World Champion. Developer. Father.
How it all started
and what's next
How did you get into gear design and starting Goya?
I was tuning my skateboard when I was 6, back in Argentina, my brother will work on the graphics and I would tune the tracks and rest of the pieces. As soon as I got hooked into windsurfing, I understood that to be able to ride how I wanted, I would need to spend almost as many hours developing the gear as I did in the water. I would look at magazines and videos when I wasn’t in the water and draw my ideal moves, sails, boards, fins, etc. Along that time I started working with the local custom manufactures in and when I turned 18 I moved to Maui to ride all day long. There I started riding for different shapers and designers, also helping them along with their R&D programs. 5 years later, in 1994 we got together with a few friends and started our own brand & factory. That was and is Quatro. Over there we didn’t have to convince anybody anymore, we just did the designs that we wanted to ride, we would build them with all new materials that directly influenced our riding and eventually other athletes followed. 9 out of the top 10 competitors were getting their competition boards from us and we decided it was time to take it to the next. That’s when Goya came to life. So really everything just happened naturally, from making bold moves and backing it up with consistent work. Today we keep on dreaming of the sport and the gear that we will be riding in the next decades.
And how is it working in Goya?
It is what we all dream of, having the shop, factory, loft and office 5 minutes from the water on one of the most consistent and warm places in the world, we basically ride everyday, with a team that has been focusing their whole life around the sport, so our products, communication and business all revolve around our passion for the ultimate ride and company.
Do you look towards technology or experience?
We were the first ones to start working with a CNC shaping machine back in 1996 and with the same crew that we continue working on today at our factory we were building the first epoxy/sandwich waveboards, now we are searching into greener materials, so really it is both, the experience that comes from the consistency and the technology, the stepping into the unknown.
What does Goya offer that the competition dont?
By developing boards and sails together we are able to combine designs and directly output a complete package. I also see the windsurfing industry as a community project, we are all learning and seeing how we can improve the sport, one thing I’m sure, it will take a lot more than one brand and one vision to really take windsurfing to where it deserves.
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Do you look towards technology or experience?
We were the first ones to start working with a CNC shaping machine back in 1996 and with the same crew that we continue working on today at our factory we were building the first epoxy/sandwich waveboards, now we are searching into greener materials, so really it is both, the experience that comes from the consistency and the technology, the stepping into the unknown.
What does Goya offer that the competition dont?
By developing boards and sails together we are able to combine designs and directly output a complete package. I also see the windsurfing industry as a community project, we are all learning and seeing how we can improve the sport, one thing I’m sure, it will take a lot more than one brand and one vision to really take windsurfing to where it deserves.
How do you see the sport and its future?
Bright! Today we have a mature sport, there is a reason to the existence of everybrand and everyproduct out there, we have exact weather forecasts, affordable airlines specially inside Europe, some even without excess baggage fees for windsurf gear, clubs and shops all over the world, you can really plan your windsurfing holiday and get the most from a few days. 20 years ago windsurfing business was hot, so a lot of brands showed up, but the level of the gear sold wasn’t the best, and the customer wasn’t having the best experience as their gear was big, heavy, slipper and the range very limited, today we might not be selling as much gear as back then but a lot has to do with the longevity and range of the products we have help develop along this time, there is still a lot of good years left in products that people are riding out there , so how much gear we are selling today is not directly related by how many people is actually windsurfing, the same way that you couldn’t tell the downfall from the peak back then. The truth is that the more I travel the more people I see enjoying windsurfing, from all ages, social groups, it is a sport that all you need is water and a little wind, it has the potential to became the most popular water sport in the world.