Interview: Woife Strasser

Full throttle at 58 despite being sick

Woife Strasser, 58, is known to many as a freestyler and travel writer. He also contributes regularly to the Quick Pics section on DAILY DOSE. A few years ago, we published an article about him that also addressed his illness. His bone tumors have been treated through what is now an unbelievable number of surgeries. This makes it all the more incredible to see the level at which he still surfs.

Hi Woife, how are you doing right now with your illness?
Just like life, it’s a rollercoaster. I’ve been suffering from several bone tumors for years, and there are phases when things are worse. In winter, when it’s cold and the weather is changeable, I don’t handle it as easily anymore at my “young” age of 58. There are always phases, lasting hours or days, when I feel like all my bones are broken. Just as it comes, it goes away again. During these times, I set a goal for myself to work toward, for which I’ll do anything: to travel to Crete for three months in the summer.

You’ve always been on the go. How many kilometers do you travel each year for windsurfing, and which countries did you visit in 2024/25?
I have about 150–180 windsurfing days a year. Since Lake Chiemsee unfortunately isn’t blessed with as much wind anymore, I have no choice but to travel. Five and a half years ago, we bought a van that now has 81,000 km on it; so that adds up to about 14,000 km a year, mainly for longer trips.

I’ve stopped doing day trips to places like Walchensee and Kochelsee, since the cost and effort for potentially just a little wind are too high (45 euros and a whole day for maybe 1.5 hours of windsurfing). I’m in the fortunate position of not having a full-time job, so I can take longer trips on the spur of the moment. The countries I’ve visited include Italy, Croatia, Austria, and Greece.

Do you have a favorite country or spot right now?
Yes, it’s definitely the island of Crete—it’s practically a continent in its own right. We still have a connection to this island because we used to have a water sports center there. With a coastline of 1,700 kilometers, there’s always something new to discover.

I’ve been going there for seven summers now, finding new windsurfing spots and getting to know many locals. I’m proud that the locals in the villages there consider me one of their own and have given me a Greek first name. It reminds me of my childhood in my village, where people still got together and had a lot to laugh about, even though there were crises.

Even though you don’t compete, you receive gear from several sponsors. How did that come about?
When I returned home from Greece back then, my first sponsor was the windsurfing and sports shop Windsurfing Chiemsee Sport Mayer. I was a shop team rider there, which is how I ended up at APM, the Starboard-Severne importer in Wolfratshausen. My connection with Sailloft Hamburg over ten years ago came about through freestyler Adi Beholz, who contacted me back then because he was looking for surf spots in Sardinia. He was a team rider for Sailloft in northern Germany, but there was no one representing them in southern Germany. That’s how I got the opportunity.

It started with discounts, then came my travel reports, spot guides on mostly unknown windsurfing spots in Europe in Surf Magazine, articles, and photos on online platforms like Daily Dose, as well as on local TV stations and in magazines.

The same thing happened with Timm from Maui Ultrafins in Flensburg—also for over ten years now—who noticed that I’m present at the various spots, talking to the windsurfers. In my opinion, that’s worth more in the windsurfing industry than if I were 14th in a contest. To put it simply, people can try things out, you can talk about them, and give tips.

Five years ago, I started receiving support from Aurelio Verdi Boards, which I still get through the global distributor BAM Bastide Hervé in France. So I’m glad and happy that my annual equipment costs are roughly zero.

What motivates you to windsurf at such a high level?
First of all, windsurfing clears my head; second, despite my health issues, I’ve always been extremely active; and third, for me, sports are the elixir of health for both body and mind. Windsurfing is never the same—just when you think you’ve got it down, the next time is different. It never ends.

You do a lot of freestyle. Are you currently working on a new move?
The days when I would spend weeks specifically practicing a single maneuver are long gone. I try new moves, but not obsessively, because I want to have fun on the water. I’ve realized that constantly practicing a single move often ended up being frustrating, and that shouldn’t be the goal.

What else is on the agenda for 2025? What are you especially looking forward to?
My wife has a few days off at the end of May, so we’ll just go with the flow again. There’s the Surf Festival on Fehmarn, but that would cost us over 400 euros in gas and mean sitting in traffic, so driving to the coast in Italy or Croatia from southern Germany is the cheaper and warmer option for us. From mid-June to mid-September, we’ll be heading out on our long-awaited trip to Crete. In the winter, we’ll take a few short trips to Croatia or the Adriatic Sea when we’re freezing here at Lake Chiemsee again—all assuming we’re healthy and happy (enough) to do so.