Name : Ismael Fuentes
Born : 1974
Team member since : 2007
Prior Club Mistral Destinations :
Maki, our team member of the month June 2010, is an old hand in the windsurfing business. Not only has he been windsurfing ever since he can remember, but he also used to work as a sail developer and tester for Gun Sails before starting for Club Mistral two years ago.
Therefore his wealth of experience is just incredible and he impresses us every single day with his knowledge about equipment, technique and about everything else to do with windsurfing.
His tips for the right sail size are legendary and his word is law. Nobody is more often asked for advice when it comes to taking the right equipment out, and even our team relies on Maki´s estimations – and the fact that his advice is always 100% right, guarantees fun on the water, and strengthens his position as “Windsurfing Guru” even more.
Of course Maki is not only an advisor on the beach, but also shows how it is done on the water: When the water is flying in Tarifa and everybody else is fighting to survive with 50 knots, he knocks out one back loop after another… and sometimes this can be a little bit frustrating, but only sometimes…
Maki grew up in Bologna, a nearby village of Tarifa and as a local he knows Tarifa and its environment like the back of his hand. There´s probably no one who knows more spots, more bars and more people than Maki – so you can not only get tips about the right equipment from him but also about the nightlife and the numerous spots around Tarifa.
Apart from windsurfing, Maki´s life is all about motocross, tattoos, his wife Carmen and his dog Niko who´s like his shadow and is always close by. They are like the Adventures of Tintin, and not even Niko´s favourite hobby of rolling himself in stinky mud drives a wedge between them… although sooner or later it will drive Maki crazy.
As for his daily work and our company there is not much to say: Maki is irreplaceable!! The first months he worked as a windsurfing instructor but he soon showed us that he wants more responsibility and that he is also able to handle it.
So now he is responsible for the complete windsurfing section at Club Mistral Tarifa Valdevaqueros.
The guests love him and his friendly way and the fact that he always has an open ear for them and is always ready for a chat – and of course the fact that their fun on the water is almost guaranteed once they ask him for advice.
We don´t want to miss him anymore and will never ever let him go!
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