Windsurfjournal.com : How and when did you discover windsurfing ?
Gabriel Browne : I started windsurfing when I was 5 together with my brother. We used to go at least 3 times a week with my dad to a small lake close to our house and there my dad gave me my first lessons of how to windsurf. He was many times Brazilian course racing and slalom champion, so I learnt my first lessons like beach start down to racing tactics from him. Since then I’ve never stopped windsurfing, and whenever I'm here in Brazil we sail together. So windsurf was part of our culture and completely natural and I’ve always loved it since the very beginning. We were always together at the beach, having fun, so I think windsurf came to me as natural as everything in my life.

WJ : Your brother Marcilio chose to do waves and freestyle, why did you choose Formula Windsurfing and Slalom 42  ?
GB : We both started in waves because where I live there are some fun wave sailing spots. But when I grew up I started doing some racing like slalom and Formula and I really liked it because I like the competitiveness of racing and, since 10 years old, I started to rig and tune my sails, always trying to find my own settings. I also chose Formula and slalom because since 5 years old I was always heavier than my brother and I guess I made the right choice because now I'm around 97 kg which is great for racing. But I really like to do some wave sailing and whenever on Maui or here in Brazil I go for some wave sailing sessions. It's incredible fun !!!

WJ : This season is your first complete year on PWA Tour, what are your goals for 2008 ?
GB : This year I'm feeling very well prepared for the tour. I spent 3 months on Maui training with the MauiSails team. That was very nice for me. My goals for this year are to have attitude at the starting lines and jibe marks and to be always consistent and confident on every race. If I do this I think I’ll have a good result at the end of the year.

WJ : In your opinion, what is important to be a good windsurfer in Slalom 42 discipline ?
GB : In my opinion, to have attitude and always being consistent and confident in every single race will be the key. In Slalom 42 you mustn't be scared of anyone. You have to go for it, otherwise you will fall at the jibes and end up in a terrible situation.

WJ : This year you’ve signed up with the Mistral and Maui Sails teams, isn't there too much pressure sometimes for a young windsurfer ?
GB : This year is my first year with an international team. I'm very happy about that. Now I have all the support I need on both sides. The pressure I’m under is good, I like it, because they are trying to push me to the max and this is very good for me. So, in general, I’m very happy with all the things that have happened for me this year. And now I can see that professional windsurfing requires also a responsible attitude.

WJ : What do you think when you see that Antoine Albeau is PWA Slalom 42 World Champion at twice your age ?
GB : I think I'm on the right track. This is a good motivation for me because I think Antoine has just had the best results of his career, so I hope I have a lots of time to have fun, and good results to make my sponsors happy.