| Name
Darren Bason
Q.1 When did you start kayaking and did
you have any goals of competing?
started kayaking in 1999 just playing around on
rivers and surfing when the waves were small ,
got in to competitions in 2001 when I entered
the British
championships in jersey and came 2nd in two categories
from then I always wanted to be world champion
Q.2 What is your current training schedule
like?
I train in the gym 4 days a week and try and surf
at least 5 days a week surf permitting of course,
I also ride a mountain bike pretty much every
where
I go. I always need to be doing some thing or
I go insane...
Q.3 How long have you been competing?
I have been competing since 2001
Q.4 What are your main competitive achievements?
to try and stay in the top 5 of the world/UK rankings
ever since I started competing I have been in
the top 4 world and 1st in the UK apart from
1 year where I had some time off. I also would
like to win the Santa Cruz (American open ) which
takes place at steamer lane Santa Cruz every march
so far this has eluded me and I would like to
win another world title of course
A.6 What differences if any are there
in your training in the off season and contest
time?
I have a holiday in late nov every year in Orlando
and do the Disney thing with the family this is
the only time my training alters/stops
the rest of the year it remains at the same intensity.
Q.7 What are your current competitive
goals?
win win win . I have a big year coming up with
lots of important UK and international comps and
with the other kayakers becoming better it
will be a tricky year to remain at the top of
the UK rankings .
Q.8 What motivates you to put yourself
through the training every day over the years?
I grew up in the midlands and was a swimmer for
my town / county but realised that at 5'7"
I was never gonna be able to compete at a
high level ( swimmers seem to be 6' and have massive
feet ( flippers) so I gave up then I moved to
Cornwall in the late 80's for the
surfing got pretty good at that but never took
the competition scene , I then promised myself
that the next sport I took up I would try
and take it all the way to the top. so my motivation
is that if you try and work hard enough then you
can make it to the best in the world.
Q.9 What supplements do you use and why
do you see them as being important to you as a
kayaker?
I use whey protein or high protein shakes and
in competition season I also use creatine mainly
to try and keep my strength and muscle condition
I peak performance mode, it gets pretty tiring
when you train in the gym then spend 2-3 hours
in the surf .
Q.10 How much do you feel sports nutrition
helps your training? Do they make things easier
for you due to the convenience aspect?
I use Extreme Performance Whey as a meal supplement
as eating between surfs is pretty hard going so
the shakes give me all the nutrients I need to
keep
going, it seems to work for me, at the last few
comps I have had a couple of shakes and some Kr-Evolution
creatine and have been able to maintain my
energy levels and strength all day.
Q.11 Who inspires you and who (if anyone)
would you like to thank over the years for their
help?
Kelly Slater ( 8 times world champion (surf boarding)
he is a big inspiration partly for the ability
to remain at the top of the world over so
long and his focus on his goals others who inspire
me are pretty much anyone who is competing at
a high level of there sport at an older age
because the older you get the harder it seems
to be I would like to thank my wife and kids for
putting up with my constant need to surf
and the rest of my family for all there encouragement
also I would like to thank my local health club
that give me free membership which helps
me massively all year. I'd also like to thank
Doug at Extreme Nutrition for assisting me with
my nutritional requirements and advising me in
this area.
Q.12 What else do you do when not training?
How would you relax?
I work as a DJ/promoter to pay the bills and
to relax I usually go surfing and play with my
kids, my 6 year son is loving body boarding and
comes out with me at least once a week which is
so cool .
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