May 23, 2016

mahabis interviews // will satch

British rower, Will Satch broke through as one of the teams that took home the bronze medal in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since then, Will has won three consecutive World Championship titles and has taken home medals from two European championships and several World Cup golds.

In between his busy schedule for a golden Rio 2016, we caught up with Will to talk about his achievements to date, and how he finds the time for downtime (including wearing his mahabis between training sessions on camp!)

Before we begin, tell us what you do in one sentence?

Pull hard, go backwards!

How did you first get into rowing, and what path did you take to get to where you are today?

My mother took me to her rowing club from birth. Whilst she was skiffing, I would be lying in the bottom of the boat in a Moses Basket. So you could say I had no choice! When in my teens, I played an awful lot of rugby as my parents thought it was a great way to take the edge off me. I found a real love for the sport, and it got me a scholarship to a local school that was situated on the river. Surprise, surprise, I ended up rowing! I got the bug and couldn't get enough of it. I made the transition from rugby to rowing in my late teens after dabbling with both at the younger age of 11. I guess it got more serious after joining Leander Club in my last year at school, from there I was on the stepping stones on an upward trajectory to the Great Britain rowing team and never looked back.

You’ve had many successful achievements to date, including Olympic medals and successive World Championship wins. What has been your proudest moment so far?

Being on the start line at a home Olympics with my best mate will take some beating, hearing the crowds and being in the zone. Sharing it with someone made it ever more surreal and special.

What about the hardest moment in your career to date?

After London I had a pretty serious operation on my hip. Going from the pinnacle of sport at the Olympics to not being able to walk in rehab was a tough one.

Do you find it difficult to switch off from training and allocate time for recovery?

Recovery is just as important as training, however we do an awful lot of training, so recovery has to be planned. I personally find it hard to switch off and find the easiest way to do so is to take myself out of an athletic environment, which can sometimes be frowned upon.

How important is downtime for you?

Downtime is a huge thing for me, getting the right balance is key.

How do you like to spend your time unwinding?

Walking the dog and generally going down the pub with my mates, however this is very infrequent.

Where and when do you like to wear your mahabis?

I wear my mahabis pretty much everyday between sessions on training camp, so much so that I have started to wear through my pair! They are ever so easy to slip on and off which is fundamental as well as being outrageously comfortable.

Give us one track you listen to whilst training or relaxing.

Heavenly Creatures - Wolf Alice

Adding to your ever-growing medal collection, what’s next on the cards for Will?

After Becoming World Champion in 2013 and holding on to the title the last two consecutive years, the target has always been Gold in Rio 2016.

Your job has taken you around the world, what’s your favourite place that you’ve visited so far?

I have been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to travel all over the world, but I have to say Asia was really exciting and different. We competed in Korea in 2013 at my First senior World Championships; winning the gold there was a very special occasion! I then ventured over to Japan with a couple of friends straight after in our downtime. Sushi and Seishu it doesn't get much better than that.

If you had an extra hour in the day, how would you spend it?

Walking my dog / spending it with family and friends!