"All the summer I travel and compete". Interview with Russian kitesurfer Artem Garashchenko

Artem Garashchenko is a young professional kitesurfer from Russia and 4x World Snowkiting Champion. He also entered top-10 Kite Park League 2017 & 2019 and won the 3rd place in Ragnarok 2018.

Today Artem is a member of Duotone Kiteboarding International. He is also supported by Quiksilver, Toyota and Windy.app.

How many years had you trained kitesurfing before you could say "I am a cool kitesurfer now”?

My father was one of the first kiteboarders in Russia and he taught me how to kite in 2004. In the beginning, it was just a hobby but since 2009 I started to ride professionally.

How often do you train kitesurfing now?

All the summer I travel and compete at the windiest places so I ride almost every day. Try to wakeboard as much as possible when the wind is not playing ball.

In winter time I snowkite mostly in Russia, so every windy day I spent on the spot, usually 3-4 days a week. At free time I do cardio, work on balance and snowboard in the park.

What is the main thing for you in kitesurfing?

In my opinion coordination abilities and feeling your body in the air are the most important things. Muscle strength is good but without agility, you can’t really use it.