Wesel is certainly not the centre of the windsurfing world. Dennis Müller realised this early on. Neither the Rhine nor the Xanten North Sea featured in his dreams. Instead, spots such as Cape Town, the Canary Islands, Chile and Brazil appeared before his inner eye. His passion for windsurfing spurred him on at an early age. He took part in his first regattas at the age of twelve. He completed his civilian service on Norderney, where he returned permanently after completing his training as a bank clerk.
This meant that surfable water was just a stone's throw away. But even his job as a customer advisor at the savings bank could not fulfil his dreams. It took a lot of effort to ask his boss for a 15-month sabbatical. He agreed and Dennis was able to set off on his first windsurfing trip around the world at the end of 2011. In 2013, he returned to his desk at Sparkasse fully motivated and enriched by many great experiences and fantastic adventures.
For the next few years, it was mostly business suits instead of wetsuits again and Dennis climbed the career ladder to become Head of Private Clients at the Norderney branch. But the hunger for more windsurfing trips around the world grew stronger and stronger over time. And before the over-30 parties loomed, Dennis and his long-time girlfriend Katrin made a decision: "A trip with the wind" had to happen and Dennis quit his secure job to do it.
With all due respect, Dennis, you're quitting a top job on a windsurfing island to go windsurfing around the world - are you still in your right mind?
Yes, maybe there is something to it! Norderney has become our new home. We have dreamed of travelling the world together for a long time, we have thought about it a lot, but the fact that we have chosen this path gives us more than just the best waves and seeing the world. This decision allows us to live our lives a little differently than what is expected. How long the journey will last for us is still open, it's probably the money that will run out at some point and stop us. But one thing is for sure: we want to go back to our favourite island - at some point, just not yet. The nice thing is to know that I've been given the go-ahead to start working in my former job again.
Has your girlfriend also quit her job?
Katrin works for a property company and was able to agree a very good solution with her employer without having to give notice. Our base for three months in the summer is Norderney. She works during this time and receives her salary spread over a year. This means she will continue to have health insurance in Germany and can return to her job after our trip.
Nevertheless, that means you will have to do without a lot of money in the near future. How are you making ends meet and how are you financing your travels?
Of course, we put something aside beforehand. I did that straight after my apprenticeship. Back then, I continued to live at home and didn't spend my salary on any new cars, but saved something instead. I then used it to finance my first 15-month sabbatical. This time we cancelled our flat straight away as we were travelling anyway. This gave us an extra 8,000 euros in our travelling fund. This summer we were back on Norderney for three months, during which Katrin worked. But we lived in a caravan on the campsite.
That means you're together in a confined space all the time. Don't you get on each other's nerves?
Of course, you also get on your nerves when the van is full of SUPs, longboards and the roof is full of surf gear and mountain bikes. When we went on a six-week van trip in spring and had two weeks of continuous Levante in Tarifa with eight to ten force winds, that was a bit intense (laughs) and you could hardly find a quiet place to sleep where the van didn't sway from the wind. But we are a very good team. First of all, we don't have the kind of time pressure on our trips that you have on a two-week holiday. We often organise it so that I surf for a few hours and then we do something together for the rest of the time. It's also about getting to know the country, the people and the culture. Nobody can take these experiences away from you afterwards. We always go stand-up paddling and mountain biking together. Katrin also takes lots of photos and does sports.
Back to the money. How many euros do you estimate for a year of "travelling with the wind"?
Last winter, the two of us travelled to Chile, Cape Town and the van trip, which cost us around 10,000 euros. So we already need around 30,000 euros a year for living and travelling. But you also have to bear in mind that we still have Norway and Sweden on the cards this year, then we're going to Brazil in the autumn and from there to Australia and Bali. Of course, you can also take a break like this much more cheaply by travelling through Europe by car, for example. We had already saved a lot in advance, which of course helps a lot. But I now also have some sponsors from Norderney who are supporting me.
What do the sponsors of Norderney gain from you travelling around the world to surf?
After six years on the island, I'm already well connected. That's the good thing about Norderney. You know each other and the companies, you're on first-name terms and if you have an open manner, you can make a lot out of it. I'm lucky that I can refinance almost all of my trips thanks to my sponsors. For example, I am now supported by "Frieseneis" and the Frisia shipping company. Of course, I use their stickers in my sails and promote them on my social media channels on Instagram and Facebook. We also record our trips in videos and the TV programme "DAS!" on NDR has also reported on us. So I offer them a good advertising platform. Thanks to Frieseneis, for example, I was also in Berlin at the reception for the Minister President of Lower Saxony and presented my project and my sponsors there. I would also like to be a kind of island ambassador for Norderney, so that the island is perceived more as a water sports island again. The island is booming, but unfortunately there aren't that many windsurfers any more. There used to be a really big scene here. With the Wessels brothers, Arno Ufen, many civilians and of course Flessi, who always pushed the island as an "ambassador". And for us, it is the most varied and challenging windsurfing spot in Germany.
What else did the season offer you?
The time off also gave me the opportunity to take part in my sponsor GunSails' photo shoot in Sagres, Portugal, for the first time. In Chile, we climbed up a volcano through ice. I surfed with dolphins there, something I will never forget. In South Africa, we were amazed by the Kruger National Park, four days on safari was our most exciting experience. In Tarifa, we slept on the beach in our campervan for weeks and experienced every sunrise and sunset.
At the beginning, I asked you whether you still had all your wits about you to give up your secure job at the age of 30. When you talk like that now, it doesn't sound so far-fetched.
I think many people have the desire for such a break, but they don't dare to realise it. Many start studying after school or do an apprenticeship. Then comes the job, maybe a family, children and suddenly they realise that they won't have time for themselves again until they retire. But today there are many ways to create space for yourself. My older brother, who got me into surfing in the first place, is one such case. He never had the chance to take time out. It's only now that he's become a father that he's taking parental leave and going on tour with his wife and child in a campervan. I think we Germans tend to want to achieve a high standard of living first, with a house and a fancy car and all that. And then it might be too late to fulfil your visions.
What is your advice?
It's actually best to move out straight after school. It doesn't have to be that long, and if you put a bit of money aside during your time at school through jobs, then you can also finance it. If you already have a job, you should simply talk to your company. Many bosses already offer flexible solutions these days. Because one thing is for sure, if someone can realise their life's dream at 30 instead of 67, they will return to work full of motivation.
