Interview with Fabio Sanna
December 27, 2004
Q
Where were you born and where do you live today?
A
I was born in Trieste the most North-Eastern city in Italy, right on the
border
with Slovenia. I still live there, but I wish to move sooner or later
to
somewhere else.
Q How old are you and how long have you been
freestyling for?
A
I'm 23 and I started to freestyle in June 2003, exactly one and a half years
ago.
Q
How did you find out about freestyle and what
made you get into the sport?
A
I began with catch and throw with a friend of mine, we were addicted,
we
played everyday, so we searched for good discs on the web and I
discovered
frisbee.com and heinsville.com. Then I went totally crazy with the Nike
commercial and I found out that the FPA Worlds would be in Italy for
the
first time.
So, I went to Rimini with Eleonora and Stefano to see if all
the
things I had seen in the videos on the web were true...but in person
the
routines appeared even more incredible. In that moment I fell deeply in
love
with freestyle and with the comunity.
Q
Who are your mentors?
A
Oh, this is a tough one, because I consider every freestyler a mentor,
everyone has something special to teach you, even a beginner. But ok,
I'll
write down the most important ones for me:
Jake Gauthier (for
heinsville.com and some good tips he gave me during FPA'03)
Steve
Hays,
John Titcomb(thanks to them I understood better what freestyle is and
they
always inspire my game)
Larry Imperiale (during winter he was always
ready
for giving me a tip)
Arthur Coddington (like Larry he was always by my
side
during the winter giving me tips and encouraging me to "keep the disc
spinning")
Pipo Lopez (we became friends at FPA'03, after paganello'04
I
consider him my bro, he taught me the art of contronatural)
Patrick
Marron
(His level of game, with big air and good control inspire me, after a
talk
with him at FPA'04 I understood many things)
Tommy Leitner (If there
is a
synonym for Tommy Leitner it could be Freestyler, it's not only his
terrific level of game, but the way he plays everytime. He's always
focused
to make the greatest move/combo ever, he's never lazy with the disc,
thanks
to him I increased my level of gameplay)
Thomas Gereben (This man
knows
what courage is and he taught it to me! He was knocked out for a long
time
for a broken knee during Paganello(2001?), then he came back after 3
years
in Podersdorf'04 to achieve 2nd place, when we tied at
Rumbacup for
first place it felt like winning pairs together, because we became friends.
So we
played toghether with Stefano Mestroni in Co-op at European
Championships
'04. Thomas came back bravely after a hard injury to take his first big win at
European. He should be inspiring for everybody, not just for me)
Q
How long did it take you to learn to delay and to
do your first gitis?
A
I remember perfectly: I was in front of heisville's instructional page
on
"how to delay", after reading it very carefully I went out in my
backyard
and tried it with my first Sky Styler (yes I bought it before
freestyling...I was doomed from the start). The disc was slicked with kitchen oil and
I had
no fake fingernails, but it was one of those days that literally changes
your
life. I tried to delay all the day thinking: "it's possible, it's
possible..." (I had never seen anyone do it) and in the evening I was
able to delay it for 4-5 sec, the day after I learned to delay the disc for
longer time and I put it below eye level. And that's all, I was ready
to freestyle!
My first gitis came a long time later, it was FPA'03, about 2 months
after
my first delay, I remember the first night on the red carpet during the
party "The Beast" told me: "Try the Gitis!". He threw me the disc and
I got
it the first time (luck), a strange feeling, it wasn't a normal catch,
it
was better, so after FPA I practiced a lot on that.
Q
What would you say were the defining moment or
moments in your competitive freestyle career?
A
Competitive? Ok, it was making the semis at Paganello, after that I
stopped
thinking I was a loser. Then winning the tie with Thomas at Rumbacup,
my
first win! Of course The first place in Co-op at the European
Championships,
because I knew we played all extremely well!
But maybe the most
important
one was not a victory for first place, but getting to finals at the last FPA Worlds.
Not
only for me (of course I was excited, I cried!), but for all the US
players
who came here in Italy at FPA '03, willing to share their treasure with
us, I
demonstrated to them that their efforts were not in vain.
Q
What are your best and worst memories in frisbee?
A
Best ones:
When I drove all the way to Austria all alone thinking about strange
combos,
delighted by the landscape and hoping for a good performance, then I
won and
came back driving all the night...it was raining, but I was listening
to the
music and singing, I was in heaven.
All the parties I had with all my freestyle friends all around Europe,
from
Amsterjam, UK, Rimini, Viareggio, Rome, Hohenzell, Podersdorf,
Nurnberg, to
Milan, this was one of my best years in my life.
Having dinner with Eleonora, Dave Lewis and Arthur Coddington after
FPA'04
semis, we had a great talk.
When we left Rome after the "Cappello" (Hat) tournament and I
understood
Eleonora fell in love with freestyle.
When I recognized at the first beach-party of FPA'03 all the best
players in
the world...I was trembling with excitement.
When I saw for the first time a routine on the Red Carpet at FPA'03 live!
Worst ones:
Very few, but let's see...oh yes, when I woke up at Paganello still a
bit
drunked from the last party-night, I drove to the beach right before
our
co-op routine with Stefano and Gregory Lo-A-sjoe, then Greg asked me if
I
had any ideas about the routine, and I said:"No, let's build up
something
now". After the first programmed co-op we heard our call and we
jammed...I
don't know how, I went dropless.
Oh yes, the day of the finals on the beach in Amsterdam...there was a
hurricane on that beach...our routine:a disaster!
Q
Do you have other hobbies?
A
I like spending time on my pc, playing, listening to music and taking care
of my
website, freeskyler.com
Q
What is your day job?
A
I'm still studying, I study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice
Q
Who are your favorite players to watch?
A
That's a tough one, but I love to watch the three Daves (everyone of
them
has something really different and cool), Larry (king of the wind),
Pipo
(king of the beach) , Tommy (king of the jam), Randoman (king of the
craziest trick), Arthur (king of the technique), only on video Sir Joey
Hudoklin and Mr. Chip Bell
Q
How many events did you compete at in 2004?
A
A total of 10. Many, but never enough!
Q
What are your preferred disc, slick and finger
nail types?
A
Sky Styler (white or yellow), I don't have a really good slick here in
Italy, but Tommy gave me a tin of Sprayon and I can say it's working
better!
I use Matt's nails and they're the best you can find in the US. Here in
Italy
(Milan) there's Paolo Magni who is making the same kind of nails, I've
never
tried them, but they seems equal
Q
What events are you most excited about in 2005?
A
FPAW in Seattle and the tournament in Manresa (Santa Cruz), I'll be there!
