To cope with stress, entrepreneur Alexander Bazanov began to run and swim. As a result, a new hobby turned into a business with international potential.
For two years, 38-year-old Alexander Bazanov from Nizhny Novgorod tried to take part in the swim through the Bosphorus, but each time he did not have time to register. Then Bazanov decided to organize his own series of swims in Russia and abroad. And found an empty niche.
“For runners, there are a huge number of starts - what are the events of the Marathon Majors series worth, where 40-50 thousand people register annually,” says Alexander Bazanov, founder of the X-Waters project. For triathletes, there is Ironman. But you will not find large international swims, except for competitions in the Bosphorus, in which 2 thousand people participate annually, in Europe and Russia.” Nevertheless, the demand for such events is high: people get tired of swimming in the pool, they want achievements and medals.
“Our idea corresponded to the formula of an ideal product: you really need it, you’ll get it,” says Bazanov. In 2017, he organized five mass swims, which brought him 11 million rubles. revenue and 1.5 million rubles. arrived.
Pool escape
For two years, 38-year-old Alexander Bazanov from Nizhny Novgorod tried to take part in the swim through the Bosphorus, but each time he did not have time to register. Then Bazanov decided to organize his own series of swims in Russia and abroad. And found an empty niche.
“For runners, there are a huge number of starts - what are the events of the Marathon Majors series worth, where 40-50 thousand people register annually,” says Alexander Bazanov, founder of the X-Waters project. For triathletes, there is Ironman. But you will not find large international swims, except for competitions in the Bosphorus, in which 2 thousand people participate annually, in Europe and Russia.” Nevertheless, the demand for such events is high: people get tired of swimming in the pool, they want achievements and medals.
“Our idea corresponded to the formula of an ideal product: you really need it, you’ll get it,” says Bazanov. In 2017, he organized five mass swims, which brought him 11 million rubles. revenue and 1.5 million rubles. arrived.
Pool escape
By education, Alexander Bazanov is a sociologist, candidate of sciences and initially worked in the profile - he studied public opinion in elections, from 2002 to 2008 he was the editor of several magazines on advertising and marketing. Everything changed in the crisis of 2008, when subscription and advertising revenues collapsed. “My earnings have been greatly reduced, and I have a small child, a wife, I had some other loan,” recalls Bazanov. Then he decided to become an entrepreneur - he created the Business Culture company, which organized seminars, trainings, and field events for Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs. “We were one of the market leaders in the region, but we always remained a small family business,” says Bazanov. In the best years, the company brought up to 3 million rubles. profit per year.
His business gave rise to a new problem: Bazanov did not know how to cope with constant stress. “I was not a born entrepreneur - I was nervous, it got to the point that I started talking in my sleep,” he says. What are the options for coping with stress? Eating, drinking - all this was not good. I ended up running." The club of amateur athletes founded by Bazanov regularly arranged jogs on the streets of Nizhny Novgorod. The example turned out to be contagious - Bazanov and his like-minded people managed to involve several hundred Nizhny Novgorod residents in the races.
Since 2013, they began to regularly hold annual half-marathons "Volzhskaya Embankment" and "Kremlin Wall" in Nizhny Novgorod. For example, they took the races organized by the 3sport company in Moscow (for example, in 2018 it will hold 22 sporting events).
“These were the first modern races in Nizhny Novgorod - in the very center of the city, with medals, action, children's starts, etc.,” says Alexander Bazanov. The number of participants reached 1.5-2 thousand people, each paid 800-1000 rubles. True, it was impossible to call it a business, the first two years of the event brought a direct loss: “I got 100 thousand rubles out of my pocket, closed a hole in the budget and was glad that I had done a good deed.” But running in the city was gaining popularity, there were more participants. It became possible to make starts to zero, and since 2015 even a small plus - about 100-200 thousand rubles from everyone.
In parallel, Bazanov became interested in swimming. An acquaintance of the entrepreneur - the founder of the Moscow network of children's clubs and gardens "Baby Club" Yuri Belonoshchenko - sent him a link to the training of the famous American swimmer Terry Laughlin. He developed his own system for teaching adults to swim: a feature of the Total Immersion system was that it presented swimming not as a difficult, physically demanding process, but as a kind of "water yoga" that brings pleasure.
