MARCILIO BROWNE - HO’OKIPA SESSIONS

Two world titles, one of the best sailors at Ho’okipa and a constant threat to the PWA wave podium,

Marcilio ‘BRAWZINHO’ Browne is widely respected amongst his peers as a driving force in modern wavesailing. Born in Brazil, he made the decision to turn ‘pro’ at 12 years of age and has since matured into one of the most focussed and competitive sailors on tour. Now resident for most of the year in Maui and heavily involved in R&D for his sponsors Goya,

John Carter caught up with the champion for the lowdown on his new island lifestyle.

Words & Photos John Carter

JC: Describe a typical day for you in Maui?

MB: Normally I wake up around 7am and do some cross training before breakfast, either running, cycling or in the gym. Than back at home I eat breakfast, answer my emails and go down to Ho’okipa around 11. I normally stay there until 5pm or later if it is firing, but I take breaks in-between sessions. After I arrive home, I do a stretch and roll out before dinner. Than eat some food and try to watch a movie, but I normally pass out during the first 20 minutes as I am so tired from sailing.

JC: How did you develop those crazy tweaked airs you have been throwing at Ho’okipa?

MB: There was a day that the wind was really light and I was going to try an air off a really small wave, but could not really tweak it. So I used my head to try to dip that low so that my legs would come up. It was a kind of accident. A few days later I saw a really cool shot somebody had taken of it. So after that I have been trying a few more when the right set up comes along. I am not totally sure about those head dip airs, sometimes the board does not tweak as much as when you do a regular tweaked air. It really depends on the set up of the wave. Some waves help you tweak the board around further. If you have a wave where you can go vertical and you are not going too fast, the head dip helps to get the tail up higher. When you swing your head down low your legs naturally go up more. The most important thing is the speed I have when I am approaching the lip. If I am not going too fast, then that helps to tweak the board a little further. Sometimes I can be completely upside down, it is a sick feeling. I am almost looking back at the rocks and the photographers on the hill although I don’t really see anything in the middle of a move; it is all black to me!

“ I just keep on telling myself that all I have to do is to enjoy my windsurfing and that usually helps me into a positive mindset. Then I end up sailing better. ”

JC: What style of turns are you working on at the moment?

MB: We had a long stretch of no wind here in the winter so I hardly sailed for two months. Right now I am trying to get back into my rhythm of sailing every day. I try to focus on sailing with speed plus I like to try and link more than one move per wave and just try and do all the moves faster and with more power. I really want to be tuned up also since I have not sailed much. In my turns I try and get the board all the way around, that is my goal. I don’t want to finish the turn on the half. I want to go all the way round back into the white water. That is what I have in mind, it does not always work. I look at surfing turns a lot; guys like Mick Fanning, Pancho Sullivan, Kelly Slater, there are so many amazing ones now. I like surfers who ride with style, speed and power.

I think the way that windsurfers read the wave nowadays is very similar to pro surfers. I would like to draw lines like they do in pro surfing. Those guys are obviously a step ahead because they are faster, but that is what I want out of my turns. That is what I look up to and I would love to link a couple of turns together that look that way. It depends on the day, most of the waves that we sail when we windsurf we obviously have wind, which makes those waves a lot choppier and it would be amazing to sail a wave with a clean face. I’d love to sail clean waves at Bells beach or Cape Verde which is the closest we get to perfect smooth surfing waves. A lot of the waves we sail are open ocean waves meaning that they have big chop and can be all over the place, even Ho’okipa! You have to make the most of it; here and there you can find a good set up for one or two sick turns.

JC: Do you look for jumps at Ho’okipa?

MB: I don’t really look to jump in Hawaii, especially Ho’okipa. I have a board I really love right now for wave riding so I don’t like jumping on it. Sometimes if I am frustrated with the crowd and the wind is good I let out my frustration and switch up to a jump session for a little bit. So when the wind is howling and it is crowded and I can’t get the waves I want, then it’s jump time! There have been some moments this spring when there have been a lot of people in the water. Even if you go all the way outside, wait for a set and come in on the wave, there could be four guys on the same swell! For jumping you don’t have to rely on anyone so you can just go and jump. Because the wind is offshore at Ho’okipa, you can get those gusts that swing in really strong and it means you can go really high!

JC: What is it like sailing alongside Levi and Keith Teboul? How do they inspire you?

