A veteran of Lake Pilsen. Guido Meier is an ice creek surfer and a pioneer of stand-up paddling in Germany. He has been running his “Bavarian Waters” center at Pilsensee in, as the name suggests, Bavaria for 16 years. Guido has experienced at least as much in the sport as Stand Up Magazine, if not more. He was the first to paddle many rivers in Bavaria together with Carsten Kurmis and Corran Addison. He took part in the legendary Lost Mills races and his son Toni became the best SUP surfer in Germany over the years.
Despite “ups” and “downs” in the industry, Guido is still going strong and his enthusiasm for the sport is undiminished. We are delighted to interview him and reminisce. When you get out on the water with Bavarian Waters , you experience German SUP history.
Aloha Guido, I’m delighted that you’ve taken the time to write for Stand Up Magazine. With Bavarian Waters, you were one of the very first to take up the SUP sport. That was more than 15 years ago. I was still in the planning stages with Stand Up Magazine and you were already messing around with SUP.
Hi Mike, nice of you to invite me to this interview. I can still remember how you proudly gave me your first edition of the Stand Up Mag at the Paddelexpo. That really motivated us at the time and we believed in SUP in the future. I think it’s really great that you’re continuing your editorial work, because it’s very important for the sport and the coming years.
Very nice words from you, thank you very much, this is only possible thanks to the support from the industry and the readers. Let’s relive some old times. What was it like back then, how did you get into SUP?
I’ve been surfing in the sea for 30 years and have traveled a lot. After my studies, I moved from Cologne to Munich to get to know my future wife Andrea better, and at the same time I was able to surf every day at the Eisbach. On a surf trip in Australia, I saw someone surfing with this huge board and a paddle in his hand. That’s where I first noticed it and wondered if it was complex.
I then saw the first pictures in surf magazines in 2007 and realized that it was not an isolated case. Back in Europe, I did some research and found a board in a windsurfing store on Lake Starnberg, which I borrowed for a day – and what can I say: I thought it was great to glide on the water on a wonderful, sunny and calm day in 5-lake country, for example. Today, 17 years later, I still have exactly the same feeling, I am on the water at least 3-4 times a week and I hope that I can continue to do this for a long time to come. In 2009, I noticed that there was a World Cup race in Hamburg’s Hafencity. As I had worked on the master plan for the Hafencity in an architectural office in Cologne and had never seen the result live, I thought to myself: that’s a good combination and worth the trip.
Brief race history 2009 in Hamburg: With a borrowed board from Naish in the amateur pre-race – very bad weather and waves and choppy water and rain from all sides in the choppy harbor basin. Exactly my conditions, and after many years of throwing pans (in the rainy Sauerland region) in the roofing trade, I probably had the necessary stamina in my arms. At the time, I had no idea about paddling. In front of me was little Kasper Steinfarth and a few rookies. Nobody could have guessed that it would be a small and big start for many of them. I finished in the top 6 and qualified for the pro final the next day. Everything else is history and well documented. Casper becomes a global star and travels the world, and I settle down and start SUP.
What made you decide to do something commercial with SUP?
I quickly came up with the idea of combining SUP and the river. I then took a SUP with me from Hamburg and paddled it all the time. Everyone always asked what I was doing and if they could borrow it. I then also trained for Alois MĂĽhlegger’s first local races (later the SUP Alps Trophy) and thought: then I can take interested people with me and show them.
From the archive: SUP Alps Trophy – Chiemsee Island Marathon. It was one of the big German SUP races. But there were always problems with the permits. Photo from 2012
We met up at ISPO and Carsten Kurmis (Starboard) was also there with Imagine SUP Surf. I knew him from the Eisbach and the roots were clear. Carsten then gave me my first boards, which were also suitable for white water – and then things really took off.
