Next up in our Fanatic Winter Tales is Yegor Popretinskiy. Yegor is originally from St. Petersberg in Russia but spends a lot of time in Dahab/Egypt. He still competes in the PWA Freestyle Tour, but also organises his own Windsurf Clinics and Coachings and likes to spend some time with his family. Read hereafter what Yegor is up to off season in Dahab right now!

Fanatic: What are you up to this winter?YP: This winter I chose to stay with my family in Dahab/Egypt. I come here since more than 10 years already and still think this the best place to stay during the off season. Especially when you have small kids it´s not so easy anymore to change locations very often. The conditions on the water here are quite different – you can either have flat water and small chop for Freestyling or onshore Bump & Jump Wave conditions. Dahab has a perfect lagoon to learn windsurfing or improve your level quickly. Besides training I am also organizing windsurfing camps or private windsurfing lessons. Dahab is the perfect playground for filming action and lifestyle. On the water I am always using my action camera and different mounts. But I am lucky to get land footage from my friends and some photographers as well. Like that I always have plenty of footage for social media and trying to post new videos and photos almost every day.

Fanatic: Which destinations will you be visiting?YP: I will stay in Egypt till the end of May. Life is easy in Dahab, I know almost everyone around and it feels like at home. It’s warm and sunny, the sea is beautiful and the wind is blowing and offers cheap accommodations, quality food, kindergartens and good schools. It´s also nice that you can reach any place around with your bike – everything is away max. 10 minutes distance. In June I plan to stay in my home St.-Petersburg and hope to get some good conditions there. In July I will go to Fuerte then to compete in PWA Freestyle event and I wlll also organise a windsurf camp there.

Fanatic: What are you goals?YP: My goal is to always improve my level on the water and learn new moves. This year I hope to get a wild card to compete in the PWA event on Fuerteventura and I prepare fullpower only for this competition. I really hope that I can show good performance there.

Fanatic: What keeps you motivated throughout the winter?YP: My family and passion for windsurfing are my best inspiration. I have a lot of things on my plate – taking care of my kids, earning money and at the same time improving my windsurfing skills. It’s not easy but my love for the family and for my sport motivates me to do my best and grow in all aspects.

Fanatic: What is your main move(s) you want to improve over the winter?YP: So far I already improved my Backloop and Kabikuchi. I am also working on some other Airs and Jumping moves. Fanatic: What other sports do you do?YP: I regularly visit the gym, go biking every day and sometimes I go Skateboarding as well. Here you can also go freediving, practice yoga or go hiking. Fanatic: Do these sports help your riding and translate into your sport?YP: Of course yes.I can clearly see how gym and workout on the beach made my body stronger and I sail better in overpowered conditions now. Daily bicycling makes my stamina better so I can sail long without getting tired. Skateboarding is improving control of my legs and body and also helps improving my switch tricks. Fanatic: Can you tell us a bit about your fitness and nutrition program?YP: My wife and brother are fitness experts, so I don’t need to worry about the best program for me. I’m training in the gym with my wife 3 times a week and she always controls my exercises. We are also working out on the beach using bars, TRX and even Olympic rings. My nutrition program consists of a lot of fresh veggies, fruits and greens. We are trying to cook with less temperature. I also take some protein shakes, creatine and glutamine to recover my body faster and stay healthier. Fanatic: What gear are you riding?YP: For Freestyle I’m using the Fanatic Skate TE 93 and NorthSails Idol LTD 4.4 or 4.8. In waves I use the Fanatic TriWave 81 and the NorthSails Hero 4.2 or 4.7.

Fanatic: How does your chosen gear suit your style?YP: When I tried Fanatic/NorthSails gear for the first time I was very much impressed how good it works. I like to have a good speed before and after my tricks. And this gear definitely works great for that. The board is compact and fast, and rig is very light and powerful. It´s light but also very strong and durable.

Fanatic: What would Fanatic customers like about your favorite board?YP: My favorite one is Fanatic Skate TE 93. This board strong, light, very fast and of course it works super good for tricks as it’s the pro model of the multiple Freestyle World Champion Gollito Estredo. So no doubt to be sure that it is the best Freestyleboard on the market. I especially like that it has a new stylish pointy nose and it feels more skatie on the water.

Fanatic: Are you linking up with any of your Fanatic Team riders this winter?YP: Not with team riders but with my good friend on tour and European Champ Davy Scheffers. We have a kind of the same way of thinking and we like the same things, hoewver we have different strong and weak parts. So it makes our cooperation quite productive and we are pushing our levels to the max.

Fanatic: What has been your highlight of 2016?YP: I think my main highlight of the last year was the participation in a video project (taking place in collaboration with Corona beer) called »Crown Move”. It is the biggest and most popular application in the world to learn any kind of extreme sport and share your tricks. It was a big honour for me to be chosen for the windsurfing part. It is the biggest and most popular application in the world to learn any kind of extreme sport and share your tricks. In total I had nearly 1.000 000 views (around 700 000 views in Instagram). It is a big achievement and great popularization of modern windsurfing and attracting the new generation.

Thxs Yegor and enjoy the rest of your time in Dahab!

More about Yegor here: https://www.fanatic.com/de/team/yegor-popretinskiy/

More about Yegor´s Clinics/Coachings here: https://www.windsurfpro.ru/