MB: It is amazing, I grew up watching them, the first time I came to Hawaii, I felt weird even saying hi as those guys were my idols. Sailing with them everyday, and having the chance to watch from close is a dream. Those guys are so solid on the water and with them there are no mellow days at Ho’okipa. Every time they sail they go for it harder than the day before and that is what I love about Maui, the way riders really push each other. I don’t think you get that anywhere else in the world.

JC: What moves are you dreaming of right now and what sort of conditions do you need to need to pull them off?

MB: I have been dreaming about the double air taka; for that I need strong offshore winds and clean waves, so I can really get all the speed and calculate where I am going with precision. But more than anything I am trying to improve my top to bottom sailing, I just look forward to try and perform powerful fast turns; in my opinion that is easily the hardest part of wave riding, performing sick turns consistently well!

JC: How many times during a Ho’okipa session do you get the perfect set up to bust out the moves you want?

MB: Sometimes it takes days to score the perfect set up, sometimes it happens a couple times per session. Mostly it depends on wind and swell direction and the crowds. It is easier to find set ups for goiters and takas I would say. Getting the ideal set up for a big rail turn or a carving 360 takes more time, at least for me. The thing is, Ho’okipa as a location is great, the waves are good, consistent and super fun to sail, but most days they are choppy, and to find those clean spots is hard. To nail a rail to rail turn your board has to be on the water the whole time, the cleaner it is that becomes easier obviously. For takas and goiters you are spinning in the air, so all you need is to find a lip that can you push you up and that’s it.

JC: What boards are you riding right now?

MB: At Ho’okipa I ride an 86 litre Goya quad pretty much every day. I love quads, the speed, the projection, the drive. They really accelerate as you turn, without requiring too much wind on the sail, and that is what I love about them, the forward drive they have. Also the quads are great for finishing turns all the way around, without skipping out towards the end.

JC: Are you pushing the limits every time you windsurf or are some sessions magical and you feel you can really cut loose?

MB: It really depends; all sessions are different for me. It depends on the conditions, on how rested I am and what my goals are for the day. If the conditions are firing, then windsurfing is instantly fun. A decent session still can happen anytime. And on other days we can all feel a little bit off. I don’t know, things don’t always come together as we want them too; you can get out of sync or a million other factors. I try not to put pressure on myself, like ‘I have’ to land my moves. I just keep on telling myself that all I have to do is to enjoy my windsurfing and that usually helps me into a positive mindset. Then I end up sailing better. If I go out thinking that I have to land this and that it usually takes the fun out of it and I don’t sail so well. I think there are so many variables in wave sailing that you cannot plan what you are going to do. What makes people improve the most is to love what they are doing and therefore be excited about it. That is why it is fun sailing with Levi and Keith; we enjoy it and naturally push each other.

JC: Do you treat every session as training for the world tour or are you ever just sailing for fun or for photos?

MB: Sometimes before the events I train a bit for heats and stuff. I also try to get a few hours sailing either under powered or over powered, that helps as sometimes you just have to deal with having the wrong sized gear during events. Some locations it is hard to change gear at the beach, or the wind goes up and down a lot, so you just have to do your best with what you have. But my favourite thing to do is trying to collect video footage. I love watching action segments from other riders, so I also get fired up to try and get a couple of good moves on camera and work on making edits. That also shows me a lot about my sailing and makes me improve I think, there is nothing better than seeing your mistakes. I promise that video is way more effective than someone else telling you what you are doing wrong.

JC: How conscious are you that there are photographers always shooting at Ho’okipa; does that effect the way you sail?

MB: I am very conscious as they are right there at the end bowl, sometimes we get really close. I love getting good shots and working with photographers. There is a lot to work with when Hookipa is on. First of all the crowds, getting a wave alone is not easy. Apart from that the wave has a million different sections and can break also deeper on every single set depending on the size; it is so hard to line up a nice water shot, but when you do, it’s very rewarding too. When I am shooting with someone, I do try to line up as much as possible to try tricks where they are in the water, but sometimes it is really tough. I would say if you get three or four decent shots in a water shoot session, you should consider that a great day!

JC: What sailors do you like to watch or ride with at Ho’okipa and why do they inspire you?

MB: Kauli, Levi, Victor, Keith, Ricardo, Graham, Polakow, Swift and Kevin Pritchard. Those are the main guys I like to watch and the guys I love to ride with. When any of those guys are in town and Ho’okipa is firing you can bet your bottom dollar they will be out there shredding. Riding Ho’okipa is what we love to do, it’s our ‘playground’ and that is what many of us get paid for; yep we are living the dream!.