The famous Russian wakeboarder and Red Bull athlete, Nikita Martyanov, visited Azerbaijan in early September to show his skills at Masazir Lake, a pink salt lake. Nikita is the 13-time champion of Russian wakeboarding and is consistently ranked for the top three in the European championships and in the top five in the world championships.
Wakeboarding is one of the most interesting and exciting extreme sports. It is a water sport based on the movement on the surface of the water on the board behind a boat, a hydrocycle, or a winch. It is a dynamic and incredibly exciting sport that combines elements of water slalom, acrobatics while performing tricks and jumps. It is a combination of snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and water skiing.
In addition to mandatory participation at the championships, Nikita often organizes performances at the unique natural areas of the world, which fascinate him with their exceptional and extraordinary beauty. Learning there is one of the nine pink saline lakes in the world located 15 km away from the Azerbaijani capital, at the Masazir settlement, he arrived in Azerbaijan to demonstrate his skills on the surface of this water reservoir.
Masazir Lake is the source of raw materials for the salt factory, located on its shore since 2010. Approximate salt reserves here are1.735 billion tons. The main source of traction is a track because of the impossibility of using a boat due to the small depth of the lake, as well as the large content of untreated salt in the water that corrodes the equipment, which has made this performance even more unusual and spectacular.
“It was a unique experience. Unfortunately, I was not able to show all that I am capable of because of the extremely shallow depth of the lake. There was such a small quantity of the water that it played the role of a thin layer of lubricant between the board and salt. However, I’m fascinated by all the photos and videos we made. I think all those who will see them will be fascinated as well. It was my first visit to Azerbaijan, and I fell in love with the country. I fell in love with the beauty of its capital, the hospitality of its inhabitants, and the dishes of its local cuisine. I will come back here again for larger projects,” shared the 29-year-old athlete after his performance.
