Kitesurfer Alyona Chapky about friendliness and aggression in the sports environment
Sport has long been an integral part of our lives.even if at times his presence boils down to awkward attempts to introduce short workouts at home on a dusty yoga mat, or even wear leggings and comfortable workouts. That is why we have prepared a series of interviews with girls who are addicted to or professionally engaged in extreme sports: someone will inspire their examples to sign up for regular classes in the gym, others will be encouraged to ride their first wave somewhere on the African coast. All our heroines ride on different types of boards - from skateboard to surf - and do not think their lives without sports.
Six years ago, I embarked on a snowboard. By the end of the season, she was jumping from springboards and already then caught the dependence on board sports. In the summer, I also wanted to skate, and my friends invited me to train with a team of Petersburg snowboarders, only on a skateboard in the ramp, because the principles are very similar. Almost at the same time I tried kitesurfing. This was the beginning of the end of a calm, measured life. Before that, I was a diligent student at the costume design department, I drew a lot and worked around in this area - I still like it all and close. But when I started to skate, the balance shifted towards sports. Already, skateboarding and kitesurfing have become a way of life, and I regard any of my trips to other countries not only as an opportunity to soak up the snow-white beach, sip a coconut cocktail, but also go for a drive, and most importantly, raise your level.
Girls need a lot of physical training to ride well and do complex stunts. I go to fitness, to the pool, arrange jogging in the park, and at times I feel like a master of great sport. There are very few women's skateboarding contests in Russia, because girls who show a good level can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most often I take part in demonstrations during competitions, they also give me prizes for it - the boys at this moment probably hate me :) I also noticed a funny feature: in whatever city of the world you are, whatever the spot, you feel everywhere a lot of interest from the side - how can a girl so skillfully handle a skateboard. At the same time, everyone smiles and wants to communicate. I think this is happening, because everyone is doing what they love, and the guys are thrilled that their emotions are shared by the girls. Although a certain amount of aggressiveness is always present, as in any other sport.
About the sensations that extreme sports give, I can tell for hours. Riding a skateboard in an excellent skatepark, without thinking that you can fall off the board and get injured while listening to your favorite music - for me it's almost meditation. The feeling of infinite freedom with an application for some superpowers. This year, in mid-October, I closed the kite skiing season in the Baltic Bay for myself. There were big waves, which were quite enough for classic surfing. I wrestled with the elements and cold in two wetsuits, but at the end I received incredible emotions. Here who else will go on such feats? Only people who have a love for sport combined with a lack of brakes and strong self-confidence.
In the coming cold, the “Tin” indoor skate park helps me to survive in St. Petersburg, where I slowly shoot a video. I’m planning to winter in Asia, where I’ll ride a kite and skate, walk in a swimsuit - as I like - and get charged with the energy of the sun and water. I don’t like to say hop until I jumped, but in general I have ambitious plans. I really want to shoot more videos about traveling, my favorite sport and life style, and that it would be interesting to watch even those who in their lives did not stand on the blackboard. All hands did not reach this, but I'm already correcting!
The editors thank Studio Photoplay for their help in organizing the shooting, as well as the Tsvetnoy department store, Kuznetsky Most 20 and svmoscow.ru. In the shooting used items from the collections of Nasir Mazhar, Topshop, Ashish, Rick Owens x adidas.