Jake Schettewi is a 15 year-old windsurfer living on Maui. He and his family moved there because of windsurfing. Jake’s dream is to become a windsurf pro one day, so living on Maui is not totally wrong. Kevin Pritchard is a big fan of Jake: “I love this kid cause he kinda reminds me of me I guess. His dry humor makes me laugh and isn’t that what life is about: Laughing, loving? .. this kid’s got a great story ahead of him.” Kevin also produced a clip about Jake, which you shouldn’t miss to watch: Jake Schettewi – video by Kevin Pritchard

As Jake and his family used to live on Aruba before moving to Maui we asked Sarah-Quita Offringa about a statement about Jake: “Jake is challenging me for the prize of biggest hair do at the beach! He and his family lived in Aruba for a while before moving to Maui. I met them there last year and stayed with them a couple of times since. Seeing the boys (e.n. Jake has two brothers) sailing again I was really impressed by how they have improved! Jake always makes me want to windsurf. Besides him being a great windsurfer already I think the most important aspect of his talent is the fact that he just loves to be on the water and thanks to his goofy and funny personality motivates other people to do the same. So let’s go!”

Jake Schettewi - Pic: John Carter/PWA

Jake Schettewi – Pic: John Carter/PWA

 

JAKE SCHETTEWI – INTERVIEW

Continentseven: Jake, where are you from?
Jake Schettewi: I was born in New Jersey, but only lived there for the first week of my life. I then lived in Maryland (just outside of Washington, DC) and we later moved to Aruba. Eventually we move back to Maryland, but we kept going back to Aruba whenever we could. We then moved to Jupiter, Florida for the next few years until we found ourselves in Maui. 

Continentseven: How long have you been windsurfing?
Jake Schettewi: I started windsurfing when I was four years old in Aruba. My parents would drop me and my brother off at the beach where we would try to windsurf along with other kids. My parents kept giving us the opportunities to windsurf and I really liked it so I ended up being on the water all the time.

Continentseven: How does an average day in Jake’s life look like?
Jake Schettewi: On a school day, I go to school until 3pm then right after school my brother Max drives us straight to Ho’okipa if it’s windy. On a typical weekend day, I start the day off by making myself some breakfast then if the conditions are good I’m at Ho’okipa at 11 (that is the earliest windsurfers can go on the water here in Maui). I sail there all day then around 3, I leave to get lunch. Then I go out at Camp One (my backyard) for another session. Then I eat dinner and get ready for the next day hoping it’s windy again.

Jake with a classic Aerial at Ho'okipa (Pic: Crowther/AWT)

Jake with a classic Aerial at Ho’okipa (Pic: Crowther/AWT)

 

Continentseven: How much time do you spend on your windsurfing board?
Jake Schettewi: I spend every second I can on my windsurfing board.  However, on many big days at Ho’okipa, I spend lots of time swimming to my windsurf board, but I try to have my feet on my board as much as possible.

Continentseven: Apart from windsurfing, what do you like?
Jake Schettewi: I love to surf, paddle board/surf, and skateboard.

Continentseven: What food do you order in a restaurant?
Jake Schettewi: In a restaurant, I will order different things depending on the day, but my favorite thing to eat are sweets.

Continentseven: What kind of music do you like?
Jake Schettewi: I like all sorts of music including: mostly alternative music and maybe a country song because the words make me laugh. I usually sing music on the water – usually pop music not because I like it but because it’s catchy.

Continentseven: What’s the last movie you watched and last book you read?
Jake Schettewi: The last movie I watched was either Talladega Nights or some other comedy. I go to a school that keeps me busy all the time, and the last book I read for school was Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.

Continentseven: Who are your windsurfing heroes?
Jake Schettewi: My heros in windsurfing are Kevin Pritchard, Levi Siver, Marcilio Browne, Josh Angulo and Philip Köster.