In March 2011, we had the first really big report in the print mainstream media about SUP in FOCUS – 4 pages, great pictures of the Eibsee etc. We were at the first SUP surf camp in Andalusia with Tom from La Luz Surf when the issue appeared – and then the phone never stopped ringing for the next 10 years, especially in summer.
This is how the first courses and tours took place. I transported the boards in my caravan for the first time, so I also had a mobile changing room and could spend the night in it. That was a great time. All the first ascents of the wild rivers with Carsten, Arnd, Schäftlarn and Corran – unforgettable. The media literally pounced on us. All the articles for TV, newspapers, mags etc. were of course also a great pat on the back, which helped us to keep going in the tough moments – which had to happen. Then came more wave camps and soon the first permanent SUP station at Pilsensee. Soon it was only manageable as a team and I found great employees and partners. Since 2013, there has always been a SUP race at Pilsensee in September. This year, the Alps Trophy is back again. I was able to combine my self-employed work as an architect and SUP sport well, and the emphasis on SUP was deliberate. We also pushed whitewater SUP to the full. We hosted the first SUP whitewater championship and also held a Eurocup in Lofer… The subsequent town parties with the whole Lofer whitewater crew were legendary.
A great, action-packed time, which also filled a few pages in your magazine. Thanks again for that.
SUP whitewater tours with Guido Meier and Bavarian Waters, back in 2011. Photo from the Stand Up Magazine archive
Conclusion:
Being outside and making myself and my fellow human beings a little happier with exercise/sport and earning a living at the same time is a great honor for me and I am very, very grateful for this opportunity.
I can still remember how we tried to sell people hardboards, but it never really worked out. Then came the inflatable – loved it, hated it. How did you experience that?
Inflatables then triggered the real boom. At first I also said: I’m not going to stand on the air mattresses – but the development was so fast and the boards were so much better. Some customers couldn’t even feel the difference… that was a clear sign that it worked. This design also has a clear advantage in white water.
Now that the next generation of SUP is coming, hardboards are more in demand again. However, I can well remember the Paddelexpo 2014, where the following sentence came up in a conversation:
“Once you can buy inflatables in discount stores, the sport will have made it.”
Well, there it is, the sport – SUP – no longer a boom, but firmly anchored in many people’s minds.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to be done in many areas. Good structures need to grow, and systems cannot always be adopted so easily from other areas. SUP has its own success story that still has many chapters to tell.
The trend was huge, we had many events in Germany that were known far beyond the country’s borders. The Lost Mills was one such event. What do you think has happened in Germany that we no longer have so many international events?
Lost Mills was awesome… I saw another picture the other day: all the stars lined up in a row… Amazing. Casper trembling behind the tree, waiting for Danny’s sprint time in the “Fastest Paddler of the World”. Eric Terrien, who didn’t follow the drifting buoy, but took the right path and later celebrated his greatest victory in the lederhosen he was given. Everyone was there. (Our report with Casper Steinfath from 2014)
I also had my greatest racing success there in the short distance. I finished in 2nd place, ahead of Teichi at the time. But Lost Mills was supported by Erdinger. The owner of the brewery, who has a house in Hawaii and loves the lifestyle, thought it was great to have the stars from overseas with him and to give the sport the chance to present itself in Germany. The time around the Lost Mills Race was of course also a good opportunity for the SUP brands in the Bavarian region to showcase their team riders effectively. I have fond memories of the days when we rode around with Conner Baxter and Bart de… and made all the river waves unsafe on the SUP. It was also cool to see Conner slashing fat turns and 360s into the water during his first Eisbach session. After all the action, we spent the evening at home playing soccer with Toni in the living room and rocking Clara to sleep. We can see that today: He is a family man and loves children.
The German-speaking world loves eventization and all-round packages – something for everyone. Such events are very costly to realize and to finance. Finding sponsors for something like this is not easy. Above all, you need a good team. In other countries, there’s a tent on the beach and a race or contest – that’s it. The athletes have just as much fun and just as much of a challenge.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to miss highlights like the SUP WAVE Masters final at boot DĂĽsseldorf on the Citywave with Zane and Airton – followed by Toni on Zane’s shoulders in the wave – incredible and a great show for the spectators. But this is not SUP in its own form. The sport is still trying to find itself.
