History of the OTRO MODO Surf Camp (Chapter 1)

After more than 10 years of OTRO MODO Surfschool & Surfcamp, it's time to take a look back. Christof writes here in several chapters how the way from the Berlin vacation surfers to surf camp operators on Fuerteventura was.

Hello dear surfers and blog readers,

As already announced in the teaser I would like to write a bit about the history of OTRO MODO today. Of course, this is largely my own story. So today we start almost 20 years in the past, because although the OTRO MODO Surfcamp exists since 2007 belongs to history of foundation also the time before 2007.

Let's go back to the year 1999. Yeah, you heard right: 1999. We're talking about a time when Gerhard Schröder was chancellor and it was assumed that at the turn of the millennium all computers would bring the world to destruction in a sort of apocalyptic chain reaction. I could now get entangled in bizarre 90s memories - Loveparade, MINI DISC, Blue Curacao (and many more) should be enough to set up the hackles - but incidentally, 1999 was also the year in which I stood on a surfboard for the first time.

After high school I spent a long summer vacation with friends on the French Atlantic coast. A few old cars, an even older VW bus, surfboards, a campsite in the dunes - what more does it take to spend a great summer?
The then brand new Red Hot Chilli Peppers album "Californication" provided the perfect soundtrack.
From the handling of the surfboards we had about as much idea as a Balinese the commentary without a snowboard in the hand and wishes him a lot of fun.

The surfing lessons are more random, look what the others are doing on the beach and somehow try to get it done. Nor did we have any theoretical background on surfing: Tides - of course you can find them in the North Sea ... Currents - you have to be careful, but no idea where they are ... Wave forecast - what is that? ... I think waves are always there?! ...
Nevertheless, we somehow managed to ride the whitewater waves while standing.
This unique feeling of surfing the waves that I had the first time during a French sunset in July 1999 should change my life from then on