About Steve
Bio
Name: Steve Allen
Sail Number: AUS-0
Nationality: Australian
Birthday: December 27, 1973
Resides: Warsaw, Poland
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 82kg
20 Questions
Q. Describe your lifestyle and what you miss most?
A. I spend much of my time on the road, traveling to and from competitions, R&D and training events all over Europe. I still regard my first home as Australia, where I generally spend several months around Christmas time with family, training and sometimes competing in events there. When I am away from Australia, I miss my family, my old friends, the warm weather, great surf and just relaxing in the most beautiful place in the World. I now spend most of my time at my second home is in Poland with my wife, Gucia, and two children, whom I greatly miss when I am on the road/tour. I also miss the Polish people, some of the friendliest, most welcoming people in Europe, and the great Polish food. While at home in Warsaw, much of my day is spent with the family, caring for and playing with the children. I also do regular workouts on a rowing machine, and spend a fair bit of time on the net, communicating with sponsors, family etc. I travel down to Almannarre around March/April for fine tuning my equipment in preparation for the season. I then go to all the PWA race events, Euro Cup events, FW Europeans, World Title events and Polish events throughout the European summer. In 2006 I intend to also follow the speed tour. Between events, I work on development of the Fanatic race boards, mostly in Portugal, although I also take boards for testing at various locations around Europe to make sure that they work in all conditions. Then, when this is finishing, the Neil Pryde race sail development is generally starting, and I also do some of the early development on the race sails in Europe.
Q. Windsurfing since?
A. 1983.
Q. On the PWA tour since?
A. 1993.
Q. How did you get into windsurfing?
A. At the age of nine, having several sharks circling us while my father and older brother were trying in vain to right a capsised catamaran so far out to sea that the land was just visible on the horizon, I did not want to get back on that catamaran, so dad sold it and bought a windsurfer. I started learning the basics on a large dam on my uncle’s farm.
Q. What is it about windsurfing that’s got you hooked?
A. It was so long ago that I started windsurfing that I can’t remember exactly what it was, just that I took to it like a duck to water. My father was keen and my cousins, Joel and Wes, also bought windsurfers and it was great to all go out together and compete. I then met Leo Sharpe, the young hot shot in Queensland, and I greatly enjoyed his company and the challenge of beating him. I needed better equipment and found I could get sponsorship to start competitive racing.
Q. Biggest achievement to date?
A. My two kids, Eva and Andy. Then next to that would be, some of my major results; 2005 FW Europeans a disappointing 5th, 2005 IFCA Worlds/PWA disappointed 6th , 2005 Speed event Fuerte 6th, and 3rd in one round, 2004 FW Worlds 2nd, 2004 PWA Racing tour 2nd and G.C event 1st, 2003 FW Worlds 1st, 2003 Open Europeans 1st, 2002 PWA Tour racing 1st, 2002 IFCA Worlds 1st, 2002 Euro Cup 1st, 1997 IFCA Worlds 1st and Formula 42 1st.
Q. Favorite Windsurfing Spot and why?
A. The Tweed Coast, 1hr 20 min drive south of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, just over the border into New South Wales. I love this spot as it is my home spot and that no matter how good the conditions are when I go sailing it is just me and my mates, it never gets crowded.
Q. Favorite windsurfing discipline and why?
A. Racing is the most fair, fast and intense form of competivie windsurfing, and I immensely enjoy testing and discovering new faster gear. I also love wave sailing for the fun and thrill of it.
Q. Favorite maneuver?
A. Table top forward loop.
Q. Favorite Windsurfing Moment?
A. Winning each of my World Titles.
Q. How do you keep fit and healthy?
A. I used to train quite hard in the gym, as well as sailing, but I now prefer, and have found to be more beneficial, just doing a lot of sports and stretching to keep fit and loose. I also have my own rowing machine that I also use for extra fitness and strengthening work. I don’t stick to any specific diet although I try to eat healthy food. During competition I eat a lot of pasta and less meat.
Q. Interests outside of Windsurfing?
A. Surfing, snow-boarding, country skiing, ice-skating, ice-boarding, wake-boarding, tennis, squash, golf.
Q. Favorite book?
A. Lance Armstrong.
Q. Favorite food?
A. In general I love fruit, especially mangoes straight from the tree.
Q. Best drink?
A. Alcoholic a cold beer after a good day of surfing and windsurfing, non Alcoholic drink fruit juice.
Q. Favorite board & sail size?
A. For Formula 10.7, slalom 6.2, wave 4.7
Q. Ambitions?
A. To win.
Q. Party factor (in 1-10 scale)?
A. These days 4.
Q. Car driven?
A. Van.
Q. Words to live by?
A. Aim high striving to be the best in what ever you do, try not to have regrets, and live every day to the fullest.
Q. What does windsurfing mean to you?
A. Freedom, when windsurfing you don’t have a worry in the world.
