First of all if you are reading this section I want to thank you for allowing me to share my story with you. My name is Emiliano Stachowiak Grimaldi and I currently practice RS:X windsurfing which is an olympic sport. Since I was very little I remember doing a lot of sports such as swimming, track, basketball, soccer, american football, kiteboard, road cycling, snowboard, wakeboard, and now windsurfing. Some people use relaxation methods such as yoga classes to free their minds, but for me sports can have the same effect on me and adrenaline at the same time which I feel is an addiction. This is one of the reasons why I feel the need to do any type of sport all the time, but I truly believe it defines who I am and what I am capable of doing. This is why everytime I compete not even winning first place is enough for me because I also put attention in the distance between the first and second place, and to make that gap bigger every time is what I strive for.

I come from a german dad and a mexican mother, and they always remind me of that competitive attitude I inherited from both. Historically, germans are very hard working and they strive excellence all the time in their work. Mexicans are more relaxed but my mother comes from a very hardworking family and I have also inherited some of her personality, which all combined makes me this person that always seeks perfection and to do things the correct way. 

I have intermationally participated in the North American Championship 2018, World Cup Series 2017 Miami, and most recently the 2018 RS:X Europeans and Youth European Championships and Open Trophy. These are besides from all the national regattas that happen inside Mexico.

In Copa Yucatan de vela 2016, it was the second qualifying phase to enter  the ISAF Youth Worlds 2016. But due to a equipment failure in the first phase I was 18 points behind from qualifying. But in the second phase I was able to buy a new sail and get a lot of first places in the regatta which secured me the first place in the regatta but just not enough to qualify, that year I missed the qualification by just 2 points ! After that day I was very dissapointed with myself but I knew that I couldn't do anything more, but maybe if I didn't have an equipment failure in the first phase I would be qualified by many points ahead. This is something I want to prevent and for this reason I am raising money to have always new equipment, because I don't want to lose opportunities like this because of bad equipment. I haven't been able to have always spare equipment or simply new equiment ever since, and after talking to some experienced athletes in the events I learned that when you buy new equipment you have to be really carefull and bring a measuring tape because even millimiters can make all the difference. So now I know how to select proper equipment from the store, now I just need financial aid.

I have been sponsored by trootherskeptic wear with some t-shirts, and Vallarta Sailing Foundation with money. At the point that I am at, product sponsorship is almost useless because it doesn't allow me to do the training camps or get new equipment, and the Vallarta Sailing Foundation has been very kind and supported me for 2 competitions with money to cover many expenses, and as a growing athlete this is the most useful tool right now, that is why I don't ask for product sponsorship at this moment because I would not be able to make progress with it. For now money is the most important factor because that would allow me to complete the training camps outside Mexico and improve my competition level which would propel me towards a higher ranking and have more television and news exposure. At that point where you have more exposure is where those product sponsorships are also useful. Unfortunately the Vallarta Sailing Foundation is not able to cover all the expenses including equipment, that is why I need your help to make my plans possible.

One of my goals is to be inside the top 20 from the World Sailing ranking which is a list of 280 competitors where I currently sit at the 149th position with the participation of only 3 international events. There are 5 keys to be successful in windsurf:

-Training camps with different athletes to develop new strategies and sailing technique.

-Spend at least 4 hours daily training on the water and outside the water(physical conditioning)

-Follow a good nutrition program to stay lean and develop resistance/strength in the gym.

-Have various sets of equipment to test and compete with the best one.

-Continously compete internationally as that makes you gain experience since you sail against the best sailors. 

Windsurfing is very unique from every sport because even though it is one design, which means the equipment must be the same for everyone, there are some irregularities that can make a massive difference on the water. The purpose of the one design is so that the equipment doesn't define the winner and that the athlete is the one who makes the difference. Along the windsurfing community there are many complains because equipment can vary a lot and it is actually making the difference between loosing or winning this is why the dutch windsurfing team has spent almost one million dollars in one year only for equipment which they would test and choose the best sails and boards to compete with. So the one design is not really true and equipment plays a significant role in the performance of an athlete, unfortunately I am no longer able to buy a complete set so I have been using the same board that is 3 years old and is very worn out. To achieve my goal of getting inside the top 20 ranking it is necessary to implement the 5 keys that I stated earlier but for that I need a lot of money that I personally can't pay. Even when there are no competitions coming I still train in order to not loose strength and follow my nutritional plan. But if you would like to know I have a plan that covers very specifically expenses including equipment and traveling, training camps, and competitions. You can ask me for the plan if you would like to have a look. My main goal for now is the top 20 ranking and after I achieve that my next big goal is the olympics in 2024 for which there is enough time to train and recolect funds to get the most recent equipment.

The main components of the equipment are the following for which I will also include the price in euros.

-RS:X board evo- €2,885.42

-Fin Evo 66 black- €416.00

- Sail evo 9.5- €996.92

-520 evo mast- €531.23

-225 boom- €869.29

-RS:X board bag- €222.82

-RS:X rig bag 520/9.5- €218.21

The board bag and the rig bag are essential for taking all the stuff inside when you travel, it protects the equipment against the bad airport handling of fragile luggage. Without them the board would get cracks or holes from impacts as well as the boom or the mast. The grand total for the equipment is : €6,139.89

The money collected will be used to pay for this amount solely for the equipment.

You can use this link provided to see all the products with their code and price respectively: https://www.neilpryde.com/pages/rs-x-pricing

Or you can simply google neilpryde rsx pricelist.

I will try to get help from the Vallarta Sailing Foundation to cover the competition and training camp expenses, and hopefully these two combined will open me the doors to my goals.

I need your help to reach my goals and I won't be able to reach them without your help, every donation counts and makes a difference I appreciate everything even if you just share my story to others. Donors for more than €100 euros will get their initials written in the sail and in the board bag as well as a appreciation video in instagram.