Josh Stone’s new dream, in his own words::
Aloha to all of my windsurfing family,
Life, my friends, is continually evolving. There are sometimes slow changes that happen over years, ones that are almost unnoticeable, like the creases around a smile, or the deepening of lines on your palm. Then there are changes that happen very quickly, like the birth of a child, or the death of a loved one. In my humble opinion, the secret to ever lasting happiness is to embrace these changes, slow and quick, as a testimony to a life lived to the fullest. Don’t dwell on regret as every experience that happens to us makes us who we are now, and shapes the person we will become tomorrow. Change is natural and good.
In my life I have been incredibly blessed with the ability to always live my dream. Until recently the main focus of my dream has been to travel the world, meet new cultures, experience different places and windsurf every where I possibly could. That has been a huge success and much of the happiness that I have in my life now is because of living this dream, but as with everything, the focus of my dream has changed with time. My dream now is to spend as much energy with my family and friends in our paradise here on Maui, and to windsurf, surf and have as much fun as humanly possible for the rest of my life. Not a bad dream.
In order for this dream to start for me I had to make some changes in my life. The main change for me to actually enjoy “home” was that I would have to stop working for sponsors. The reason is that when you work for sponsors, you are often obligated to travel and windsurf for them, and not for yourself. Over a very long and amazingly successful career I have never underestimated the importance of my sponsors’ role in whatever success I have had. I have built strong personal relationships with my sponsors over the years, and I will always hold them in very high regard. People like Martin Brandner, the head of JP, and Neil Pryde himself, have my everlasting gratitude and respect. I couldn’t have achieved half of what I had without them and they will always be in my heart as people to admire and regard. I give very much Aloha to them and all of the hundreds of people that I have worked with through the last 12 years of touring.
With this decision behind me and the change made, I have been able to see a future of living the real dream. Fun, family, friends and surf forever. One of the main people responsible for helping me realize this dream is my super good friend and windsurfing partner Francisco Goya. He has inspired me by making a leap of his own to his next dream, and his positive energy, and incredible excitement has become addictive. For the last year Fran has spent night and day designing the most intricate details of his personal line of boards and sails, and finally his dream has become reality with the launch of his own company, Goya. I am really stoked for Fran, and since I am no longer bound by the need to make money from sponsors, I will only ride the equipment that I can have the most fun on. One thing I am 100% sure of about Fran, he is so dedicated and concerned about performance, he will always be designing the best gear in the world. For that reason, at this time of happy change, and the start of my new dream, Goya will be the gear I play on.
To all of the wonderful people I have had the pleasure to meet through the years, ALOHA and MAHALO. Your energy has been the force that has kept me motivated, and I hope to windsurf with all of you soon. Live your dreams!
Mahalo,
