My name is Friedhelm Bär but all know me under Fredy or the Bär.
Water is my element and I was primarily a windsurfer. I had such a long surfboard that it was necessary to for two people to carry it, and my first wetsuit was a HH jacket so I didn't get so cold. As soon as the first kites came out I had to try them immediately and back then it was pretty adventurous. There was no safety system yet and we often would lose control and fly away. Kitesurfing immediately fascinated me, because I needed much less equipment. At that time I had 3 surfboards and sails from 9.5m2 to 2.5m2 and when kiting I only needed 3 kites and the boards were much smaller. So I went kiting more and more often and today I only surf in very strong winds. So now I am primarily a kiter. If I compare the equipment of today with that of the past, it is amazing what progress has been made and now I also started with foils and wing foils. I tell myself that I always want to learn something new so life is never boring and remains exciting. And this sport with wind and waves and water in any form whether in snow, ice, or liquid ... and this kind of moving in and with nature is for me the most beautiful thing there is!
