JOSE ‘GOLLITO’ ESTREDO: THE KING OF FREESTYLE RETURNS

After a few years away from the competitive scene, the King of Freestyle, Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo is back and has his sights firmly set on securing a tenth Freestyle world title. We hear from the King himself.

Words: Jose ‘Gollito’ Estredo // Photos: Carter / pwaworldtour.com

NO EXPECTATIONS

I was competing at the wing-foil event in Fuerteventura and I saw the date was close to the PWA Freestyle event, so I decided to stay for an extra five days to compete. I have been feeling really good on the water back on the freestyle equipment, but obviously it has been a few years since I competed. I didn’t really train for the event, so I had no expectations. I can still perform a lot of the moves I used to do already, but it was a bit flat to show off some of my air moves during the contest. I think this taster has given me the motivation to continue for next year.

I have had this feeling that I have been missing windsurfing a lot. I want to come back because I love the feeling of freestyle. I’m aware that I need to train a lot to get back on top though. I think freestyle windsurfing is easier than the wing-foil. In the wing there are a lot of young guys that are doing some really crazy moves and I think I am not at the level in winging to try these moves, so I’d prefer to go back to freestyle windsurfing, while still competing in wing-foil racing. So, it will be more windsurfing, a bit less freestyle wing and a bit more wing racing.

iQFOiL

There isn’t so much that I can take from wing-foil that I can transfer to my windsurfing freestyle, but I think I actually learned something from windsurfing that I could use in wing-foil. In the racing I learned a lot from my campaign in the iQFOiL. It was a lot of work, but in the end, I just missed out on a place in the Olympics. I was very close and overall I was still very happy with my performance. I just missed out on qualifying Venezuela by a few spots, but I was very happy with what I learned and the experience I gained from the process. It was something new to both learn and train. There are so many tactics to learn in the iQFOiL racing and I never raced as much before I started doing the iQ, but it was a great learning experience and I was happy I participated in the campaign.

NEW FOCUS

I only started training two days before the event in Fuerteventura and it was difficult trying to get that freestyle feeling back after all the wing-foiling. The last time I competed was back in France in November 2021 and I did not do any freestyle after that until this event. I think I have to work more to get my level back. I think the level in freestyle is still very high and there are quite a few extremely talented guys at the top now. However, I think if I can improve a few of my moves, then I can be up at the top again. Next year I will train more, so I know my equipment and I’ll also focus more on the inside moves. I know what I need to train for and will focus on this. On the inside the moves are more difficult because they are mostly now double moves that are counting for the big scores. The time before the event was simply too short for me to learn those on this occasion, but at least I now know what I need for next year.

THE GEAR

I have nine world titles right now in freestyle and I think I still have the chance to win a tenth. I was riding WeOne boards for this event and they feel great. The board already has quite a strong freestyle team with Jacopo Testa plus a few other guys. I just didn’t have enough time to get properly dialled in before Fuerteventura. I asked the guys to support me just for Fuerteventura. As I don’t have a full deal yet, I’m not sure what will happen in the future, but maybe we can work a deal out. The GUNSAILS were also great for freestyle and I really liked using them. The equipment was all working great. I think I will also go to Sylt to compete, so I can finish the tour in 2024, which will help my ranking a little for next year. It would be nice to make the top ten. Next year, I think I will have more of a chance and as I said before, I genuinely think it is possible to get that tenth world title, but let’s see. I have been feeling good on the water and I felt like I was improving every time I sailed. I could do a lot of the moves I was doing before a bit higher and with a bit more power, so I’m confident for the future.

FAMILY MAN

I have been living in Italy for the last three years, but now I have moved back to Venezuela with my family. I got married three years ago and we have a girl and a boy, which has obviously changed my life quite a bit and I think it’s for the good. I enjoy being with my family and I love my wife and kids. It is great to have a family like this and it makes me motivated and a bit more sensible ha. My son and daughter will find out how well I did in windsurfing in the past and hopefully I can come back and get that tenth title for them!