“I went to see him for training in Turkey,” Bazanov recalls. And he was just shocked! In five days, he was completely reborn as a swimmer. On the third day of the training, I swam in the open sea 2 km freestyle, and before that, at best, I could swim 50 meters. When I returned, people hid from me, because I grabbed every first one and said: let me teach you how to swim. For a year he trained with the Laughlin system, and then went to Poland, where he received a new training that gives him the right to train people in the Total Immersion system.
In subsequent years, Bazanov brought coaches to Russia who conducted classes according to the Laughlin system, for example, the American Matt Hudson, and arranged field events in Turkey. Bazanov seriously thought about turning the swims into a commercial project after he twice tried to register for the Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim, which is held annually by the Turkish Olympic Committee. But each time the slots (the right to participate in the competition) ended, and the money was not returned to Bazanov. The fact is that about 2 thousand people participate in the swim, but only 1 thousand of them can be foreigners; the remaining slots are reserved for Turkish citizens. As a result, several thousand applicants do not enter the competition every year. Swimmers cover a distance of 6.5 km, crossing from Asia to Europe. The time limit for the swim is two hours (everyone who does not have time is subject to disqualification). The cost of the slot is $100. Winners receive medals and gifts from sponsors.
“With complete confusion with registration, slots fly every year in 12-25 minutes. Why such excitement? If people need it so much, why can't swims be held in other places? We have a lot of things to swim across in Russia,” the entrepreneur recalls.
We won't take off, so we'll swim
The format of events that Bazanov chose - a swim across a river or lake, according to him, has a lot of advantages over ordinary competitions in the pool: “Sport for health is terribly dreary. A person needs a goal, encouragement, beautiful views. In February 2016, Bazanov presented X-Waters, a series of international swims, and convinced his wife and several friends to join the project. One of them, Sergei Rybkin, the owner of the Murom web design studio Sawtech, became a co-founder of X-Waters.
“I went to see him for training in Turkey,” Bazanov recalls. And he was just shocked! In five days, he was completely reborn as a swimmer. On the third day of the training, I swam in the open sea 2 km freestyle, and before that, at best, I could swim 50 meters. When I returned, people hid from me, because I grabbed every first one and said: let me teach you how to swim. For a year he trained with the Laughlin system, and then went to Poland, where he received a new training that gives him the right to train people in the Total Immersion system.
In subsequent years, Bazanov brought coaches to Russia who conducted classes according to the Laughlin system, for example, the American Matt Hudson, and arranged field events in Turkey. Bazanov seriously thought about turning the swims into a commercial project after he twice tried to register for the Bosphorus Cross Continental Swim, which is held annually by the Turkish Olympic Committee. But each time the slots (the right to participate in the competition) ended, and the money was not returned to Bazanov. The fact is that about 2 thousand people participate in the swim, but only 1 thousand of them can be foreigners; the remaining slots are reserved for Turkish citizens. As a result, several thousand applicants do not enter the competition every year. Swimmers cover a distance of 6.5 km, crossing from Asia to Europe. The time limit for the swim is two hours (everyone who does not have time is subject to disqualification). The cost of the slot is $100. Winners receive medals and gifts from sponsors.
“With complete confusion with registration, slots fly every year in 12-25 minutes. Why such excitement? If people need it so much, why can't swims be held in other places? We have a lot of things to swim across in Russia,” the entrepreneur recalls.
We won't take off, so we'll swim
The format of events that Bazanov chose - a swim across a river or lake, according to him, has a lot of advantages over ordinary competitions in the pool: “Sport for health is terribly dreary. A person needs a goal, encouragement, beautiful views. In February 2016, Bazanov presented X-Waters, a series of international swims, and convinced his wife and several friends to join the project. One of them, Sergei Rybkin, the owner of the Murom web design studio Sawtech, became a co-founder of X-Waters.
The touchstone was the Volga Swim swim in July 2016 in the center of Nizhny Novgorod. The partners invested about 300 thousand rubles in the organization of the swim. own funds. “At the end of March, we completed the website and opened the acceptance of applications. I made a post on Facebook - to look at the reaction of people, - Bazanov recalls. - And all 300 seats were taken in four hours! As a result, the number of participants had to be increased to 400 people.” A year later, Volga Swim has already gathered 1.6 thousand participants.
