Here to have fun- Sebastian Westerberg Q and A
As I continue to search and talk to people about their life within Disc Golf, I am always excited to talk to members of sponsored teams. Recently, I have found a few members of Team Kastaplast to be interviewed. I got the chance to talk to another member of this team who is Sebastian Westerberg. He was a joy to talk to and has a great perspective on the sport itself and where it has come into his life. Give it a read and enjoy!
1) How did you get into Disc Golf?
A sunny day back in 2012 and I was ready to leave work. One of my friends had heard about this "new" sport called disc golf. So we picked up our first discs and headed to one of the local courses in Helsinki. I remember it taking a few rounds before I could tell if I liked it or not. A year later I had played over 100 rounds.
. 2) Who inspires you to continue to play?
My friends I guess. Disc golf has never been just about competing for me. I'd have to admit that there has been some rounds when I might have forgotten to enjoy the game and not worry too much about the score.. If it's becoming too serious, I'd suggest that we take a trip to a new course and play some doubles. That's always a lot of fun and reminds me of why I love the game so much. Of course the fact that I've played other sports, on a competitive level, throughout the years has had an impact on how I look at disc golf. Even if it has to be fun, I'm always focused on learning new tricks when I'm out on in the park throwing.
3) What made you want to start accepting money?
I actually haven't accepted money yet. Not that I would have had too many opportunities to do so haha.
4) What is it like to be sponsored?
It's amazing, what else can I say? I'm not the best player out there, so it kind of makes me even more proud that Kastaplast did choose me as a team member. Always been interested in marketing and branding, so having a company as Kastaplast behind be has been awesome. I love to make people fall in love with the Kastaplast discs.
5) What is it like to be on Team Kastaplast?
What I said about playing disc golf - It has to be fun and being on Team Kastaplast has been fun. I love the plastic that they have been able to manufacture and I can honestly recommend all the Kastaplast discs to people I talk to out on the course. I feel like all the other team members feel the same and we have a good thing going on.
6) Favorite Disc?
K2 Kaxe from the tee and a drop-in-birdie with the K3 Reko
7) Favorite Course?
Finland - Västerby dgp, Raasepori Europe - The Konopiště Open layout
8) What advice can you give to players who want to step up their game?
Play with people that are better than you. I'm having a hard time finding players better than myself, so I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos. Just joking :)
For an amateur player I think one of things you should do more is to throw shots that you're not comfortable throwing (on your practice rounds). If you have a great forehand, throw more anhyzers on the holes you'd normally go with a forehand etc.
I see a lot of players parking a 350ft hole and be like "well, that's how I should be throwing all the time" and then miss a 20ft putt and then react like that's never happened before.
Enjoy the moments you throw an awesome shot and don't let a bad throw get in your head.
9) What can we expect from you going into the 2018 season?
Many rounds of disc golf with great people. Probably going to host my first pdga competition (at least be part of the team hosting it) and also planing on running some casual doubles events.
10) What’s a normal day look like for you?
During summer time I usually head straight to the disc golf course after work. As you may know, the Finnish winter isn't that great for a disc golfer... But hockey keeps me moving and in decent shape for the next summer.
11) What do you do to help grow the sport?
Always promoting the sport for people that haven't tried it yet. As I mentioned, next summer we are going to host some competitions. The focus will be on running events that are fun to attend and don't pay too much attention to the score cards.
12) Is there anything else you would like people to know about you that they may not?
I've played hockey for 25 years and I'm a huge fan of the Boston Bruins (NHL). As much as I like the Bruins I also dislike the Montreal Canadiens.
I would like to thank Sebastian for taking the time out of his day to answer these questions and get back to me as soon as he could. If you would like to know more about Sebastian, please follow him on all forms of social media and keep up with him through Kastaplast. Be on the lookout for more coming soon!
Picture credit goes to Sebastian Westerberg.