THE CHEESE ROLL CHRONICLES: JAN SLEIGHS WINDSURFING JOURNEY!THE CHEESE ROLL CHRONICLES: JAN SLEIGHS WINDSURFING JOURNEY!Jan Sleighs story is one of passion, persistence and making windsurfing fit into every part of life. From selling his records as a teenager to buy his first kit, to competing, travelling the world and creating a career built around flexibility, Jan has spent decades proving that the dream of combining work and windsurfing is possible.WINDSURF: Tell us about how you got into windsurfingwhere you were brought up etc?JAN SLEIGH: I grew up in a small town in Leicestershire called Hinckley. Its about as far away you can get from the coast in all directions. Windsurfing had never been on my radar until we were on a family holiday campingin Carnac in France. I think I was 15. Wed befriended a couple of other families on the campsite that had windsurf boards and they let us have a go and I was hooked. Then there was this one windy day and a few guys appeared at the beach and were blasting around fully planing which blew my mind. I also remember picking up a French windsurfing magazine and saw photos of wave riding and jumps and I knew windsurfing was what I wanted to do. When I got home I sold all my records and my record player and anything else I could to raise enough money to buy some gear.Where did you study at University and what degree did you do?JAN SLEIGH: I went to Southampton University and studied Economics and Business Economics. My choice of university was based on how good the economics faculty was and how close to a windsurfing locations it was. I scored with Southampton on both fronts. Southampton had an awesome windsurfing club and also a fantastic surf club so we had a lot of fun trips to the South Coast, Cornwall and South Wales. I graduated at a time of high graduate unemployment, so I took myself off to night school to do the Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma in marketing while I was doing all sorts of jobs from painting and decorating to being a breakfast cook in a boarding school. All the time I was windsurfing as much as I could.Was your ambition ever to be an out and out pro sailor or did you always try and combine windsurfing with your marketing career?JAN SLEIGH: I think the original dream always was to make a living from windsurfing. Having a job doing something you love is everyones dream. But back in the early 90s what even was a full time professional windsurfer? It was before mobile phones and before the internet, let alone social media. Information was pretty limited on what that career route looked like so I had absolutely no clue.Straight after university, I was just free riding often on my own with no idea how to progress or become a professional (whatever that actually was). I learned moves from pictures in magazines way harder to work out what to do from a five picture sequence than watching a YouTube video. Ultimately, I needed to make a living and managed to get my first marketing job at Canon a couple of years after Uni and I kind of gave up on the windsurfing as a career option.But not long after starting that job a windsurfing friend from Uni got in-touch said he was going up to Tiree and invited me along. I competed in the amateur fleet and did pretty well a couple of years in a row, which led to me getting some sponsorship from Andy Gaunt at Windtek. Hed supported me in the past and was importing Sailworks. He got me on to the sails with one caveat I had to compete in the pro division.His view was it would push me and push my windsurfing which was true. So I kind of fell into professional competition not out of choice and not out of skill but out of opportunity. Dave White helped me with boards and it sent me down the competition route. Id become a professional windsurfer by default and for a few years I was semi content working climbing the corporate ladder windsurfing as often as possible going to Tiree to compete each year.Although it was my all-consuming passion, early on, I was just windsurfing while doing a full time job. Then I think it was in 1996 in Tiree I was in a heat against British Champion Nigel Howell. It was crazy windy and I was on my on my 3.8m. I had nothing to loose in that heat and threw myself into a double cheese roll. To my surprise, I made two rotations and landed in a water-start position, lifted the rig and sailed away. I didnt win the heat but it was at that point I thought maybe with more focus and time in the water I could do better.I decided to quit my full-time marketing career and spend what little savings I had on a trip around the world. I chose where to go inspired by travel articles in Windsurf and Boards magazines. I couldnt sail port tack to save my life so first stop was Western Australia. I spent the best part of a year trying to improve and get better and I ran out of money from travelling and breaking my equipment and realised I needed to support myself with some kind of income if I wanted to go further.Windsurfing wasnt paying the bills so I set up my business to do freelance marketing, contracting and consulting into the telecommunications industry which was the career Id left behind so that I could windsurf as much as possible.Competition