In conversation: Lisa Kloster and Elena Dominick give insights into their lives as freestyle ladies
Julian Wiemar
· 11.05.2025
Elena studies television journalism, lives in her van in Germany and commutes mainly between Hanover, Kleve, Holland and Kiel. At the Freestyle Pro Tour last season, she stood on the podium alongside Lisa (3rd place) and is now hungry for more. She also really enjoyed the wave discipline last summer in the Canary Islands. She is working on power moves and wave riding and definitely wants to compete internationally again this year.
Lisa is currently doing her Master's in Sustainability where it's windy and there are waves: in Cádiz (Spain). She doubts that she will ever live in Germany again. She has been able to constantly improve her freestyle level in particular over the last few years and last summer scratched the World Cup podium in Fuerteventura. Her dream is to find more sponsors and crack the podium.
We had a lively chat with the two lively windsurfers about getting started, hurdles, kiting, the scene and their plans and goals.
You're tough, go-getter ladies, you could say, you have no problem trying out new things and taking on challenges. Would you say that windsurfing has made you the way you are now?
Elena: I think that's what got us into windsurfing, don't you?
Lisa (laughs): I don't know at all. I can't even imagine what it would be like if I wasn't windsurfing, what I would do then.
Elena: So I don't think we would be surfing and travelling the way we do, or living in a van all winter or anything like that, if we hadn't had that trait with us from the start.
How long have you been windsurfing?
Elena: Twelve years, exactly half my life.
Lisa: Hey, me too.
Elena (laughs): Cool!
Lisa: With the boys, you always hear: "Dad put me on the board when I was five."... My dad windsurfs too, but it still took a little longer. But from then on, things really took off. And you? It only really took off when you started freestyle, didn't it?
Elena: Well, I made my first Spock in 2020...
Lisa: And from then on she really made progress, Elena...
I'd rather eat oatmeal with water for a month and not spend so much money, but have lots of great surf trips. (Lisa.)
Why do you think you didn't go for the lighter, more manageable kite material?
Elena: Wow, I hardly dare say this now, but if I had been put on the kite first, I might have done that too. But it was just windsurfing at the time and I enjoyed it.
Lisa: And above all, the fact that windsurfing is so difficult is what makes it so appealing. I go kitesurfing from time to time, but only when there's not enough wind for windsurfing.
Do you have any tips or suggestions for young women who are just starting out in windsurfing?
Lisa: Don't let the standing feeling spoil your mood at the beginning. I know it's not the action you actually want, but you just have to get through it and keep at it. For me, it wasn't even the gliding, but the first time backwards-sliding in air jibes, I thought: oh my God, how awesome is that! And when you do your first air jibe, it's an even better feeling, you can't even describe it. You immediately want to learn the next trick and the next.
Elena: I think it also helps to know people who are better at surfing and who you can talk to. Back then, I always... almost a bit sad at the beginning... always went somewhere with my dad and didn't know anyone. And I hardly dared to set up my sail because you were somehow so... well, it wasn't that nice. And then, luckily, I got to know Lisa and Shanny at some point. And from then on, things suddenly took off. I think it can be difficult to approach people openly, especially when you're young. My tip: just do it! And maybe even say hello to the other girls on the water. At the end of the day, everyone is just happy when new surfers come along.
Lisa: That's right! I think you've got that right to the point. You can also just get in touch with us or write to us on Instagram or something. We're always happy to give tips or take people along to a session. Growing even more in the community with women would be awesome.
Do you prefer to surf with other women or men? Or don't you care?
Lisa: I don't care, but somehow I'm always happy when there are more women on the water - it really does happen from time to time.
Elena: I don't care either, they're both nice. The main thing is that the crew is right.
You two are on the water together a lot. Do you push each other hard?
Elena: So Lisa is just working on different moves than I am, but for example at the beginning of the summer we did Pinkie swear, that we learn Flaka on the other side, and I think that motivates a lot, especially when it's something we both can't do.
Lisa: I think it's not just the pure pushing like with the Flaka last summer that's important, but also the "cheering" for each other. You know what moves the other person can do or is currently practising and cheer them on accordingly. It's simply fun, motivating and increases learning progress.
Is the overall atmosphere within the women's fleet as good and relaxed as it was at the World Cup on Fuerte, for example, where you both took part?
Elena: Yes, it's not a case of working against each other, but simply of working together! Everyone is very helpful and supportive. As the fleets are usually rather small, everyone is happy to see new faces.
Lisa: There is hardly any real competitive behaviour, but of course everyone has their ambitions and you want to show what you can do, so you take the contests seriously. Many people think that being supportive and competitive at the same time would be mutually exclusive, but I think you can see quite clearly here that they are not mutually exclusive.
It's not a case of working against each other, but of working together. (Elena)
Do you have role models?
Elena: Let's answer each other and see how well we know each other, ok?
Lisa: Ok.
Elena: I say it's courtship with you!
Lisa: Joa... I say for you it's Lina Erpenstein or Maaike Huvermann.
Elena: Yes, especially the way Lina deals with surfing and life in general, I find that very impressive.
Lisa: And Maaike is simply a fierce freestyle athlete and also a great person.
Elena: Absolutely.
And sporting goals?
Lisa: Learn more power moves! I can do the ones I know pretty well now, even in difficult conditions - that's good for the contests. But I'm still missing two or three tricks that would be a real step up. These are Burner and Culo, and I'm already working on the Kabi. Standing one of the three would be great. And the long-term goal would be to get a podium place in the World Cup at some point.
Elena: I finally want to start doing power moves properly. I don't know where I'll finish, I don't set myself any goals, it always depends on the others. I can only work on myself.
What's next for you after completing your Master's degree? What about the dream of a professional life?
Lisa: So you kind of have a bit of a dream. I'm definitely ambitious, but on the other hand you also see the reality of how little money there is in the sport. It's very difficult when you don't have rich parents breathing down your neck. But you never lose hope of perhaps finding sponsors who will support you. The last few years have always been very tight for me. I just have to see how I can reconcile everything. But somehow it always works out.
Elena: I definitely want to continue travelling and windsurfing as much as possible, and I also want to continue competing, which I really enjoy. To be honest, though, I need the balance and I'm happy to occasionally get involved in things other than windsurfing. My goal is definitely to do more tour stops and still pursue a career as a TV journalist. I'll be able to tell you in a few years how well that can be combined. I think my base will always remain in Germany because I'm quite a family person. But I think it will just be a lot of travelling and vanlife in Europe.
Lisa: I don't think I'll go to Germany in the long term. Maybe I'll stay in Spain after my studies, I don't know. I can't imagine sitting in the rain in Germany and working for a holiday where I can surf for a fortnight. I'd rather eat oatmeal with water for a month and not spend so much money, but have lots of great surf trips (laughs).
