing tour with my son Harley, so I’ve got to at least try and keep up
Right on man! Thanks! That makes me feel good and happy to be here by the way. You know I get that question A LOT. I’m going to talk to the producer and see if we can re-release Aloha Man in DVD format. If I figure it out I’ll twitter. by the way I JUST joined twitter today. @joshstonemaui Im connected! hahaha
Hi Josh
It’s amazing to have you here! You meHERO from when I was starting windsurfing… 2001 poster with you riping on JPs is stil on the wall – buahaha. “Aloha Man” movie is my favourite, unfortuantely VHS is nacked and no way to watch it again. Is there a different version of the movie? where would you recommend getting a copy?
I have MP4 the “Aloha Man” if you want it? We always get beginners to watch it. It gets them all fired up! It would be worth re-releasing it!
That would be sick! Maybe you could post a link and i could send it out on facebook and twitter….
I will up load it to facebook, or maybe youtube? then post it on to your wall?
Darren i’m up for it… Could get Alfie involved if needed!? By the way will give you a call tomoz!
Right ON!
Drop Quiver windsurfing school a message when you hit the uk. We will be more than happy to show you some good local spots, plus we can grab some pizza!
Not as good as your, of course! We are all heading over to maui next year. Looking forward to tasting one of your’s.
Is that the 72 quad? Have you tried the quatro thruster? Where do you think boards will go in the near future? More or less fins?
Good question…I use the 72 quad. It allows me to do some wave moves I was having trouble with using a single fin, like the Taka and Goiter. I have been testing some of the thrusters and they have some very good attributes, but right now I’m into the quad thing.
Do you miss the tour now? From what I remember you had some crazy times back in the old days!
CRAZY is the best way to describe it! Hahahaha…Now that I have my family it’s AWESOME to hang in Maui. We are in the water everyday, and my kids windsurf and surf. Still…all those memories on tour are cherished!
Could you pop by Quiver windsurfing school for some poster signing if your not to busy? We are loving the Goya kit here. Nothing but amazing feed back from customers using the Goya kit
Yeah…the Goya stuff is unreal. Fran puts SO much love into his product.
What boards are you riding now?
I’m riding the goya 72 liter wave board. Super functional, great down the line, and still good for jumping sid one. Now that I’m a “retired pro” its all about fun and I love the one board thing.
Hi josh! Do you always stay in Maui now? Or do you like to travel to some places still?
I LOVE TRAVELLING!!! But now its all for fun. We do a lot of snowboarding trips to Canada and we hit the West Coast of the US a lot. We are FINALLY coming back to Europe in November. SToke!
Hi Josh, wondering when you are head back over to the uk?
We’re planning on coming back over in November. Family trip, and looking forward to checking out all the old Euro haunts. Should be good fun.
Could you pop by Quiver windsurfing school for some poster signing if your not to busy? We are loving the Goya kit here. Nothing but amazing feed back from customers!
For sure…always happy say ALOHA to fellow windsurfers!
Aloha Josh, we`ll be back at Stones Place in 6 months. Hope to see you then more than 5 minutes as last year. Greetings to all Stones from Sabine & Michael
Cool guys!!! It wouldnt be December in Maui without you!
Yes, let`s have an Ice-tea party in Jason´s garden !!!
Sounds Good
And don`t worry that you are over 40, we are over 50 and still alive, ha,ha,
Amy…one quick question is it better for me to always post a comment or REPLY to the post question?
reply is better when you’re answering a specific question to someone. If it’s a general comment then just post a comment.
Cool…standing by…
Hey Josh! Awesome. 10 more minutes guys then Josh will be ready for your questions…
Aloha Amy…I’m here.