Continentseven: What is your favorite windsurfing location and why?
Jake Schettewi: I love to windsurf at my home spot Ho’okipa, but I also liked windsurfing the long waves in Baja this summer.

Continentseven: You did great in the Aloha Classic and you are the 2015 AWT Youth Champion and AWT amateur men’s overall title winner. How does this feel? 
Jake Schettewi: It feels great, and I was just happy to be out there with so many good sailors and  able to compete with them. To be able to win some heats was an amazing feeling and I’m really happy about it.

The trophies in the hands, Jake and Morgan after the 2015 Aloha Classic (Pic: Carter/PWA)

The trophies in the hands, Jake and Morgan after the 2015 Aloha Classic (Pic: Carter/PWA)

 

Continentseven: What is your weight/size? Which gear combo/setup is your favorite one? 
Jake Schettewi: I am 5’4’’ (163 cm) and I weigh about 97 pounds (44 kg). I am almost always sailing on the same sail, board, and fins 3.7 m Hot Sails KS3, 59 l JP-Australia Young Gun, and a quad set of Black Project Mini Epic Fins.

Continentseven: You are 14. Is windsurfing cool?
Jake Schettewi: Of course windsurfing is cool. It’s surfing, but you have a sail and footstraps which means more speed, more powerful turns, and bigger air. It’s also a great sport because there is always something new to work on. It is endless.

Continentseven: What was your best windsurfing session so far?
Jake Schettewi: My best windsurfing session so far was out at Punta San Carlos in Baja, Mexico with lots of wind and long clean waves.

Jake at Punta San Carlos, Baja (Pic: Lucky beanz)

Jake at Punta San Carlos, Baja (Pic: Lucky beanz)

 

Continentseven: What moves are you working on at the moment?
Jake Schettewi: Right now I am working on wave 360’s frontside and backside, Air Takas, sliding Takas, and Push loops.

Continentseven: Jumping or wave riding, what do you prefer?
Jake Schettewi: I like them both, but I prefer wave riding a bit more because I like surfing. Wave riding on my windsurf gear is great because it is like surfing, but it is better – it’s windsurfing.

Continentseven: Do you have a favorite tack?
Jake Schettewi: My favorite tack is starboard because I learned to wave ride that way, and I’m regular foot.

Continentseven: Who are your windsurfing buddies? Are there many kids in your age windsurfing?
Jake Schettewi: I’m always windsurfing with my brother Max, I also sail with Kevin Pritchard a lot. In Maui there are not too many kids windsurfing that are my age, but I love to sail with new people from different places.

Max Schettewi, Jake's older brother, with an Aerial at Ho'okipa (Pic: Crowther/AWT)

Max Schettewi, Jake’s older brother, with an Aerial at Ho’okipa (Pic: Crowther/AWT)

 

Continentseven: Kevin Pritchard calls you Mango. Why?
Jake Schettewi: Kevin calls me Mango because he says I’m “just a Mango.” I heard him call Marcilio Browne “Mango” one day and then Marcilio called him “Mango”, and I said, “Mango? I’m going to call you that.” Kevin responded with, “that’s fine,” then he started calling me Mango, too. I think there is a story behind it between Kevin and Marcilio, but I don’t know exactly what happened.

Continentseven: Kevin says you remind him of him. Do you want to be like Kevin later?
Jake Schettewi: Of course, Kevin is living a dream. He wakes up and gets to sail all day even though he probably has some other important stuff to do, but I’m sure he spends lots of time windsurfing while I’m at school. He never fails to remind me when he gets a great sail in while I’m in school, and I wish I could windsurf all day too.

Continentseven: What is your goal in windsurfing?
Jake Schettewi: My goal in windsurfing is to keep going with it, pushing to do my best, improving, and then see where it takes me.

Continentseven: Why do you want to become a pro-windsurfer?
Jake Schettewi: I want to become a pro-windsurfer because it seems like a dream to be able to travel to windsurf and to compete as a job.

©continentseven.com 2015

 

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