Picture a sunny day in 1988, a seventies windsurfboard, a red old fashioned triangle sail and a little eastern breeze at the beach of Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands...the ideal ingredients to learn windsurfing!
That’s how it all started for me, Martin ten Hoeve from Heemskerk, the Netherlands. Every Summer me and my family spent our holidays at the beach of Egmond aan Zee where we have a little house (caravan) at the beach. My friends and I started windsurfing, after a few years my passion was born! In those years my nickname was Flow: all the other windsurfers couldn’t surf with just a little breeze while I (because of my age and weight) was flowing around the water like a mad man! At a certain moment in time I realized that I wanted to make more out of windsurfing than just a hobby. So at 16 years of age I bought a (motor)bike with a trailer so I could go surfing whenever I wanted in Wijk aan Zee, that became my homespot.
In the Winter 2000/2001 I made my very first surftrip to South Africa, I stayed there for three months. Because of the fantastic weather conditions (steady wind all the time) my surfskills grew very much. (Nowadays I make this trip every year, when I don’t travel I work as a furniture specialist to finance my trips.) In the Summer of 2003 I made my first sponsor deal with Van Someren Consultancy, an enterprise that’s specialized in groundwater research.
In the same year I started to enter big surfing competitions, my first victory was in 2004: I won the Naish Wave Challenge. Quite an achievement: I was one of the only amateurs that entered the competition. During Wintertime I went to South Africa again to improve my skills and to get ready for the competition season in Summer of 2005.
My first Worldcup competition was in May of 2005 in Pozo (Gran Canaria) in Spain. Because of my good results in competitions in the past I was about to get a wildcard to enter the main event. When I finally got to Pozo after a tiring trip the organisation told me that the only way to get a wildcard was by winning the pre rounds. So I entered the pre rounds and I won! I entered the main event and was very much impressed by the high level the surfers had. Also I was a amazed by the fact that I could surf a long with those professionals without being a lot less than them.
2006 was a exciting year where I came 25de during the PWA event in Pozo Gran Ganaria. Later that year became vice Champion by beating P Volwater in the final off the Dutch Champion ships..
In 2007 I started with a new sponsor deals by signing a contract by Fanatic/North Sails/ Prolimit and where I also will start Slalom…
I am on the way and convinced that I will succeed!
Face your fears, live your dreams! See you out there on the water!
Martin ten Hoeve
http://martintenhoeve.blogspot.com
