The spot Abu Soma in Egypt is closely associated with Peter Müller. The 62-year-old has been running the Surfmotion centre in Abu Soma, Egypt, for almost 20 years. He has had to dismantle his centre three times at different spots in Egypt. Despite all the adversities in a country like Egypt, the man who, by his own admission, likes to bake small rolls first, has built up an excellent surfing centre with his team over the years, which delights thousands of surfers every year and has turned many of them into real regular customers. Even after all these years, the slalom crack is still highly addicted to windsurfing. So it's time for a little look back.
What does windsurfing mean to you, even after such a long time in Egypt?
Windsurfing is mega! Feeling the water, wind and waves - and travelling across the water at high speed without a motor - is pure freedom for me, and I can never get enough of it.
You have these excellent windsurfing conditions right under your nose every day.
Windsurfing is still something very special for me every day. My colleagues recently asked me why I still feel like going out on the water absolutely every day and coming back afterwards with a big smile on my face. The answer is clear: windsurfing is exactly the sport I need - it clears my head so wonderfully. It's like an addiction: You drive to the centre in the morning, see the turquoise water, the whitecaps and the 20 knots of wind speed. Then I just want to get out! My wife often says to me: "Can't you stop talking about windsurfing for once?
How did it all start? You worked as a locksmith in Bothel, twelve kilometres from Rotenburg, and were a keen amateur windsurfer. How did you come up with the idea of a surf centre in Egypt?
My idea? Where can I go windsurfing so that I don't get hay fever? After three years of windsurfing in Germany, I travelled to Egypt for the first time in 1991. Four years later in Hurghada, on what was now my third surfing holiday, my wife at the time met two older girls on the sun loungers on the beach who told her that they could open a new surf centre because the existing one was closing. My wife was so enthusiastic that she told me about the idea that evening.
And you?
It's not going to be easy, that's all I said.
At that time, you had nothing whatsoever to do with the operation of a surfing station.
Yes, I had worked as an employee as a locksmith. You can do a bit of that. The hall with the round arch here in the current station - nobody from outside did that, but we did it ourselves.
But we were then five partners in total and the capital of around 200,000 marks for boards, sails, catamarans and the station construction also came from the partners. I first started to bake small rolls - and started very small.
You quit your job as a locksmith and set up the station.
Yes, I had quit my job and in February 1996 I flew to Hurghada. That was a crazy story, I was there with my partners to set everything up for the Easter business. But the container with the boards and sails didn't get out of Egyptian customs, so we had to be creative in dealing with the authorities, then the container finally came out in May - and there was an Islamist attack.
You didn't even have a surf instructor licence when you started the station.
No, not yet. In the meantime, I got my surf instructor's licence. As I said, I baked small rolls at first. I hired my first employees, including Anowar. The Egyptian had applied to us and said that he wanted to windsurf and work as a surf instructor. I asked him if he could swim. I let him jump into the deep water from a quay wall - and he almost sank. He couldn't even begin to swim, death-defying as he was. I hired him anyway, but he wasn't allowed to windsurf. But that's how it got going.
We worked 16 hours a day and slept on mattresses at night without air conditioning."
You then quickly arrived at your second surfing centre in Egypt.
Unfortunately, things no longer worked out with the partners, we had split up, and things also fell apart with my wife. The hotel manager of the Makadi Beach Hotel approached me and asked if I would like to open a centre. I had a look at the beach, said yes and had to commit to opening the centre just five weeks later because the opening was due to take place then. In short, it was the hardest five weeks of my life. We worked 16 hours a day, slept on mattresses at night without air conditioning at 40 degrees, the flies came, it was a real disaster. But somehow we managed to have the entire surf station ready for the opening. And with Anowar and Mahmoud, I managed to poach two Egyptian employees from my old centre - and they were able to bake their first small rolls. It was only after that that more staff joined for the office and as windsurfing instructors.
After six years, the station in front of Makadi Beach was closed again.
The hotel wanted so much rent for the station that we said: We'll leave it alone!
And then?
