www.business-review.eu Business Review | September 2021
SPORTS 37
SUP: Stand up for water fun Stand-up paddleboarding or SUP has become Romania’s new favorite watersport. Social media helped out too, with all those amazing photos of people trying out this sport, so young entrepreneurs spotted the opportunity and are now offering this type of entertainment all across Romania, from the seaside to mountain lakes. By Oana Vasiliu a bit longer before people really understand what SUP is all about. Right now, most people who buy an inflatable paddleboard associate it with a cool new way of taking a swim in the middle of a lake or a little bit offshore, which is good for us, but we still have to teach people a lot of things about this sport,” Tiberiu concludes. For Razvan Lucian, the CEO of SUP Constanta, SUP popped up when he was searching for a new watersport for himself and his girlfriend. “I started with two boards, one for me and one for my girlfriend, and then we Challenge: try out how nature and watersports can be fun
T
kept buying them for our friends, and afterwards we had the idea of renting them out
he only thing that someone needs
ing year I bought four boards with a friend
in order to enjoy SUP experience is
of mine and started to promote this sport all
an appreciation for nature. “People
over Bucharest and the seaside,” he adds.
and promoting SUP as a sport,” he says. Social media is important for them too, as they are active on Instagram, Facebook, and
need to be nature lovers to really enjoy a
As for how clients can find them, social
TikTok, but what works even better is word
trip. It is very easy to learn to balance and
media is the key, but what has also helped is
of mouth: clients who tell others about their
the basic paddling technique, but the real joy
the fact that they were the only SUP operators
SUP experiences. “We see an increase with
comes from being in awe of the mountains,
in Romania for several years. “Lots of people
every year that passes, with more people be-
forests, sunsets, birds, and animals while
come back to check out other trips that we
coming passionate about this sport and get-
you are floating upright in the middle of a
do, and some even return to the same trip be-
ting involved by creating courses and rental
lake,” explains Tiberiu Balica, the founder of
cause they enjoyed the vibe so much the first
services throughout the country. At the same
SupAcademy Romania, the first organization
time. We have nine types of SUP excursions
time, sports stores have started to promote
to offer this type of watersport in Romania.
in Romania right now,” Tiberiu notes.
paddleboarding, which helps a lot. It is not
And what’s more, it is not even mandatory to know how to swim. Tiberiu discovered this sport in 2010 in
But the industry is still in its early stages.
very easy to sell SUP experiences, but the goal
“For 6-7 years we were the only organisation
is not for it to be easy, but to grow this sport
that promoted SUP and now it seems that
together with more and more aficionados.”
Tenerife, Canary Islands. “At the time I had
almost all kayak operators have started to
only tried surfing a few times, so to me this
add SUP to their fleets. A lot of affordable SUP
across this watersport online. He saw a photo
looked like some sort of futuristic version of
equipment has come onto the market and I’m
on Instagram during winter and then bought
this sport,” Tiberiu says. Later, he saw the
seeing more and more people buying it,” he
a board the following summer. “I’m from
first SUP board in Romania at Kazeebo beach,
explains.
Nehoiu and I realised that the Buzau area
a kiting spot, in 2012. “That place became
And there’s more. “People here have a
Auras Mihaiu from paddleX first came
offered no such experiences for tourists, so
my weekend home as I surfed, paddled, and
tendency to buy cheap equipment and use
I started to invest in this business.” Auras
taught others all I knew about that board,
it the wrong way, then pay for a SUP trip
says. He finds clients through social media,
because Dorin and Dodo allowed me to use it
where they can fully immerse themselves in
too, but also through recommendations from
all summer long, I was the only crazy person
a paddleboarding experience. I've seen lots
guesthouses in the region. Auras will be
who seemed to enjoy the paddleboard so
of people riding their board backwards; I tell
hosting a PaddleFest from September 24-26,
much. I got into helping some Bulgarians
them, ‘hey, your board is backwards’ and
where people can camp, enjoy a series of live
organise a SUP contest there, and the follow-
their answer is, ‘Yeah, it's ok’ so it will take
concerts, and practice stand-up paddling.