The swim includes three distances to choose from: 1, 3 or 5 km. Participants start in different places, and finish in the city center at the foot of the Chkalov Stairs. Judging is automatic: each swimmer has a chip on his leg, when he passes through the frame set at the finish line, his time enters the computer system. All finishers receive medals, and prize-winners receive gifts. For example, last year the winner of Volga Swim received a wetsuit that costs about 40,000 rubles.
“We saw our audience for the first time,” says Bazanov. “Basically, these are those who once went in for swimming, and then abandoned, as well as those (and this is the main group) who, by the age of 25–30, have solved most of their everyday problems for themselves and finally decided to take up health.”
In order for all participants of Volga Swim to swim safely, everyone was provided with an individual safety buoy - you can hold on to it if, for example, you bring your leg together. In addition, for this and each subsequent swim, X-Waters attracts escort boats (up to 40 pieces per swim) and rescuers.
The swim includes three distances to choose from: 1, 3 or 5 km. Participants start in different places, and finish in the city center at the foot of the Chkalov Stairs. Judging is automatic: each swimmer has a chip on his leg, when he passes through the frame set at the finish line, his time enters the computer system. All finishers receive medals, and prize-winners receive gifts. For example, last year the winner of Volga Swim received a wetsuit that costs about 40,000 rubles.
“We saw our audience for the first time,” says Bazanov. “Basically, these are those who once went in for swimming, and then abandoned, as well as those (and this is the main group) who, by the age of 25–30, have solved most of their everyday problems for themselves and finally decided to take up health.”
In order for all participants of Volga Swim to swim safely, everyone was provided with an individual safety buoy - you can hold on to it if, for example, you bring your leg together. In addition, for this and each subsequent swim, X-Waters attracts escort boats (up to 40 pieces per swim) and rescuers.
Stormy rivers
The organization of each swim begins a few months before the day of the event. Bazanov and Rybkin choose some picturesque place near the city where it would be interesting for a swimmer to go with his family - go to a local museum, eat in a cafe overlooking a river or lake. Then they begin to develop a technical possibility: how to get there, where to stay. For example, at Stada Volga Swim 2017, 50 buses and one motor ship delivered people to the starting points from the city center.
One of the main questions that have to be addressed is how to block navigation on the river during the swim? River navigation in Russia is handled by the Federal Water Resources Agency, which determines the schedule of ships. “When we told officials about our idea to arrange a swim, at first they made round eyes and asked: what will you swim on? Do you know what kind of buoys you can’t swim in?” Bazanov says. In addition, it turned out that cargo ships do not have a schedule as such - you can only roughly find out which ships leave from where and at what time. We have to calculate the dates and calculate the time when the probability of the appearance of ships is minimal. If the ship still appears, it is stopped by the boat of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. X-Waters has assigned a full-time employee who deals exclusively with negotiations with officials.
There are only eight permanent employees in the project, the rest of X-Waters is attracted by the project. Often uses the work of volunteers (on a large swim there can be more than a hundred of them). The project staff find both freelancers and volunteers primarily among acquaintances, then volunteer centers and the Internet come to the rescue. At the starts, which take place far from major cities, they go to a specially assembled team.
When all these problems are finally resolved, the organizers set a date and open the sale of slots through the site. In 2016, X-Waters had only one swim, the next year - five. In May 2017, there was a swim from the Novy Svet to Sudak (Crimea), in June - near the city of Ostashkov on Lake Seliger, in July - the second Volga Swim near Nizhny Novgorod and a swim from the village of Listvyanka along Lake Baikal and through the source of the Angara. The most exotic was the swim in the Arctic Ocean near the village of Teriberka in August 2017. “Not only our usual audience participated there,” says Bazanov. “There were winter swimmers — they swim without wetsuits in the water, the temperature of which is five or six degrees.” The distances are different - from 1 to 17 km, to attract both experienced swimmers and beginners.
