How did you build your profile from the start of The Ocean Race?
I am now asked many times how and where did this all start - I experienced what the meaning and the importance of a strong online presence is and how it can help build team spirit and bring inspiration to the people around you. For me a huge focus was the dream to compete in the The Ocean Race and the drive to get there. I wanted to explore and open up about this idea and where it came from and the future journey to soon be running my own team. Often it takes a step out of your comfort zone to experience exactly where you need to be.
July 2023, Team Base of Team Malizia in Vannes, France - In the beginning of July I had a conversation with my then team manager of Team Malizia, Holly Cova, about growing my media profile. She thought I had a pretty interesting profile and that I could inspire a lot of people. At the time, I wasn't so active on social media - I had a little over a thousand followers on Instagram, which were mainly friends, family and some sailing enthusiasts. I didn't think anyone would care about my day-to-day stuff.
But Holly made me realise the importance of sharing my story and engaging the people by bringing them along on the adventure that was in front of me. Even though I found it a little awkward, I decided to just go for it. I started filming daily vlogs on my way home from the teambase. After a while, it turned out to be a bit like therapy for me. Reflecting on my day and sharing that felt liberating. It was almost like keeping a journal, just in video form. At first, I was nervous about sharing these vlogs, but with some encouragement from the commercial team, we decided to put them out there. People actually liked it and it was really motivating and reassuring to see the positive reactions on it.
Sharing my daily vlogs became more than just me sharing how my days look; it became a way for my friends and family to gain a better understanding of why I am away so frequently. Through those videos I felt a stronger connection with the people around me. This became my motivation and my drive. When I’m vlogging, I picture myself talking to my family and showing them what keeps me busy. This feels safe and comforting to me and it always brings me support.
The Ocean Race came closer and the amount of content being created increased. A certain image began to form around me, but I never really questioned if this was the right image. I trusted the commercial team completely and I knew I could totally be myself as they would be the filter on the content if necessary. They would always look at the content with their best interest and use the content with respect and never make fun of me with any content they put out there. The importance of a trustful commercial team is extremely big for me and as a sailor I’ve learned the value of having a commercial team you can fully rely on. I’ll make sure to take this with me for the rest of my career.
Me sitting on the toilet while steering the boat during The Ocean Race © Antoine Auriol
When this photo of me sitting on the toilet on the boat - made by Antoine Auriol - was published, I felt a lot of nerves. During The Ocean Race I saw the number of followers and engagement on my posts growing and this photo became a turning point to me. I remember very well that at this moment I knew I was giving away much of my privacy, but I was also showing the real life of a sailor and I’d let people into my actual life. I felt so safe within the team and the crew, that I dared to share it. Eventually so many positive responses came out of it. I even got messages from other sailors, thanking me for sharing that, because they told me they were ashamed to go to the toilet onboard. It was a beautiful moment to me, because I realised the impact of my content and also that I now was an actual role model to people. From that moment onwards I thought: ‘Ok let’s keep going and keep sharing what feels right’.
It also brought a connection within the crew. There was some sort of unspoken rule to create a lot of content within Team Malizia. I often took photos and videos with Will Harris and with Boris Herrmann. It creates team spirit and the feeling that you belong. This is also what I’ve learned: wanting to go on group photos together gives you a feeling of pride and being part of the same community. It creates togetherness and bonding. Think about it yourself - maybe you’ve experienced it - whether this was within your work or a personal related situation: if the team spirit isn’t high, you feel awkward taking a picture. You don’t feel unity and that reflects it very well. I am sure that by pushing ourselves to create this content, we created this form of connection ourselves.
When I just started professional sailing, I didn’t understand much of The Ocean Race. Sure, I knew about the race itself and I saw the content of the race, but I couldn’t quite connect with the people aboard the boats. I wanted to understand how they feel, their lives on land, their families. Do they always feel on top of the world or do they struggle too? I wanted to figure out who the actual people were behind those brave faces. I wanted to break through that and show who I am, what my flaws and insecurities are. Life of a sailor isn’t always smooth sailing, but that just wasn’t visible. I hoped to change that - to also show my flaws and insecurities. Because that’s what makes it authentic and that’s what people can relate to.