enabled me to have a great story. It was something tangible that everyone understood. I needed flexibility and time off to go windsurfing to train and to compete.I had a pretty good balance of work and play.WINDSURF: Tell us a bit about your marketing company and what you do for a living?JAN SLEIGH: The company and what it does has changed quite a few times over the years. Initially it was a vehicle for freelancing marketing,consulting and contracting when that market was evolving especially in telecommunications. I would be brought in to launch a new product or service, hand it over to the operation and move on to the next new product or service. But over the years Ive worked on marketing strategy, marketing communications, go to market, product marketing, product management and brand. The company has also operated as an agency delivering campaigns and marketing assets as well as building websites. And its also supplied me as an expert into interim marketing management roles.WINDSURF: When did you start your business and how do you combine this with your passion for windsurfing?JAN SLEIGH: I started the business back in 1997 after Id spent that year traveling and windsurfing around the globe. Initially it was the mechanism that helped me compete. And competition was the mechanism that enabled me to have flexibility and time off work to windsurf. I competed in the UK for about 15 years or so and had a brief stint of doing a few PWA events in 2003 which was a goal realised even if I was the bottom seed and I think at the time the oldest competitor in the fleet.I stopped competing because it was costly to self-fund and I also had a couple of injuries and life events that set me back. Over the last few decades, Ive just been free riding, always trying to improve, while working freelance, which has enabled travel to great windsurfing locations.WINDSURF: Are you able towork remotely and go on trips etc or are you office bound?JAN SLEIGH: When I started the business I wanted the flexibility to work any time from anywhere so that I could go windsurfing, or at least be in control of where I worked from while consulting. Id worked as the Email product manager at Mercury Communications launching a product that allowed you to send electronic messages between companies! Ha-ha! So, I had seen the future!My freelancing and consulting career has primarily been in telecommunications and because Ive worked on cutting edge technology and launched products and services that enabled remote working, Ive always been a huge advocate of it and been able to practice what I preach. I worked online while on a windsurfing trip as far back as 1998. Post pandemic a lot of companies have caught up technologically and attitudinally with remote and hybrid working and now Im perhaps even more remote than I ever was.WINDSRF: When did you get married and do you both share the same passion for windsurfing and music etc?JAN SLEIGH: Steff and I got married at the end of February of this year. Weve been together 10 years so I guess its been a long time coming! Yeah Steff shares the same passion for windsurfing. Its one of the things I love about her she is passionate about so many things and always throws herself in full commitment. She didnt windsurf or surf when we met she primarily did circus and aerial arts.But one day out of the blue, maybe a year or eighteen months into our relationship she asked if we could do a trip to Lake Garda. So we went and she had lessons and loved it.She shouldnt really windsurf though because she has a connective tissue disorder, which means that her bones break really easily, so she has to be super careful.A hooked in catapult could be potentially fatal and a foot stuck in a strap would definitely result in broken bones. Shes figured out how to adjust and adapt to get the most fun out of it though. She approached it with clinical precision just like her aerial arts and has worked out how to be able to do it within certain limitations. She uses a bigger board and a smaller sail and has amazing technique learning by micro adjustments and micro improvements all the time so now she is blasting around fully planing for a couple of hours without foot-straps or harness! She has really improved during our trips to Australia the last few years.In terms of music weve both got a passion for it, but my taste stretches into much more extreme genres. We go to a lot of gigs together but theres also gigs that I will go solo or with some of my metal buddies.WINDSURF: Where do you live in Cornwall and when and why did you move there?JAN SLEIGH: I live in Newquay and I moved here full time in 2010. Id been travelling back and forwards to Cornwall for years. Sleeping in my van. Sleeping on friends floors. Occasionally sleeping at a Travelodge. But I managed to buy my place in 2008 and moved there full time in 2010.I chose Newquay for the beaches close by and because of its proximity to the A30 which is now pretty much dual carriageway all the way through the county. For windsurfing I can get to pretty much any beach within 45 minutes to an hour at the very tops so its a good location to access any conditions.For SUP surfing Ive got Fistral and Crantock on my doorstep.The other reason I