In 2016, the project's revenue amounted to only 600 thousand rubles, a year later - 11 million rubles, for the first three months of this year - 10 million rubles. About 80% of the revenue comes from the sale of slots - tickets for participation in competitions. Last year, the average bill for all swims was about 4.5 thousand rubles. Slots on Volga Swim cost from 2.5 thousand to 5 thousand rubles. - depending on the distance and date of registration (in advance - cheaper). The most expensive slots now (15 thousand rubles each) are for the swim across the Kerch Strait on June 3, 2018, where the number of participants is strictly limited, and many escort boats will be required, due to the fact that shipping does not stop there for the duration of the swim. A little cheaper - 12 thousand rubles each. - cost slots for a swim in the Arctic Ocean.
The organization of each swim begins a few months before the day of the event. Bazanov and Rybkin choose some picturesque place near the city where it would be interesting for a swimmer to go with his family - go to a local museum, eat in a cafe overlooking a river or lake. Then they begin to develop a technical possibility: how to get there, where to stay. For example, at Stada Volga Swim 2017, 50 buses and one motor ship delivered people to the starting points from the city center.
One of the main questions that have to be addressed is how to block navigation on the river during the swim? River navigation in Russia is handled by the Federal Water Resources Agency, which determines the schedule of ships. “When we told officials about our idea to arrange a swim, at first they made round eyes and asked: what will you swim on? Do you know what kind of buoys you can’t swim in?” Bazanov says. In addition, it turned out that cargo ships do not have a schedule as such - you can only roughly find out which ships leave from where and at what time. We have to calculate the dates and calculate the time when the probability of the appearance of ships is minimal. If the ship still appears, it is stopped by the boat of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. X-Waters has assigned a full-time employee who deals exclusively with negotiations with officials.
There are only eight permanent employees in the project, the rest of X-Waters is attracted by the project. Often uses the work of volunteers (on a large swim there can be more than a hundred of them). The project staff find both freelancers and volunteers primarily among acquaintances, then volunteer centers and the Internet come to the rescue. At the starts, which take place far from major cities, they go to a specially assembled team.
When all these problems are finally resolved, the organizers set a date and open the sale of slots through the site. In 2016, X-Waters had only one swim, the next year - five. In May 2017, there was a swim from the Novy Svet to Sudak (Crimea), in June - near the city of Ostashkov on Lake Seliger, in July - the second Volga Swim near Nizhny Novgorod and a swim from the village of Listvyanka along Lake Baikal and through the source of the Angara. The most exotic was the swim in the Arctic Ocean near the village of Teriberka in August 2017. “Not only our usual audience participated there,” says Bazanov. “There were winter swimmers — they swim without wetsuits in the water, the temperature of which is five or six degrees.” The distances are different - from 1 to 17 km, to attract both experienced swimmers and beginners.
In 2016, the project's revenue amounted to only 600 thousand rubles, a year later - 11 million rubles, for the first three months of this year - 10 million rubles. About 80% of the revenue comes from the sale of slots - tickets for participation in competitions. Last year, the average bill for all swims was about 4.5 thousand rubles. Slots on Volga Swim cost from 2.5 thousand to 5 thousand rubles. - depending on the distance and date of registration (in advance - cheaper). The most expensive slots now (15 thousand rubles each) are for the swim across the Kerch Strait on June 3, 2018, where the number of participants is strictly limited, and many escort boats will be required, due to the fact that shipping does not stop there for the duration of the swim. A little cheaper - 12 thousand rubles each. - cost slots for a swim in the Arctic Ocean.
A growing share of revenue comes from sponsors (up to 15%). For example, the swim across the Volga has been called Stada Volga Swim since last year: its main sponsor is the international pharmaceutical company Stada, which owns the local Nizhpharm plant. “The company has a corporate team: employees like that every employee, his relatives and friends can become part of such a big sports project, they prepare for the swim together, this strengthens the team and sets an example of what healthy corporate parties can be,” Bazanov believes. . The corporate team of another sponsor, the St. Petersburg IT company IQ Options, is even larger: 70 employees are now preparing for the swim in Austria, which will take place in September 2018. About 5% of the revenue comes from the sale of related products - a participant in the swim can purchase a T-shirt or, for example, a safety buoy.