In the Southern Ocean, 10 days in, Boris Herrman, the skipper of Team Malizia, and myself felt the urge to communicate with each other and that’s when we created a podcast: End of Watch by Team Malizia. Recording the podcast was a moment of genuine interaction and self-reflection for us. We recorded ourselves and we shared it with the world, which made us able to also help out others. Each day we asked one another how we were feeling on a scale from 1 to 10. Inviting listeners to do the same. Out on the Ocean, sailing isn’t the only thing on your mind: your entire life flashes by. It’s almost like a retrait and you need to keep on checking in with yourself and others. Recording videos and the podcast really helped with doing that.
I remember one moment in particular with the Onboard Reporter, Antoine, in the same leg on the Southern Ocean. He was really over it after 16 days and he seemed really worn out. I wanted to check in with him and instinctively I grabbed the GoPro and began filming his reaction. We spoke for about ten minutes about his feelings and why it was getting worse every day. At the end of our chat, he was relieved and he decided to share this content himself with the shore team to inspire others who might be feeling down, watching this at home. Looking back, you wonder ‘How come I found it normal to capture such a private and vulnerable moment?’. But that’s just what we did. We felt so safe and we were all totally okay with embracing discomfort and sharing these raw moments with each other. It is precious to share these moments, because they offer insights to everyone. I knew we were okay and that it was okay to film that moment. It is important to show who you are and it’s strong to show your weaknesses and vulnerabilities too.
To me, the connection you have with the person behind the camera plays such a huge role in general. Antoine too knew when I wasn’t feeling well and he always took his camera when he noticed. Again, I saw these moments as an online journal and moments of reflection. Antoine, Will and myself have been sailing all the legs of The Ocean Races altogether, so we know each other through and through. The result of that is that I always felt comfortable in front of them. The beauty of it all is that these moments have been captured and now I’m able to share it with the world. But in that moment you don’t even notice the camera and you simply feel supported. I’m a sensitive person and I have noticed that it matters a lot how someone behind the camera is feeling or behaving. I find myself mirroring the mood of that person. So if they come across nervous, I immediately sense those nerves and I start to become nervous as well. On the other hand, if an interviewer or photographer is very relaxed and has a positive energy, this will also definitely reflect and affect the conversation. This is a learning point for me to work on, to make myself comfortable no matter who is behind the camera and tell my own story.
When you allow people to join your adventure and your journey, you will gain so much from the experience which will fuel your motivation. It’s very important to me to cultivate this inclusive atmosphere within my future teams: to actively engage team members, inspire them and to invite the world to be a part of the authentic life of a sailing team through the content we create.
Sailing around the world in a crewed race is very pure. You experience amazing things together and you really get to know yourself. You are constantly in survival mode and there is no social filter. To be honest, I didn’t dare to watch much content that we’ve created onboard, such as the YouTube series Team Malizia made during The Ocean Race or listened to our podcast. I wanted to stay in the moment and relive it through my own memories. The thing I have watched together with my family is the Warner Bros documentary about The Ocean Race, A Voyage of Discovery, and I found it very dual to watch. On the one hand it’s beautiful to see the adventure you were part of through someone else's eyes, but soon the social filter comes back and insecurities kick in. One day I will look back on the adventure through all the content and I’ll allow myself to relive the biggest adventure of my life again. Until then I’ll be enjoying creating the content and allowing people in my life and the world of sailing. I’ll bring all my experiences and knowledge with me into building a new team for The Ocean Race Europe in 2025
If you are curious to see the content made during The Ocean Race, you can watch the different content as mentioned in the interview below:
Malizians YouTube serie:Malizians YouTube Series
End of Watch Podcast: End of Watch podcast
A Voyage Of Discovery Documentary:A Voyage of Discovery Documentary