It was 2003, we were driving along the coast and suddenly our eyes fell on the newly built Palm Royale Hotel and the spot right in front of the hotel. Let's go down there, I said, and after just one year the contract for a new centre on the hotel grounds was signed. We were then able to operate this station successfully for a year.
Only to be left with nothing again?
After about two years, the hotel said goodbye. An English tour operator wanted to take over the centre, they paid for a large number of rooms for a year in advance and secured the operation of the surf centre. Then I thought about it and took a closer look at the site right next to the hotel. A first rough sketch was quickly drawn. John, the owner's son, gave me his approval and the foundations were laid, and a few weeks later we had to move. Initial concerns that this location would be too far away from the hotel for today's Surfmotion centre were quickly dispelled. Because the area here is much better for us windsurfers, beginners and intermediates and later also for kiters. It really was the best thing we could have done. Once again, we only baked mini buns, but we have continued to improve to this day. Through friendliness, better and better equipment, then we added kitesurfing and so on.
You have our respect for starting again and again after so many setbacks.
I'm a stand-up guy and take a positive view. When one door closes, another one opens.
How well do you cope with the phases of tourist slumps due to Islamist attacks in Egypt?
Yes, we have these waves. It always goes up, even higher and after three years we always start to think again: Hey, things are going so well, when will something happen again? And then some weirdo comes along and drops a bomb. We've almost got used to it by now. But our number of windsurfers at the Surfmotion centre doesn't drop completely - because we have a lot of regular customers who come back even when the number of holidaymakers in Egypt drops dramatically.
And how well do I cope with these phases? At some point you have to live with it, it's no longer cost-covering. It goes down to 20 per cent, easy. Or even lower!
How often have you had to experience this?
Many times, sure. And as I said, we have our regulars. A few hundred of them, and they save our arse from time to time. They know that it works here on site.
How has the coronavirus pandemic affected you?
Vincent Langer was no longer able to make it to our Raceweek (event for ambitious slalom riders, the ed.) as a coach. And suddenly everything happened very quickly. The former general manager of the Hotel Palm Royale came over on 17 March 2020 and told me that the shutter was coming down at 1 pm, which meant that nobody could get in or out of the resort. I stayed in our house in Safaga for weeks on end and was really sick of it. But what was the worst thing of all: I could no longer windsurf. There was wind every day, but nobody was allowed on the beach. You could move around outside normally, but not on the beach or at the centre.
Four weeks later, the return flight left. I had to fly from Cairo to Frankfurt, which was strange. Because the airports were deserted. When I arrived home in Großenbrode, I first had to go into a 14-day quarantine, which I spent in our mobile home in the mayor's yard. Only then was I allowed to hug my family again, and our little daughter started to cry - you never forget that. I stayed in Großenbrode for more than 15 months at a time because I wanted to be with my family.
Was the station closed the whole time?
The station was open again from July 2020. Sometimes there were no guests at all - it went down to a maximum occupancy rate of 20 per cent. I didn't make anyone redundant, so the savings were lost over the months.
His very likeable manner is transferred to the entire team. That is probably the secret of his success. (Oliver Hilf, Surf & Action Company)
Even with these sentences in mind, you still seem deeply relaxed. Egypt will probably not have a convenience like short-time working.
Of course not. On top of that, we had fully invested in new surf equipment up until March 2020 and would have had great booking figures for the 2020 season. I no longer panic at all that something could happen and we wouldn't be able to cope. Corona is the biggest mess we've been through - but we made it.
You mean your team as well?
Yes, of course, I always speak in the "we" form: we do, we do, we have. If you treat your employees with respect, then I also get it back from them.
My senior employee Mahmoud recently came up to me and said that he would be nothing without me and would have no family, no car, no house. To which I replied that I wouldn't be as far without him - as if I had done it alone. He's responsible for the licences, boats and official stuff. The paperwork alone would drive me crazy here in Egypt. It takes a week to register a car in Egypt and half an hour in Germany. Mahmoud is like a son to me.
