boot 2026: Mission "Making windsurfing bigger again" - three questions for Björn Dunkerbeck

The man is a phenomenon: wherever Björn Dunkerbeck appears, he is surrounded by fans. At the surf magazine stand, countless visitors had their picture taken with their idol and his sail and got autographs with shining eyes. Björn's mission at boot and everywhere he travels: To make windsurfing bigger again and get more people interested in the sport. He told us how this can be achieved.

What is your impression of boot?

We haven't had as many people as in the 90s, but I have to say that those who have come here are very enthusiastic. We've had a lot of families, where father, mother and two or three children are surfing. That shows that windsurfing is fun, whether you're young or old. And every surf centre really has to take responsibility and communicate this, via the schools, the newspapers, via campaigns in their shops! Windsurfing really is the mother of all fun sports, and once you're a windsurfer, it's always in your heart and it's also the most fun. You have water contact, you have fun, you have spray, you have to exert yourself, you feel the wind!

Once they start to glide, we've got them!"

Where do you see the crucial point here: with the newcomers or with those who are already hooked after their course and then don't stick with it?

I think it's a combination of all of them. There are 20, 30, 40,000 beginner students in Germany, but they also need to be looked after so that they can really do the follow-up course. That they not only learn sheet start, tack and jibe, but also get into the trapeze. Once they get into planing, we've got them! At the same time, easy surfing needs to become more popular again so that people can spend more time on the water. Not everyone has to surf 30 knots fast. You can also have a lot of fun with light wind windsurfing, so we all need to rethink things a bit. It was fun 30 years ago, it's still fun. And there is a very large group that we can motivate again.

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Making windsurfing bigger again has always been your mission. What opportunities do you see?

Everyone who loves windsurfing needs to work together! One approach would be to keep inviting people to come along to the nearest windsurfing centre and give it a try. You learn within the first hour, then you can surf back and forth. If you're a surfer yourself, why don't you bring your children to the surf centre when it gets warmer so that we can have youngsters. Don't wait until they're 17 and then have other interests!