Other shores
Bazanov admits that in those incomplete two years during which he has been involved in the X-Waters project, he has lost income - now he is almost not engaged in seminars for business, and the income of Business Culture has decreased significantly. On the other hand, Volga Swim turned into the largest open water swim in Russia in terms of the number of participants last year, and the overall geography of X-Waters swims has noticeably expanded: nine are planned for this year, two of which will be held abroad. Unlike business seminars, this project can be scaled around the world: there are many organizers of trainings for entrepreneurs, but few open water swims.
One of the foreign starts in 2018 will take place in Armenia: participants will swim 6 km across Lake Sevan. The other is on the Austrian Lake Wörther, where you have to swim 17 km. Bazanov is counting primarily on the Russian audience, but he hopes to interest local swimmers as well.
Bazanov found a new location thanks to an unexpected event. Last summer, the entrepreneur was on a train to St. Petersburg. In the night the phone rang, a voice asked in German if he could speak to him. Bazanov, fortunately, knew German. It turned out that the Austrian swimmer Eric Demchuk was calling, who decided to swim the entire Volga from source to mouth (about 3.6 thousand km). Demchuk sailed alone, unaccompanied, and behind him, on a rope fastened to his belt, he dragged a special board on which all his belongings lay: a tent, a sleeping bag, a wetsuit, etc. In the villages, Demchuk moored near the shore, simply tying a board, ran to the store for food and arranged a halt. In big cities, leaving the board unattended was not worth it. “In addition, he wanted to take part in Volga Swim and asked for help with temporary arrangements,” says Bazanov. “As a result, he sailed to Nizhny three days before the swim and lived at my house for five days.”
X-Waters helped Demchuk the rest of the way - in all major cities to Astrakhan, the project staff found people who met him. And in September, Bazanov went to visit him in Klagenfurt, which stands on the banks of the Wörther See, and agreed with the local authorities on the swim. “In Austria, officials have a fundamentally different attitude towards us,” says Alexander Bazanov. “They consider attracting tourists as a priority and understand that it is precisely such events that can greatly help them.”
Other shores
Bazanov admits that in those incomplete two years during which he has been involved in the X-Waters project, he has lost income - now he is almost not engaged in seminars for business, and the income of Business Culture has decreased significantly. On the other hand, Volga Swim turned into the largest open water swim in Russia in terms of the number of participants last year, and the overall geography of X-Waters swims has noticeably expanded: nine are planned for this year, two of which will be held abroad. Unlike business seminars, this project can be scaled around the world: there are many organizers of trainings for entrepreneurs, but few open water swims.
One of the foreign starts in 2018 will take place in Armenia: participants will swim 6 km across Lake Sevan. The other is on the Austrian Lake Wörther, where you have to swim 17 km. Bazanov is counting primarily on the Russian audience, but he hopes to interest local swimmers as well.
Bazanov found a new location thanks to an unexpected event. Last summer, the entrepreneur was on a train to St. Petersburg. In the night the phone rang, a voice asked in German if he could speak to him. Bazanov, fortunately, knew German. It turned out that the Austrian swimmer Eric Demchuk was calling, who decided to swim the entire Volga from source to mouth (about 3.6 thousand km). Demchuk sailed alone, unaccompanied, and behind him, on a rope fastened to his belt, he dragged a special board on which all his belongings lay: a tent, a sleeping bag, a wetsuit, etc. In the villages, Demchuk moored near the shore, simply tying a board, ran to the store for food and arranged a halt. In big cities, leaving the board unattended was not worth it. “In addition, he wanted to take part in Volga Swim and asked for help with temporary arrangements,” says Bazanov. “As a result, he sailed to Nizhny three days before the swim and lived at my house for five days.”
X-Waters helped Demchuk the rest of the way - in all major cities to Astrakhan, the project staff found people who met him. And in September, Bazanov went to visit him in Klagenfurt, which stands on the banks of the Wörther See, and agreed with the local authorities on the swim. “In Austria, officials have a fundamentally different attitude towards us,” says Alexander Bazanov. “They consider attracting tourists as a priority and understand that it is precisely such events that can greatly help them.”