I try to teach our employees everything I know - which is contrary to the mentality here in Egypt. We try to get my 20 employees to try and do things themselves, such as repairing boards and sails. I show them how to sew cracks themselves, which should make them better. I also have employees with me who only want to carry the sails of our guests. But if they want to become surf instructors, we support that.
If something were to happen to me or I were to fall ill, I would always have somewhere to stay and something to eat.
The mentality, culture and life in Egypt are rather foreign to us Europeans. How deeply do you immerse yourself in life in Egypt?
When I married my wife Kaula, a Tunisian, I converted to Muslimism. I don't pray, you don't have to go to church piously, but you do have to be a good person. I still have my problems with the mentality of the Egyptians. Teaching my employees to be punctual was not easy - I trained the boys to be punctual. Then there's the rubbish problem. The locals don't care about rubbish because many don't know how they will feed their families tomorrow. That's the big problem. Nevertheless, we are trying to curb the rubbish problem.
My wife and two daughters live in our house in Großenbrode, just off Fehmarn. Because it's better for our daughters to go to school in Germany. I am constantly travelling back and forth between Egypt and Großenbrode, which works well for us as a family. We spend every school holiday here with the family in Egypt.
And life in Egypt? When you come home in the evening, do you have a maid who makes dinner?
Before our daughters went to school, my wife used to make it. But today I come home, to Safaga, and then I make myself fried potatoes with eggs.
Your own windsurfing career on the water has evolved from freestyle to slalom.
Yes, I used to only do freestyle. Air jibes, spocks, front loops were my moves - and I stopped doing flaka because I was too stupid for it. Twelve years ago, a windsurfer gave me his 115-litre slalom board and 7.8 slalom rig, which I'd never had in my hands before, let alone under my feet. I tried it out and was immediately blown away! It's so cool to be travelling at full speed across the water! I love this physical exertion.
Although he has been windsurfing for ages, Peter is keen on heating and slaloming. (Vincent Langer)
Slalom windsurfing is very physically demanding. You are on the water for hours at full throttle with overpowered sails and a lot of body tension. In July and August last year, you covered 2000 kilometres on the slalom board. How can you still be so fit on the water at 62?
I have to go deeper, until 30 years ago I lifted weights in the gym. 140-kilogram bench presses to warm up with 80 kilos. I'm just the type of person: sport is my world - I always like to push myself to my limits.
And you're not afraid of competing with a professional like Vincent Langer?
When I train with Vinc and ride 100 kilometres of buoys, I need an oxygen tent afterwards. One day we cycled 80 kilometres, trained for starts and then did circuit training again.
What was your idea behind organising Raceweek every year with Vincent?
The whole thing is an affair of the heart. We are happy to welcome any surfer who has perhaps already taken part in regattas, although this is not a prerequisite for us. Head coach Vincent Langer helps the participating slalom windsurfers to improve their riding technique and equipment trim.
Let's stick to the material. You watch a lot of amateur surfers on the water every day. Are there still guests today who have problems with their surf equipment? Or would be better served with different equipment?
The material has already become great, the boards are wide and easy to ride. The problem is that people only try to jibe themselves on the water, for example, and find it difficult to make progress on their own without help and tips from outside. Sometimes all you need is a few good tips.
Is it also due to the willingness of many windsurfers to accept well-meant advice and perhaps treat themselves to an hour of private coaching?
Yes, absolutely. The jibe is the supreme manoeuvre and you need to be able to get more into it. When I'm standing on the sandbank in front of our centre, I like to give tips on jibing or even water starts. Do it this way and that, I advise, and the surfer is already a giant step ahead. But there is less willingness for an hour of private coaching.
Finally, a bit of self-promotion: Why should surfers come to you and your centre in Abu Soma?
Why have I been here for 20 years? Because it's just awesome, we have all the conditions. We have an area for the broad mass of surfers, plus a beginner's area and an area for kiters.
In addition, turquoise-coloured water, warm air and water temperatures, good wind conditions all year round and a centre located directly at the hotel and equipped with first-class boards and sails.
Right, that's all we need: windsurfing here in Abu Soma is simply amazing!