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The City Wave offered an incredible amount of action and the stars traveled from all over. This was our video from 2020 shortly before the pandemic began.
The development in Germany with the many small races in 2025 is not so bad, they serve as real roots for later big races that will come. As I said, the sport is still quite young and the responsibilities of the associations are still very complex. Unfortunately, volunteering in sport in general is no longer so popular and everything is commercialized. This makes it doubly difficult, for example, to find young talent, especially in the broad structure.
But now to your business Bavarian Waters:
You’ve been in business successfully for 16 years and seem to be well booked this year too. What is your secret?
That’s difficult to say. I can only reflect what customers say.
I think being authentic is the most important thing. Customers immediately notice your love of sport. The business model is not to have one! In the beginning, we didn’t have anything to guide us – everything grew naturally. Flexibility and humility are also super important – it’s a weather-dependent outdoor sport that can cause a well-planned major company event to fall through today and two days later a school class with lively kids spontaneously arrives, who get the same professionalism for a very small fee. This is only possible with a great team and genuine enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, the problems in our industry are not yet behind us.
What advice can you give to colleagues with other stations and rental companies?
Stick with it and invest – or close down. It always depends on your lifestyle and your options. There’s now been a mega SUP boom – for example, SUP rentals at ice cream kiosks and €199 SUPs from discount stores. Everything is leveling out and that’s part of it.
Sport in Germany is still very important, and tourism within Germany continues to grow. I’m definitely very proud of our partners in the SUP industry, who continue to support the SUP sport and its athletes as much as possible and work together on the future of SUP.
What are your plans with Bavarian Waters for this season?
Will there be another big race? Any events you would like us to add to the calendar?
On 20.09.25 we will once again be hosting the SUP Alps Trophy at Lake Pilsen.
In the fall, a SUP WAVE and Foil Camp is planned at our base in Portugal. The restoration work is almost complete and a very nice place is currently being created.
You will receive all the information about this as soon as it starts. It will also be possible to rent the apartments from the summer. SUPs from all areas are also available there. The location between NazarĂ© and Peniche is perfect – plenty of waves and the Ă“bidos lagoon for flat water wingfoiling. Next year, a surf park like the O2 Arena in MUC will also open there.
We wouldn’t be Stand Up Magazine if we didn’t talk about foiling.
Do you already foil? How close are you to the topic?
We are working on the topic. The problem is that we are not allowed to train wingfoil in the 5-Lakes region and I personally don’t have much time for other sports. Of course, I’ve tried everything, but two of my employees are fully infected and are already really good at it. We have a lot to do with surfing and SUP paddling in the family. We try to use every situation to get on the wave. I’m hoping that Toni will be competing in the wave at the ISA World Championships, which might take place in Peru. But maybe the World Championships will also be held in Portugal, for example in Peniche – the ESA did a great job there with the 2023 European Championships, and Toni won the bronze medal in the juniors.
Will there be Bavarian Pump Foil Championships soon?
I don’t think so… we have now planned a dock pontoon at Pilsensee, but the whole sport has to be approved in our administrative district – if it happens commercially or competitively on a marked out and provided area. It’s not that easy with the authorities.
I think it’s great in the sea – pumping into the waves or flying downwind over the waves.
I can definitely imagine actively helping out again for the DWV at the next SUP Surf DM. It’s always been a lot of fun over the years. The scene was small, but the fun was always huge.
Bavarian Waters operates 2 SUP stations:
đź“Ť SUP station Pilsensee (office, store, headquarters):
đź“ž 10-19 h 017620501402 guido@bavarianwaters.com
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SUP station on Lake Starnberg:
đź“ž 10-19h 015787500940 hendrik@bavarianwaters.com
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