chose Newquay at the time was because Id kind of got in my head that I wanted to windsurf the Cribbar. It felt like the only reliable way to know when it was working with any certainly was to be right there to be able to check it. Id been dabbling in a bit of tow in surfing too with a couple of friends so I also wanted to tow and SUP it as well.WINDSURF: What do you love about the windsurfing in Cornwall?JAN SLEIGH: I think the conditions kind of go without saying. Gwithian is known around the globe as a world class spot when its on. Theres a lot of variety and because Cornwall is a peninsula it means we can getwave conditions in almost every direction of wind. Of course, its not always good but theres a high chance of some fun sessions to be had. But the biggest reason I love windsurfing in Cornwall is the people! Theres a solid crew of windsurfers who will go out every windy day if they can in all conditions if they can, the level of sailing is high and everyone is super friendly. Its such a small scene that most people know everyone so it makes it feel very much like its home.WINDSURF: Did it take a while to get accepted by the locals?JAN SLEIGH: I think I got accepted by the born and bred locals with open arms and by everyone else that had been here an eon in the same way. One of this things that is great about windsurfing in Cornwall is just how friendly it is.WINDSURF: We noticed you go to Australia quite a bit tell us why you love it there so much and where you stay etc?JAN SLEIGH: I fell in love with Western Australia on my first visit back in 1997. So much that I went back almost every winter until 2006. More recently Ive been trying to go every winter since 2019 which turned into a special trip as Steff and I were stranded there during the pandemic. I have a van out there that I bought in 2019 which makes the trip easy each year.I love it because its such an adventure every time. The weather, the geography, the wildlife its all out to get you. Its a pretty extreme environment that is very sparsely populated outside of the Perth suburbs. The Aussies are so friendly and there are always international windsurfers making the trip too. Its great to meet like minded people from different parts of the world. All the spots are amazing to sail, but there are huge distances to travel between them. I like the feeling of adventure.And Lancelin feels like home. It has a special place in my heart from my early trips and now with Steff it feels like home too as we were there during the WA lockdown. There are conditions for both of us and its a good place to have as a base to then go and explore.WINDSURF: Where else do you sail aside from Lancelin?JAN SLEIGH: Ive travelled all around WA and windsurfed all of the well known spots from Esperance to Margaret River, Lancelin to Geraldton and of course Gnaraloo. Plus a few different spots in between. I do tend to chase the forecast a bit and if youre adventurous and dont mind sailing alone every now and again then there are all kinds of locations to score as well as the main spots. Coronation beach and Gnaraloo are world class locations and I definitely love windsurfing them and will always take a trip on a good forecast.Outside of Western Australia my favourite place to go is Chile. It really is next level of amazing. Lovely people insanely good waves.WINDSURF: What sort of music are you into?JAN SLEIGH: The short answer would be metal! Ha-ha. But that seems such a restrictive box to be put in. My music taste is super wide I love bands like Massive Attack, The Prodigy and Leftfield.As a kid I grew up listening to Iron Maiden, Queen, Black Sabbath and AC/DC so it was very heavy rock and metal biased, but at Uni I got more into dance music and more alternative stuff as well.Metal has evolved in so many directions and has so many genres and sub genres Im not into any particular one. I can cycle through hard rock, pop-punk, nu-metal, death metal, black metal, deathcore and everything in between on a days playlist.WINDSURF: Tell us about some of the bands you have seen?JAN SLEIGH: There are so many! So many now that I now need to track them in a spreadsheet! The first gig I went to was Gillan back in 1983!More recently Ive seen Lorna Shore, Humanitys Last Breath, Orbit Culture, Whitechapel, Shadow of Intent, Gaerea and Poppy.Bands Ive got lined up for this year include Korn, Metallica, Libertines, The Haunted, Bowling For Soup, Shinedown, Spiritbox, Jinjer and (Hed)P.EThats a pretty wide mix of styles!WINDSURF: The cheese roll seems to be your signature movetell us what you love about it?JAN SLEIGH: Ha-ha well I love it because its become a signature move! Seriously though its the first loop I saw in a magazine and the first loop I learned how to do. I had to unlearn it to do a proper forward loop. There was a time when cheese rolls were looked down on as kind of a forward loop that wasnt done properly. So, Ive tried to make mine as far away from a forward loop as possible, so the rotation is completely different. Its more like a sideways off axis flip. I love the floating feeling you get when the wind catches the clew and lifts you up.WINDSURF: Can you talk us through the technique to landing a decent cheese roll and how it