PROFILES – ANCOR SOSA KATHER

Multi-disciplinary competitor Ancor Sosa Kather is already well respected on the race scene, but he’s now pushing hard into freestyle and wave too. We got some insight from Ancor into what it takes to maintain skills and how you catch the eye of a brand like Cabrinha…

AGE 18

Height 173cm

Weight 67kg

Nationality Spain

Sponsors Cabrinha, Cabildo de Fuerteventura

Competitive foil disciplines Competitive foil disciplines: Wave, freestyle and race

Hey Ancor. Let’s start with where you’re based right now and where your local spot is?

Hi! I’m from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, and I normally wing, windsurf or kite on a flat-water spot called Matas Bay on the south of the island.

How did you first get into foiling? What was it that drew you in initially?

I was already into windsurfing and kiting at the time wingfoiling was getting more and more popular. There was this one day when Airton Cozzolino came to my spot with his new wing quiver and I was really curious about it, so I asked him if I could try it out. That was the moment I fully fell in love with the sport, and I’ve never looked back.

Your part of the Cabrinha team – how and when did that partnership come about originally?

I remember it perfectly. Cabrinha were doing a photoshoot on Fuerteventura and one day they came to shoot on the spot where I normally ride. I got to know them a bit, but at that time I was still a very shy kid. But I was lucky to meet Fran who was living on the island and working for Cabrinha. He was the person who gave me my first quiver and then helped me to get into the team. I’m very grateful for all of that. 

You’ve made the podium in multiple slalom events, but I understand you're also big into your freestyle. Which discipline do you find yourself most drawn to?

Yes, I have been really lucky to be a part of the slalom world, but also still pushing hard on the freestyle. I really love being part of these two completely different worlds in wingfoiling. It’s still the same sport, but the crew and mentality of the people involved are totally different and highly unique.

Most recently, I’ve had the opportunity to join the wave tour, which has been somewhat of a mission over the last few years just because of the huge amount of riders looking to get into it. I would love to focus more on this discipline for the next season.

What have been the major standout moments in your competitive career so far?

Definitely traveling – traveling around the world to get to the competitions is one of my favorite things about doing the World Tour. Learning new things, cultures and being able to ride in every country or on every continent is something really special.

When it comes to training and progression, what’s been your main focus recently? Any specific tricks you’re trying to nail down?

Lately I have been trying to focus on my body actually. Because over previous years I’ve just been pushing and pushing to get those world firsts and nail those crazy tricks, but my body decided to say “stop”, and I started suffering with more and more injuries. That’s something I really needed to realize – that just training hard on my wingfoil skills alone is not the solution to becoming the best. I mean, I’m still pushing my winging – I’m trying to get my doubles dialed in right now – but it's just that at the same time I’m also focusing on my body too.

Tell us a bit about your current setup – what Cabrinha gear are you riding as your go-to combo?

I have mostly been riding the Mantis wing, the Code 55L board and the H-series 700 foil, but I might swap my wing to the Vision next season as the latest version of that wing is looking absolutely insane.

Foiling’s attracting more young riders all the time. What do you think makes the sport so appealing to your generation?

Definitely social media. All these new young riders get their motivation from social media with those sick short videos, and then they try to push hard until they get to the maximum level. Nowadays, you can do a new trick out in Hawaii and people get to see it in Europe on the same day so, yeah, it’s definitely social media.

With uptake so high, what advice would you give to other riders about standing out, and maybe catching the eye of a major brand like Cabrinha?

The most important thing is to be a nice person with a nice and kind attitude. If you have that, you just have to keep pushing your skill levels and your social media output to be able to raise your profile.