Jaeger Stone returned to the water this year at the Margaret River Wave Classic, an event on the international calendar of the Professional Windsurfers Association -PWA-, held in Geraldton, Perth, Western Australia. His presence did not go unnoticed. On the water, the Australian displayed the same fluid, controlled style that for years placed him among the regular contenders for a world wave title. “Things gelled a little better for me this year and the conditions were great; it was a lot of fun,” he said after the event. “I sailed each heat as hard as I could, which is what I always try and do.”
There was a time when his name appeared at the start of every season as a genuine title threat on the professional tour. He won World Cup events and delivered standout performances in places such as Tenerife and at the Red Bull Storm Chase. On tour he was often described as an “almost World Champion”, a label that captured his place among the elite. Yet his path eventually shifted. “It was a very hard decision, something I thought about for months,” he admits.
From the world tour to the fire station
The pause brought by the pandemic forced him to slow down and reflect. Stone had spent years combining life on tour with university studies and working as a physiotherapist, a degree he completed at a young age after a serious foot injury. “I’ve always enjoyed having something other than windsurfing. I love learning and being challenged in different ways,” he explains. There was also a practical side to it: “I don’t earn enough from windsurfing to just windsurf.” Even during his most competitive seasons, he maintained that dual path. For a while, physiotherapy provided balance, although he admits he could not see himself doing it long term.
The turning point was not purely sporting. In 2019 he suffered a significant knee injury—damaging ligaments and meniscus—that sidelined him for months. It was not the first time his body had forced him to stop. “Injuries teach you gratitude and patience,” he says. “They remind you to be grateful for what you have and what you can do every day, and they teach you to give things time.” That period accelerated his thinking: he no longer wanted to dedicate all his energy to chasing a ranking. “I realised that being completely focused on competition was no longer what I wanted.”
Balance between work, the ocean and family
In 2021 he began a new professional chapter as a firefighter in Western Australia. The contrast was significant. “It’s strange to go from being a full-time professional who gets paid to windsurf to someone working a normal full-time job,” he acknowledges. Still, the choice was deliberate. “I like knowing that it was my decision and that I have options.” He was looking for stability, teamwork and a role that would keep him physically and mentally engaged.
Far from stepping away from the ocean, his life continues to revolve around it. He lives with his partner, Chelsea, on a property near Geraldton, close to Coronation Beach. Between the garden, fruit trees and animals—sheep, chickens and a horse—he has built a routine very different from the rhythm of the international tour. “My work/life balance is awesome,” he says. “I windsurf, surf, swim, dive or fish basically every day, depending on what the weather favours.”
Pressure as a link between firefighter and athlete
Stone has not turned his back on competition. He still follows events closely and does not rule out entering selected contests when the location and conditions make sense. “I haven’t really missed competing,” he admits, while recognising that certain sensations from the tour are hard to replace. “Nerves and stress are normal, and they’re things you have to manage so you can focus entirely on the task at hand.” That ability to stay calm under pressure, he explains, connects his former life as a professional athlete with his current role as a firefighter.
At the same time, he remains deeply involved in equipment development alongside brands and alongside his father, Mark Stone, a board builder since the early 1980s. In the family workshop he continues to experiment with shapes, including asymmetrical designs aimed at drawing new lines on the wave. “We try different things, learn from them and take the positives to keep progressing design forward,” he says. And while his name appears once again on competition entry lists such as the Margaret River Wave Classic, Jaeger Stone is still on the water almost every day, convinced that if you work hard towards your goals, “you’ll always come out the other side a better windsurfer and person.”
