"Practice and expand your horizons". Interview with Russian snowboarder Sergey Turikov

We had a short conversation with Sergey Turikov aka Kamikaze, professional certified freeride instructor from Siberia. Sergey is a ProRider of european brands FISCHER и SCOTT. He told us how he got his nickname, explained why he loves skiing in Siberia so much and gave some tips for beginners.

Your nickname is Kamikaze. Is that a part of your personality or did your life make you become Kamikaze some day?

I got this nickname when i started skiing. I was one of the first newschool-skiers in the region. We didn’t have a possibility to work the skills out before going to the spot: there were no trampoline halls or stuff like that. So I had to test all the tricks right on the hillside. I did my best to learn something new. That's when they started to call me Kamikaze.

Does it happen that you don’t feel like skiing? How do you motivate yourself on these days?

I’m pretty sure everybody got days like that. If I really don’t feel like skiing, I go to the swimming pool. If I don’t feel like swimming, I go to the gym. If i don’t want to go to the gym, i simply sleep the day through and promise myself i will not skip my training tomorrow.

What are the top skills for freeskier? Who’s your favourite skier?

In my opinion the unique style is the most important thing. If it’s completed by high-level technique, it results in perfect implementation of complicated tricks.

My favourite skiers are Candide Thovex and Jesper Tjader.

Do you share an opinion that Sheregesh is one of the best skiing spots in the world due to the quality of snow?

For sure. Sheregesh and some other spots in Siberia are unique. You can find this quality of snow in Japan, Canada and Alaska. The daytime temperature from -8 to -15 C makes is soft and fluffy. That is what riders search for. Skiing in Sheregesh is so much fun, we have all the conditions for beginners here.

When you train a beginner, can you define whether he’ll be successful or not? What is important in the beginning?

Anyone can do skiing. That’s simply a matter of time, money and will. A good instructor is a tutor and psychologist first of all. I’ve got plenty of instruments to reach any goal for any student: I just need to find the right one and be patient.

In the beginning you need a strong wish to ski, a clear mind and a basic physical condition. The better this condition is, the faster the progress will be.

Stay active and that will give you a brilliant opportunity to develop physically, expand your horizons and enjoy life.

You can publish your own post in Windy.app's blog. Click here.

Text: Windy.app team

Cover photo: Unsplash