PK: Football Mentality Helped Me Reach SailGP
U.S. SailGP Team grinder Peter Kinney talks about his love of football ahead of the NFL’s big kick-off…
Published 09/4/2025
In a parallel universe, grinder Peter Kinney might have been taking his place at the line of scrimmage, rather than powering the F50, as the NFL returns tonight.
But football’s loss is the U.S. SailGP Team’s gain and PK won’t be reprising his role as a high school and college football player when reigning Super Bowl champs the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys tonight (Thursday).
However, he believes his schooling in gridiron has had a positive impact on his sailing career. “I played college football at a small Division III school called the University of Redlands, about an hour inland from LA,” PK said.
“It was a good time – I made great friends, got a good education, played sports, and had the proper American college experience. If you’d told me then I’d be a professional sailboat racer now, I wouldn’t have believed you.
“But I learned mental toughness and drive from Coach Maynard there, and that’s probably what got me here.”
Built for his role as one of the team’s human powerhouses, along with Anna Weis and Mac Agnese, you might picture PK as an ideal running back. But it turns out he was situated further forward on offense during his playing days.
“I was an offensive guard – one of those big guys up front, next to the center,” PK revealed. “I weighed about 55 pounds more than I do now. My dad’s 6’0 and I was short for the position. I was hoping for a growth spurt, but it never came.
“I was quick for an offensive lineman and had good footwork, plus leverage from being shorter. But at higher levels, those guys are very fast, very strong, and weigh 300 pounds. I played against a couple of guys in high school who just retired from the NFL, and they were on another level.
“Anthony Barr - I played against him - and Jarrel Casey, who was an All-Pro for the Tennessee Titans for five or six years. Southern California has such a good pool of athletes, and it was cool to play against guys who went to the next level.
“Football is much different from what we’re doing now, but it brought me a mentality that helps me be successful. SailGP is closer to one of those sports than to traditional sailing, so I think I bring some good aspects from that background.”
Gallery: The best images from Saint-Tropez in previous seasons!
So, who will PK be rooting for as the season gets underway this weekend?
“Growing up, we never really had LA teams, so I never had one team,” he explained. “With fantasy football, I liked following players. I can watch any game and enjoy it.
“Right now, the LA Chargers have a new coaching staff, a good quarterback, and they used to do training camp just 15 minutes from us. I enjoy watching them and I’m going to pull for them this year - hopefully bring another Super Bowl to LA!”
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