Although a very young water sport, windsurfing has seen the birth, birth, and rebirth of several sailboard-oriented magazines.
The windsurf magazine boom took place in the early 1980s when the boardsailing sport became a gigantic success in the European markets, especially in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The sailboard would eventually secure an Olympic status, opening the way to the creation of multiple periodical windsurfing publications. Unfortunately, only a few resisted the test of time and the internet.
In the early windsurfing days, it was not unusual to find semi-naked windsurfer girls making the cover of some open-minded and liberal European mags.
Because it continues to be a niche sport, windsurfing magazines saw the number of subscribers declining over time as more and more readers adopted daily updates, online resources, and websites.
With the adverse economic cycles of the end of the 20th century and the increase in printing costs, publications that were exclusively supported by advertising deals were forced to shut down or move to the digital world.
The introduction of kiteboarding in the sailing market and the decline in gear sales eventually took down the remaining publications that were still trying to survive the new global dynamic.
Today, there is still a handful of printed magazines releasing exclusive stories on top performers, in-depth gear tests and analysis, and road trip adventures to the world's most remote sailing regions.
Let's take a look at the windsurf magazines of the world.
USA
American Windsurfer (1993)
New England Windsurfing Journal
WindRider
Windsport
Windsurf - The International Boardsailing Magazine
Windsurfing
Windsurfing Now
Australia
Freesail
Windsurfer
Germany
Surf
Windsurfing Jahrbuch
Netherlands
Motion Windsurf
Japan
Hi-Wind Windsurfing Graphic
UK
Boards
Windsurf
Windsurfer International
Windsurfing UK
New Zealand
New Zealand Windsurfer
Wind & Kite
Greece
Surf+Ski
France
Planche Mag
Wind Magazine
Italy
4Windsurf
Albaria
Funboard
Surf
Wind News (1989)
Windsurf Italia
Spain
Fuerza 7
Surf A Vela
Have we missed a windsurf mag? Tell us which one.
