Kevin Pritchard sat down with Graham and fired a few questions to the recent Princeton grad. Here is how the conversation went:
“KP: Some questions for you. First of all how have you been?
Graham: I’ve been good. Really good. Over the last year, I’ve come into my own in terms of windsurfing and writing. Finally out of school, I feel that I can finally find and define my style. What have you been up to lately?
KP: I just got back to Maui from LA visiting my brother for Thanksgiving. I’m amped to get time on the water at Hookipa but the forecast doesn’t look very good. We heard you had an amazing trip to Portugal can you tell us a little bit about it?
Graham: I went to Portugal mainly to work on a film I’m setting in the area around Guincho Beach. I’ve spent a lot of time there for the pwa world cups and for training (here’s a clip from a few years ago). The people were definitely the best part of the trip. I went to Portugal for writing and left with a new love for the people and place.
KP: Sounds Awesome! How has the sailing been since you have been back on Maui? We have seen a couple new moves coming out of you lately. No hand Goiter?? Whats this about?
Graham: Gotta keep it fresh! I’m always trying to do something new. The Hangover was my focus last year and in the last couple months I’ve pulled some really nice slidy ones with a 180 in the air and the rest slid off the lip . The no-hand goiter is the project for this winter! I was one of the first guys to do 1-hand goiters in the waves, and now I can do them with the back hand and front hand off at different times. The full no hander is the obvious progression. I’ve pulled some really bad, really low ones that shouldn’t count, but every crash is a step closer to sticking the perfect one. So I’ve got a season full of big crashes coming up!
KP: Anything else you have been working on?
Graham: Turns. Turns never get old. I wanna smack some big lips and gouge out some cutbacks. I’ve worked with K4 on a thruster fin setup that allows me to have a bit more drive and confidence in my turns.
KP: How have the new Panther Elite’s been working for you?
Graham: The Elite has raised my level of windsurfing. It just makes everything easier. I pull more tricks. I land more backloops. It makes everything effortless. I am a total fanboy when it comes to my love of the Panther Elite.
KP: What are your plans for this winter?
Graham: I’ll be training in Maui for most of it. Maybe a couple trips too. I really want to go back to Cabo Verde. And Flo Jung was talking about doing a Chile trip together.
KP: What has been your board/fin choice the past couple months?
Graham: I rock the thruster setup and love it. K4 is changing the way we think about multi-fins. K4 has lowered the cost and upped the quality allowing people to have a quiver of fins to draw from to fit the conditions. So, to answer your question, I’ve been playing a lot with my fins and changing them depending on the day.
KP: What sort of progression of the sport of windsurfing do you see coming?
Graham: The level is constantly exploding. The down-the-line wave tricks used to be rare but now are becoming a lot more common. This means we should see some new moves. I’ve pulled double takas at Hookipa, and I would love to do a double rotation in the air. Albee Layer pulled a 720 air off the lip in surfing. I hope we’ll see something similar in windsurfing.
KP: We love your writing, can we expect to see any new stories coming out?
Graham: Thank you! At the moment, I’m working on a collection of short stories, poems, and essays tentatively titled Sailor’s Almanac and a screenplay about two friends spending the summer in Portugal after they graduate college. It’s a bit of a coming of age story. The main character tries to make sense of the world as everything goes wrong. ”
Enjoy these pics!
[nggallery id=314]
