The 5-Minute Interview: Ben Ainslie, Olympic sailor

'I was on stage with the Spice Girls. It was a shocking experience'

Ben Ainslie, 29, the twice Olympic gold medallist, is appearing at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show, which opens today at ExCeL

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be...

Sitting in a London taxi.

A phrase I use far too often is...

"Um".

I wish people would take more notice of...

Each other. Being a bit more courteous, polite and having more respect for each other.

The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was...

Being on stage with the Spice Girls. It was on the old National Lottery programme and they had a bunch of people from the Olympics. I wasn't prepared for it and it was a shocking experience. It was quite fun and very entertaining. It was in 1996 - I was only 19 at the time.

My proudest moment...

The last Olympics I did I started off terribly. After the first day I was 24th out of 27 nations. It was a bit of a disaster - a lot of people had written me off. That was a catastrophe at the time, but I changed to turn it round so I was quite proud of that.

A common misperception of me is...

Probably that I'm shy.

I'm not a politician but...

I'd give people more say. It's a respect thing - letting people make their own decisions for the good and for the bad on a national and global scale. There are too many control freaks around.

I'm good at...

Sailing and spending money.

But I'm very bad at...

Keeping tidy.

My most nerve-racking moment...

I was doing the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on a 110-ft boat, which is pretty big in sailing terms. It's always in very rough conditions. We had ripped a load of sails and I ended up on the foredeck, where I wasn't supposed to be. There's not a lot of protection there. It was a bit like being on a rugby pitch on water. It was one of those situations where you try to get through it with the people around you.

The ideal night out is...

With a load of friends, a really nice meal at a great restaurant then a few drinks after at a nice bar.

In moments of weakness I...

Shout.

You know me as a sailor, but in a truer life I'd have been...

Building something. It's always nice to have a plan, lay the foundations and work on something on a long-term basis, whether that's in business or outdoors.

The best age to be is...

Your early twenties. It's exciting when you're deciding what path to take and knowing you have a lot of options and opportunities.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is this:

To know what you want and try hard to achieve it.

Elisa Bray