Fabian Boeni

Interview with Fabian Boni

Tell me a little bit about yourself/introduce yourself.

Hello, I'm Fabian, also known as Sunny when I'm surfing on the go. I'm married to the former Surfari employee Yvi and we've had surfing offspring since May this year. 
In addition to Surfari as a sponsor, I still work at Swiss Intl. Airlines as a pilot to finance the many surf trips.

How did your passion for surfing come about?

In 2006, after completing my initial education, I went to Hawaii to "improve my English". On the beach in Waikiki there was an unbeatable offer, a two-hour surf course for $35 - "If you can't stand up, you get your money back". With the 12 foot longboard, of course I didn't see my money anymore. ;-) Since then I've been absolutely obsessed and try to surf as often as possible.

How long have you been surfing?

2006

What fascinates you about surfing/ why do you do it?

It gives me an incredibly good feeling to be in the element of water and in the middle of nature. I love feeling the power of the sea, reading the waves and ideally trying to use them as my drive. In addition, my passion for surfing always takes me to wonderful and interesting places that I would probably never have visited if I wasn't a surfer. 
I think it also helps me to switch off and do something completely different from our everyday life in Switzerland (although I actually have a lot of variety in my job ). So surfing is an “all-round feel-good package” for me.

You only get to choose one place to surf for the rest of your life. Which place would that be and why?

Mexico. Incredible amount of good waves, good conditions, good food and nice people.

What or who is your biggest inspiration when it comes to surfing? 

100 percent my better half. No, not Yvi, but the "Mind Surf Me". Mind surfing: You sit on the beach and look at the waves, surf them in front of your inner eye and think about how and where you can do which maneuvers. Exactly this “I” is my inspiration. As soon as I'm in the line-up, the reality looks different, of course, but hi and there I get a turn or a maneuver like in my mind's eye (at least that's what it feels like ;) ). 

And of course my darling Yvi too.

Which boards do you prefer for surfing?

Mainly classic performance shortboards with bite in the edges. Nothing annoys me more than when an edge doesn't hold on the turn...

How does it feel to be a Surfari team rider?

Cool. I feel like part of a small family and really appreciate the contact with the Surfari team.

Can one speak of a surf scene in Switzerland? If so, are you active or passive in a club? 

I think you can talk about it. Every now and then you hear Swiss German in the line-up - in some places in the world. 
Surfari, SSA and Waveup often tell me what's up to date. Although I'm not very involved myself, I think it's great that these organizations and companies are so committed.

What has been your biggest surfing challenge so far?

I think dealing with crowds. But after living in Bali for half a year, you definitely get a handle on it.

What is your favorite surfing adventure? Describe an anecdote from a surf trip.

In principle, I think that the greater the effort to reach the surf spot, the better the surfing adventure in the end (of course only if there are good waves and 20 other surfers have not already had the same idea). 
Last winter I was in Indonesia with a good friend for three weeks. The outward journey took about 40 hours by plane and other "transportation". The first three nights we slept under the simplest of conditions (there was no sign of A/C, there was no mosquito net, and we even had to share the toilet with chickens and pigs). Despite the beautiful tropical area, the ambience didn't invite you to enjoy it. Finding food wasn't easy either and last but not least the surf spot was ultra heavy with shallow reef and who knows what else (we were the only surfers around so we couldn't ask anyone). After these first three days we were quite disillusioned and already toyed with the idea of ​​leaving. We had heard about another spot on the island with good waves and decided to give it a try. Here we found what we were looking for. We quickly made friends with a small group of young local surfers, rented a car and the guys showed us the surf spots. The remaining two weeks of our surf trip were awesome! Every day between two and six foot waves, offshore wind, empty line-ups (except the boys didn't have school and we took them with us), and an effort that was definitely worth it. (see video)

Is there a surf culture for you? If yes, how would you describe them? Or to put it another way: Are there stereotypes in the surfing world about surfing or surfers for you?

I think there are many surf cultures, be it the classic ones like in California or Hawaii. As a landlocked surfer in Switzerland it's a bit difficult to get a session in the morning before work or to hit a spot for a swell at the weekend. I like to do as much surfing vacation as possible with my 80% job. The good thing about my employer is that I can take my part-time days in a row. Whenever possible, I fly to destinations with high score potential and few crowds. The rest of the time in Switzerland I keep in shape with wakesurfing, snowboarding and fitness exercises so as not to be totally exhausted after the first session on the next surfing holiday. So I think that the Swiss surfer, or generally the "landlocked surfer" is a stereotype in itself.