Kirill Nagiyev: snowboarding is rap.

Every person who has visited Quiksilver New Star Camp at least once deserves a separate interview. Every year the camp gathers a huge number of interesting and different riders. For them this meeting is not just a banal closing of the next season, it is an opportunity to spend time in a circle of like-minded people, to get high at a jib contest, to party to the beats of favorite DJs and to breathe in the spring mood without taking off your boots and without putting your board on a distant shelf.

DJ, actor and blogger Kirill Nagiyev is one of the camp’s “regulars”. We had a chance to meet him personally and talk about his love for boards, partying and St. Petersburg kitesurfing.

– Kirill, in your arsenal you have experience not only on board, but also on kite and longboard. How did such a love for boards come about? Where did it start?
– I’ve been snowboarding all my life, since I was 12 years old. Then I moved on to skateboarding, BMX and everything else. It’s a lifestyle for me.

– What’s your take on the whole street culture thing? What’s going on now?
– There’s a new generation coming in now, and maybe I’m like an old man saying something like, “There were normal parties in our time.” Now it’s more mainstream. It’s not like snowboarders are the white crows on the slope. It’s already familiar. In my opinion, it’s all about style: you can see the real riders right away. Today, unfortunately, there are more of those who change into snowboarding suits once a year for a week or two. And there are fewer and fewer of them.

– Did you have any stories that inspired you at the very beginning of your journey, when you first got on a board? That was just the time when the first cassettes with different action movies were coming out.
– I was more inspired by the example of my friends than by some cult riders. In my high school, the seniors started snowboarding. A friend of mine was just riding and taking us little ones. I guess since then I’ve loved the image of “scumbags” – as snowboarders used to be called.

– How did you get into kitesurfing?
– This is our local pastime. St. Petersburg is basically considered the capital of Russian kitesurfing, so it was impossible not to get into it. I think that sooner or later everyone will try it or come to the fact that it is the wackiest thing of all boards that can be.

– “The capital of kitesurfing?” Interesting.
– Yes, St. Petersburg has all the conditions to learn to surf in the summer. This year we even hosted the Russian Surfing Championship. Just in front of our kiting station.

– How affordable is kitesurfing in St. Petersburg?
– You can look for a set of equipment somewhere on avito, for example, to make it cheaper, and the rest depends only on your desire and availability of time. Because you need to constantly monitor the wind. To arrive at every, even false, gust.

– How many days do you get to ride in the summer?
– This year there were 34 days. I haven’t missed a single one.

– Do you watch your physical shape or is it all achieved only thanks to your hobbies?
– Only through skating. I don’t like to train without a goal. If you improve in something, in a sport you are interested in, your body changes. Just for general physical preparation, I sometimes do pull-ups or something similar.

– If we talk about the philosophy of street culture, what is the most valuable for you?
– You ride, you don’t hurt anyone. Pure rap, hustle. You move around the neighborhood, the spot, the water. I compare skating to rapping. It inspires me a lot. It’s a kind of inner freedom that you have to keep in yourself. You can’t lose the rap in your endeavors.

– Do you skate to any kind of music? Do you care about the music or is it more pleasant to skate alone with your thoughts?
– It doesn’t matter at all. I like to ride in company. Especially in the woods, in puffy snow. I’m made for it. I enjoy nothing more than that. And good company is a bonus.

– What were the coolest places for freeriding? Where would you love to return to?
– Naturally, “Rosa Khutor”, it’s true, all conditions are created here and the pistes are interesting. And in general I really liked it in Bulgaria, in the resort of Bansko. There is a gorgeous mountain there, a lot of fluff and young people. Very fun.

– Many freeriders do training on the terrain, study the terrain before the descent. Do you somehow try to protect yourself on the slope?
– The most important thing is to ride with someone who knows the way. Especially in poor visibility and heavy snowfall. You must have a guide or a person who lives there permanently with you. I try not to go out alone. I have only recently realized how important this is. As they say, “surfing never alone.” And that’s absolutely true.

– Are there any places, mountains you haven’t reached yet, but you really want to?
– I would really like to go skiing in Georgia or in the Himalayas, in India. It is very difficult to get there, but there are good ski resorts there. I lived in Himachal Pradesh for a long time, and now I want to go back there and ski. Also in Japan. Anywhere where freeride is cool, I’d like to try to ride.

– Tell us about the Soul Camp project? What does it mean to you and how did you come up with this idea?
– The idea doesn’t belong to me, maybe I’m one of the inspirers. It’s just that since my youth we always went on vacation to Karelia. At some point it turned into a desire to invite friends. More and more people gathered, and eventually we made a camp. This year there are no vacancies. The camp starts in the middle of May.

– Do you take your gadgets with you when you move in?
– Never in my life. That’s a joke. We have solar panels, all kinds of equipment. You can take your gadgets with you, it’s just that there’s no reception. This year we’re gonna put in an amplifier. We’re not trying to shut anyone out. The tents themselves look like a five-star hotel, so many people want wi-fi.

– What kind of experience do people come to your camp for?
– It’s kind of like a tent and with friends, and kind of trendy. That’s why it’s called glamping – glamorous camping. I don’t like that word.

– What activities are there at the campground?
– There are ATV rentals, kayak rentals, fishing. There is a bathhouse on the island, which I personally built with a comrade. It became the highlight of the camp. Although the bathhouse was not originally planned, I built it at the last moment before the opening.

– Do you take part in these entertainments yourself?
– It’s my stuff, I rent it out. So, of course, I take rides, drive tours around Karelia. We have tours, we gather groups of people on four ATVs, I’m on the fifth. We take people to the sights. When I’m there, I do that. When the wind blows, I’m in St. Petersburg.

– What advice do you have for guys who haven’t dared to get up on a kite or go out of town with friends for a long period of time?
– If you have a desire, you should give everything for the sake of realizing it. Always have someone to strive for. Always find someone who kites better than you and try to kite with them. This is the main key to success. It’s the only way to develop. There is no other way on snowboard and kite. You just watch and repeat. I realized it myself only by the age of 25.