differs from a forward loop?JAN SLEIGH: Sure, I think there are a few ways to do them Ballz Mullers freestyle version is insane! I cant get my head around how he spins so fast and planes out of it. Super rad.For me the best ones always start from the set up. You want to be planing full speed. Not too overpowered as that can make the exit of the rotation a bit wonky. Bear off down wind and look for a steep ramp. If the wind is side shore you want to be aiming at 1 or 2 oclock off the wave. Move your back hand down the boom before take off to give more leverage. As you go up the wave carve the board to 12 or even 11 while taking the mast to the back of the board and sheeting in hard. You want the board to be over your head mast tip pointing back down at the water. Ideally the wave gives you that kick up.Your front arm is tucked in close and you want to pull yourself into the boom. When you feel the wind catch the clew this is where you get lifted and need to control the rotation around the sail. Once you have gone over / through the eye of the wind you want to straighten your front arm to allow the wind to get back under the sail and you also want to look back and down at the tail to come in for that tail first landing. The more onshore it is the more off the wind you need to go as you are almost rotating back towards the beach. In offshore winds you have to be more careful as the wind can be a bit unpredictable after take-off.WINDSURF: Tell us about your tattooswhy you have them etc?JAN SLEIGH: Technically Ive only got two tattoos its just one is a full sleeve with every inch covered. The first tattoo is on my left shoulder. I got it in Maui. Id just learned to Push loop but then busted my ankle crashing one10 days after my first successful landing. Id always wanted a tattoo but could never square away the time you have to take out of the water to let it heal I never wanted to miss a session. But as I couldnt go in the water, I created a design and went and got it done. My sleeve is a lot more personal. I got it done after going through a tough time in my life. I loved comics as a kid and Silver Surfer was one of my favourite characters. Its a collage of excerpts from the Silver Surfer comics. The design doesnt represent anything in particular but the process of getting it done about 30 hours of work over 15 sessions over a year was oddly therapeutic.JAN SLEIGH: How long have you been riding for Naish and what gear are you riding mostly?JAN SLEIGH: Ive been riding on Naish since 2003 so thats 23 years! On the sail front I use force 4s from 5.6 down to 3.5. I love how these sails feel in terms of lightness, power and balance its also been good sticking with the same sails over the years as when they change, they still feel familiar. Ive also got a couple of the 3 batten choppers which I use in very specific down the line conditions they are really light and give a real surfing feel to the session.As for boards my go to has been a Global 105 its a great all-round board that works in Cornwalls real world varied conditions from cross off down the line Gwithian to onshore jumping Marazion and everything in between. And for my weight its the board that gets me out in the most conditions. Ive got a 95 Global for when it gets windier. In Australia I use the 105 Global and Hookipa Quad 96. I can use the 96 in lighter wind as the waves are near perfect and there isnt the beach break and side shore currents to contend with that we have in Cornwall. Naish have just brought out a 106 version of the Hookipa Quad that I am really looking forward to riding I think it will be a game changer for me in down the line sessions here at home.WINDSURF: What do you love about windsurfing?JAN SLEIGH: Theres so much! I love how much fun it is. There is so much scope for fun in so many conditions. There are so many different directions to go with the sport. For sure my focus has been on waves and jumping and that is what I really get a kick out of but its fun just blasting along alone or with friends. Just recently some friends and I dabbled in wing foiling and it just wasnt giving us the same buzz as windsurfing.It felt wrong to be disconnected from the water it was alien to not be on the fin or a rail so we bought some big slalom gear. Now on the light wind no wave days we are drag racing and trying to go faster than each other.I love seeing Steff progress and windsurfing with her in Lancelin or Coros that is really special to be on the water together.Then there is the endless challenge windsurfing is difficult and the top guys are endlessly pushing the sport. For me that is inspirational even if I never get to do some of the moves, I will always challenge myself to learn more. Windsurfing has enabled me to have a purpose and have a really good work life balance. It keeps me fit and healthy too. I dont think Id be as in shape as I am if I didnt windsurf. I love the travel aspect I have been on a lot of windsurfing adventures over the years all around the world and I have met so many cool people along the way and have so many windsurfing friends. It really is the best sport ever!The post THE CHEESE ROLL CHRONICLES: JAN SLEIGHS WINDSURFING JOURNEY! appeared first on Windsurf Magazine Online.