3 questions to Michele Becker

27/06/2023

A well-known figure in Germany, it was only a few weeks ago that Michele Becker revealed himself on the international scene with 2 major results, a 5th place in the Torbole PWA World Cup followed by the title of IFCA European Champion in foil. Windsurfjournal.com set out to meet this slalom sailor, who we're sure we'll be hearing more about in the future...

Windsurfjournal.com: Could you start by introducing yourself, as not many people know you yet?
Michele Becker: I am Michele Becker a professional slalom windsurfer from Germany. Just recently I turned 25 years old and as I started windsurfing at the age of 9 (2007) this means I windsurf already for 16 years. Already my dad and my grandparents were windsurfing when it got invented to you could say it flows in the family. In the beginning windsurfing was only a side hobby next to soccer and BMX riding because we were living 100km away from the sea. Still my father had a feeling that I was quite good at it so he was looking for some windsurf competitions to join. After some races at the local surfclub where I took my first lessons I joined the German Windsurf Cup in 2012. That means I am doing the German tour for over a decade now.

WJ: You've just had 2 great results in the space of a few weeks, 5th place in the Torbole PWA World Cup and the title of IFCA European foiling champion. How do you explain this excellent start to the season?
MB: Already in the past I was training like a pro, joining the slalom training on Tenerife and was fighting for the podium in Germany with some very good racers such as Vincent Langer, Gunnar Asmussen and Nico Prien. I always felt like I would be able to race on a high level I just needed some more time to developed. Since this year I changed to full on PATRIK gear with boards, sails and foils. This gave me a big advantage compared to previous years and I feel like this was one crucial part of why I perform like I do now. I can simply focus on my racing each and every time without having to care about my gear, control and speed every time. For the first time I feel like I reached a really high standart and now it only comes down to delivering every race. It has never been so much fun racing when everybody is fully on it and small things make the differences.

WJ: How do you see the rest of the season and can you also tell us about your YouTube channel, in which you seem to have invested a lot over the past year?
MB: Coming up shortly is the PWA worldcup in Pozo., Gran Canaria. For the wavers quite normal to see but the return of the slalom fleet after a long time feels special. I am very curious about how the conditions turn out and if foil can be competitive there. For sure I am also interested to see pure fin races but I have to admit that in the past years I was mainly focusing on foil to fully catch up on the top guys. Nonetheless it is going to be an epic week for the windsurfing world.The Youtube channel is definitely a good amount of extra work but I think it is worth it and I am proud of what we did so far. My girlfriend is responsible for all the high quality videos but as she also needs to work full time we are bit limited to the amount of projects we can do at a time. Still I like to take the viewer with me to some journeys especially competitions. While doing that I always try to give some tips and experiences so the viewer can take something away from it.