As of May 1st in the year of 2021 I was once again a free being, working through the summer as a freelancer. Taking jobs here and there, mostly working as a personal trainer. Later that year I started snowboarding a lot around Slovenian mountains. After a grueling year & eleven months of my one and only steady – nine to five job, I got back the time to focus on my passion.
Training & Travel
Besides the occasional project to keep my financial situation from collapsing, I spent the summer wakeboarding and training almost every day. Getting my good friend and professional alpine snowboarder Sara Goltes ready for the season, is the biggest project on my personal training career path so far. Working out five out of 7 days a week, building strength, agility, speed, proprioception and practicing movement at Gym24 in Ljubljana. Wakeboarding behind boat and cable, doing HIIT training sessions in our city center national park Tivoli, slackline, pumptrack skateboarding to name a few more examples. Plus anything else I could think of to strengthen the body & mind of a professional athlete.
In my youth as an alpine skier I used to travel around Europe all the time, then later on around the world as a professional wakeboarder. Traveling is the best recipe for us to see different points of view, and becoming a more open minded person. I love meeting new people, talking in different languages and learning about new cultures of the world. It has been three years since my passport got a new stamp, waiting for a trip outside the countries sharing the border with Slovenia.
So by the end of the winter season I joined Sara on a couple amazing trips, going to Europa cup races.
Davos
I spent new years eve in St. Moritz once, trained extensively in Saas Fee for two summers in my alpine skiing days. Been to a couple other ski resorts in Switzerland, but never in Davos until February this year. Last time I was in Switzerland, was during the summer in the city Sion about five years ago, performing at a wakeboard show. After such an extensive brake of traveling, just being on the road was super fun. We spent three days on the best snow conditions I experienced in years. The race was at the bottom of the valley, on a tiny slope and I joined Sara day one practicing for her race there. On the second day, her race started in the afternoon so she stayed chilling & getting ready at the hotel, while I went up for the first part of the day skiing. Came back down and geared up for snowboarding while snacking a protein bar. Snowboarded for a good hour or two, back to the valley for Sara’s competition which started at fourteen hundred. Did my best to support and help her out, adding some purpose other than having fun, to this trip.
Georgia
After spending some time around Slovenian mountains, I also joined her at the last race of the season. It was held in Bakuriani, small town and ski resort, a three hour drive from the capital Tbilisi. I always liked arriving at the airport a bit sooner than needed, just to enjoy that moment before a journey starts. Usually it is just me waiting for boarding to start, at least for the first flight from Slovenia. This time I enjoyed the entire trip with a friend. Slovenian airport has been exactly the same since my first flight as a child back in the days. I was stunned by the looks of our new terminal, which was built last year.
Snow conditions in Bakuriani were not nearly as perfect as Davos, but that did not stop me from trying some new little tricks on my snowboard. The experience of visiting this new country and culture was beyond my expectations. After the second race we jumped straight into our ride back to the capital. Enjoyed an entire afternoon sightseeing, before heading back home the next morning. Three hour drive from the ski resort to our little hotel in the center of Tbilisi, with the best driver anyone could ever ask for. He spoke English fluently and explained everything from history, culture, their language & alphabet. Even showed us an entire album, with memoirs from his explorations of this beautiful country.
Tbilisi
Sara planned our day of wandering around the city the night before with precision. We hit all of the most interesting sights within walking distance of our hotel in just a couple of hours. After quickly spending some cash on gifts and souvenirs we sat down at the restaurant our driver Shota recommended. On the way from Bakuriani to Tbilisi I wrote down an entire order of local foods we ordered for dinner, Down to which glass of wine to pair it with, for a whole experience.
On the way back from the restaurant to our hotel, we were looking for a nice place to wine down. I spotted an intriguing bar attached to the same building our hotel was in, while searching for the entrance when we arrived. We were super tired anyways, so a place only a few steps away from bed sounded like the most prudent idea. It was not too crowded, very chill and as stylish on the inside, as it looked from the outside. To top off our day, we enjoyed the best India pale ale beer I ever tasted, while listening to 60s soul music. Soaking in joy and gratitude while looking back on the last couple of days, before heading back home early the next morning.
Davos 
Snowboarding bound 
On top of Davos 
In the valley 
Georgia 
Rising up 
Morning 
Gym 
Competition 
Sara 
Tbilisi 
Recharge 
The view 
Out of time
