The popularity of vlogs increased in the past years and for some vloggers it really turned out to be a business model. Lena Erdil (28) is one of very few windsurfers, who produces vlogs. Until now, the Turkish windsurfing pro produces a weekly vlog, showing her life as a windsurfing pro. In times like these where it is pretty easy to keep an audience up to date through Social Media channels like Instagram Stories or Facebook, etc. it needs a certain commitment to build up your video channel and keep it running. To produce a weekly blog, besides a windsurfing career is for sure time consuming but Lena is used to the double challenge. She has a Bachelor degree in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Sussex and speaks 4 languages.
“I would like my Vlog to be something that will help promote windsurfing in general to a wider audience as well as to engage a dedicated windsurfers audience!” (Lena Erdil)
We hooked up with Lena to speak about her vlogging experience.
CONTINENTSEVEN: Why did you start to produce Vlogs and what do you want to achieve?
Lena Erdil: It started as a result of friends encouraging me to start just because of the fact that my life is pretty eventful and I guess and it seems to be the latest trend 😀 This spring when I got some new GoPros I started with a video series called ‘Bodrum from my eyes’. It was meant to show my hometown Bodrum in Turkey from a different angle, from my perspective. Making these clips I found that I really enjoyed making this kind of videos and that I like sharing experiences and information. So after the first few clips I didn’t really want to limit myself with my content to one particular place… so I decided to start the VLOG.
At the moment I don’t have expectations, but I feel that being able to give more information about what it’s really like to be a pro windsurfer and the lifestyle it involves could be quite interesting for a lot of people and maybe also unexpected. Ultimately I would like my Vlog to be something that will help promote windsurfing in general to a wider audience as well as to engage a dedicated windsurfers audience!
CONTINENTSEVEN: So, the plan is to continue with vlogging?
Lena Erdil: Yes, for sure I will continue producing them and hopefully get better at it as I go. I have started now with 2 GoPros, one iPhone and iMovie and I am just seeing how it goes and if people are interested. In the future I would like to make the production in higher quality. My first investment will be a microphone ideally wind and waterproof.
CONTINENTSEVEN: What’s your next Vlog you plan to release?
Lena Erdil: I try to make one VLOG every week I haven’t specified a clear day of the week, so you will just have to subscribe to keep updated. My Next VLOG will be from South Africa. I will be there till the 20th of February and I already have lots of fun things planned and stories to share!!! Looking forwards to get back into the waves and bringing you guys more water action!
And here it is, Lena’s vlog #10 ready to watch.
CONTINENTSEVEN: You are one of few windsurfers who run regular Vlogs. Are you a bit proud on that?
Lena Erdil: Yes, I mean the Vlogging world is still a pretty new development, but it looks like Youtube Channels are getting more and more popular! I love movies and high quality arty productions, but I think Vlogs are a cool way of getting more real. I love how it allows me to tell stories simply without a big production behind. I’m not ‘proud’ of my Vlogs, but I try to make something a bit different….
At the moment I enjoy the total freedom I have with it. I don’t follow any formats or guidelines I just share what I find interesting and what’s going on that week in my life as I go… For sure lots of windsurfers have super interesting lives, stories and personalities and actually a lot of them are producing awesome clips quite regularly!! Having a weekly Vlog is quite time consuming and a bit of a commitment, so I understand that at the moment there are only a few.
CONTINENTSEVEN: Thanks for the chat and keep it up!
