Get Up Stand Up SUP Shop in Kappeln – More than just a store, a way of life
The Get Up Stand Up SUP Shop in Kappelen is much more than a simple specialist shop: this is where passion meets expertise. Jens and his team live the stand up paddling lifestyle and offer high-quality, durable boards and paddles for beginners and professionals alike. With personal advice, regular testival events and genuine enthusiasm for paddling, the store is a place to go for anyone who sees SUP not just as a sport, but as an experience. True to the motto: “Stress is water-soluble.”
The new company sign for the store is installed
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Jens has just moved his store and we wanted to ask him how he is experiencing the current situation in our industry:
Get Up Stand Up is a traditional store in Germany Jens, your store has been around for years now – in an industry that is constantly changing. How would you describe your concept?
Tradition is a big word and sounds like decades. Well, we’ve been around as a store for 7 years now. What sets us apart is that we are one of the few stores in Europe to focus solely on SUP and have the necessary depth in terms of expertise and quality. What we didn’t go along with was the boom in discount boards. We always wanted to sell durable and good products. That’s what set us apart. For us, SUP is not, as in many surf stores, one of many products. It IS THE product! And they are high-quality boards and paddles that need to be presented as such!
But you’ve been active in the board sports industry for much longer, right?
(laughs) That’s a question that makes me laugh! I’ve worked in the (wind)surf industry on and off since 1983. I dropped out of school in 83 because of windsurfing and then did my apprenticeship in the surf store to become the first windsurf retail salesman. Then I always had contacts in the industry. In 1996, we founded the first internet magazine for windsurfers, Surfers Home(www.surfershome.de), even back then without YouTube with videos. But we were far too early. I know almost everyone in the industry in Germany from way back. In between, I worked in IT. But since my life has always revolved around surfing, I kept coming back to the industry.
With Get Up Stand Up, everything from 40 years comes together: My experience with equipment – I built my first board in 1980 – my commercial experience as a trained dealer and in project management, my IT knowledge and my experience with videos.
I started my professional life in the surf store, now I’m back where it all began!
You’ve also been through a few crises. What were the toughest moments?
This was originally supposed to be a relaxed project! Everything was going great until 2020: increasing awareness, great events, satisfied customers. Then came Corona! And it became stressful. But not as expected: lockdowns yes, but SUP exploded. There were no cheap boards in the start-up phase. We rotated! We had to get used to the quantities. And we realized that the supply chains were broken. The closure of the Suez Canal (Ever Given) made everything even worse.
Then discount stores started to appear and everyone started to jump on the bandwagon. Back then, the price for an iSUP set was still € 400 – 500. Today we are sometimes at € 149. That’s when we finally decided to only sell durable and long-lasting material and not to sell 12 kg of PVC as hazardous waste after 2 years.
No sooner had calm and routine returned than Russia attacked Ukraine. That was a blow to the economy. Because all the goods from 2021 that were still hanging in the supply chains arrived. And everyone was so shocked, not knowing what would happen to energy and peace, that they held back their money in the leisure sector. There could have been a big back payment for gas and electricity. We overcame this crisis too.
And then last year we terminated our rental agreement for the store. We saw this more as an opportunity to do more events with customers on and around the water again. As I said, it was supposed to be stress-free work. I would say: it didn’t quite work out
You are a big SUP enthusiast, but were actually a windsurfer.
For me, SUP was just a stopgap when windsurfing or longboarding wasn’t possible. I’ve been windsurfing since 1979 and surfing since the early 90s. When I started stand up paddling, it was unthinkable for me as a surfer and windsurfer to use an inflatable “board”. But composite boards were not easy to come by in Germany. Once I had got hold of one, I set off with the confident feeling of being an eternal board sports enthusiast and realized: it’s completely different. But despite the flat water and calm, I had an incredible amount of fun. It was new!
Then came SUP surfing and it was 10’0” on waves that I wouldn’t have paddled on as a longboarder. Then touring, and I saw areas that I would never have used as a surfer. Also downwind but that’s very tricky in Germany because we don’t have consistent conditions.
Then I started to “collect maneuvers”. Because I realized that there was no such thing as THE step back turn. I think I know at least 16 different moves. Tricks were also added.
So many facets! All of them were fun, I didn’t want to miss any of them. In short: I completely forgot about windsurfing! Unthinkable but true! Stand up paddling more than filled the gap!
I think it’s a shame that people aren’t made aware of all these different facets. But we are working on it. And we communicate this to the outside world: in life, at events, on our YouTube channel, on social media. You could describe it as enthusiasm. For us, it’s life style!
Your slogan is “Stress is water-soluble” – how did that come about?
(laughs) When you read the thing about the crises, you realize that it wasn’t so much creativity as a sigh of relief. In the middle of the madness, Sabine and I went out on the water. And as soon as we were 5m from the shore, all the stress was forgotten. That’s when the phrase went through my head! We did tricks, fell into the water, laughed and noticed how our tense nerves and muscles relaxed. Afterwards, we sat relaxed by the water.
The next morning I found the photo in my mailbox from Sunova Surfboards. It matched the feeling from the night before! So I went straight to the computer and put it into practice!
And yes: stress is water-soluble!
You also regularly organize a test festival. What is behind it?
We’ve only had the test festival in this form since last year. But we’ve been holding test events since 2018. We’ve noticed that, especially in Germany with this cheap board boom from 2020 onwards, many people have never stood on a real board or had a good paddle in their hands. We wanted to give them the opportunity to do so. And also to network as stand-up paddlers and to SUP together and not alone.
We also organize a now very well-known event called “SUPen & Schnacken”. This is basically just going out on the water together. Sometimes 10 people come, sometimes 35, and it’s free with your own equipment. But you can also get test boards from us. Sometimes we do short tours, sometimes we do tricks, sometimes it’s a lot of chatting. But it’s always relaxed.
It is important, and the industry has unfortunately failed to promote SUP as an experience. Many brands have just followed the trend. And it’s important to make normal equipment available for everyone to test. How else are they supposed to know what a fun board feels like?
What exactly is a “funboard”?
It will surprise you: A board that is meant to be fun! Cruising, tricks, maneuvers, small waves, easy to ride. In itself it is an all-round wave board! Only that it was rarely sold in Germany. Because it had WAVE written all over it.
Many have never really seen the potential of these boards. Simply because they put performance, not fun, at the top of the catalog. Last year it was actually the best-selling board class. Because more and more stand up paddlers are realizing: It’s about fun. Not about performance.
And as the saying goes: The one and only reason is fun, fun, fun!
Super thanks Jens great interview and stories.
Here you can find Jens and GET UP STAND UP:
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