© Daniell Bohnhof
Interview with Michael Walther, environmental activist and extreme sportsman
“We have to act now, paddle stroke by paddle stroke.”
With his ZERO EMISSIONS project, Michael Walther combines ocean and climate protection with extreme water sports activities. He paddled with his SUP from Basel to Kiel and in Disco Bay off Greenland, and next he will be crossing the Atlantic for six and a half thousand kilometres without an accompanying boat. We spoke to him about how to make climate protection cool, the importance of mental strength and why he didn't become a lawyer.
Michael Walther
Environmental activist and extreme sportsman
The Zero Emissions Project was founded in 2008 to move climate protection further into the centre of society.
www.zeroemissions.eu
Kiel-Marketing: Climate protection, avoiding waste, reducing emissions - these are your topics. What do you think when someone orders a coffee to go with a paper cup and plastic lid in a café?
Michael Walther: Oh, I'm not so much against it. To be honest, I'm really glad that the EU has banned plastic straws, for example, and that coffee-to-go cups have been somewhat outlawed as a result. Ten years ago, I was in Alicante at the Volvo Ocean Race [the name of today's "The Ocean Race"], which at the time called itself sustainable and had already done a lot in this direction. But then, for example, there were only coffee-to-go cups in the press area. That kind of thing annoys me when it's simply not authentic. On the other hand, you have to realise that: These are symbols, and just because I'll never use a coffee-to-go cup again in my life doesn't mean I'm going to save the world.
Sometimes symbols do help. But for many people today, it's a huge challenge because the efforts needed to protect the climate are so diverse. You have found your field of activity with Zero Emissions*. How did it come about and what exactly do you do?
I've been interested in environmental and nature issues since I was a child. Back in Norderney, where I grew up, I founded the Green Team, a Greenpeace youth organisation. But the topic of environmental protection doesn't come from pure environmental enthusiasm, as many people assume. That's there too, of course, but I realised that I was actually much more interested in the issue of justice. Nature conservation has a lot to do with justice, justice towards future generations.
Justice, law - you studied law ..
... exactly. And that's why my law degree fits so well into the system. Many people are surprised that I didn't study marine biology or oceanography or something like that. But it's actually more logical than it seems at first glance. The "Zero Emissions" project was created together with Thomas Reinke in 2008. We really enjoyed sailing, but somehow we realised at the time that climate protection and the approaching climate crisis were of surprisingly little concern to people. We tried to make climate protection cool, to get it out of this pure eco-corner, out of this woollen sock image. Climate protection must reach people, it must not be a niche topic. Sailing is basically a good, albeit very abstract, tool for this. And because I don't just want to reach people in and around the sailing city of Kiel, I came to paddling.
“I had contact with Greenpeace, but they were too big for me back then.”
Michael Walther
You are constantly evolving. The Ocean Race as a company has also evolved with a very close link between high-performance sport and marine conservation. That's why we are so pleased that the Ocean Race Europe 2025 will start in the marine conservation city of Kiel.
I think that's exciting, because you raise a good point! It's always a question of when you look at which person or organisation in their development. Because we all evolve. In the meantime, I would also say that the Ocean Race is definitely one of the most committed and authentic water sports organisers. For me, the development was easier: my mother has been working in the world shop for 45 years, my father is now 76 and still teaches German to refugees. So I didn't really have to break out of my bubble.
Why didn't you just join Fridays for Future, Greenpeace or Sea Shepherds, other organisations that already existed?
I support them wherever I can. In fact, it wasn't such an issue in 2008. Sea Shepherd is, of course, a marine conservation organisation, sometimes with quite rustic means, some of which I think are very good, and sometimes perhaps a bit borderline. I had contact with Greenpeace, but they were too big for me at the time. I didn't have the feeling that I could develop self-efficacy there, even though it might have made more sense and I could have achieved more precisely because of the size. At the time, there were few projects that wanted to make the topic cooler, more tangible, somehow a little more exciting.
You certainly need a certain amount of resilience. You once said that it's more a question of wanting to than being able to. How do you motivate yourself again and again to overcome your inner bastard?
When it comes to sustainability: I honestly struggle with it quite a lot at times. There are really days when I think to myself, Micha, you're making life really difficult for yourself. Like so many others, you could just sit down at the supermarket and buy whatever you fancy. I don't buy exotic fruit, I buy locally, I try to drive as little as possible and if I do, I try to drive an electric car. I try to fly as little as possible, but if I can't avoid it, okay, then I have a bad feeling about it. But then this quote from Luisa Neubauer keeps popping into my head: you have to work for hope. Or you meet people like this whale researcher in Iceland who says: "If you're interested in marine and climate protection, you're not alone. There are millions. As a community, we can make a difference if we want to.
“At some point you stand on the board and think, my hand feels a bit numb, but it’s really 90 per cent mental.”
Michael Walther
When you're on the move, be it off Greenland or paddling 1,300 kilometres from Basel to Kiel: Which is more strenuous, the physical or the mental, the perseverance?
In stand-up paddling, it's almost exclusively mental. I would say that 50 per cent of people could easily paddle once across Germany. At some point you stand on the board and think, my hand feels a bit numb, but it's really 90 per cent mental. You read in some motivational books that negative thoughts pull you down. It sounds like kitchen-sink psychology, but it's really scary how much it has to do with your head. I've also done other tours, including a wingboard trip from Kiel to Langeland. When you're sitting in a wave trough in the middle of the Baltic Sea in 35 knots of wind and you think, what a bummer, I'm really not in the mood anymore, then you realise relatively quickly how that pulls you down, how the strength goes out of your arms and legs.
Do you also take these learnings from sport into your everyday life?
Yes, of course. You learn that you can do much more than you think. This knowledge helps you a lot in everyday life, for example when you're preparing an important event. I work a lot for BOOT Düsseldorf and you always reach your limits a bit, whether mentally or physically. But then you know there's still room for improvement. Many people underestimate what they are actually capable of.
How do others actually perceive your actions?
Many people don't have enough confidence in themselves. I also have motivation lows and then find myself on the sofa watching Netflix in the evening, but ultimately it's always a question of how you follow your passion. If I had wanted to earn more money, I would probably have become a lawyer. I might have an ulcer now, but I'd have a Porsche on my doorstep. These are all things that I actively decided against. I just love spending ten or twelve hours alone on a paddleboard and thinking about lots of things.
Do you perceive nature differently then? I can imagine that when you're paddling alone in front of such a large iceberg, it has a completely different dimension than when there are loads of other people around.
Totally. But unfortunately I have to spoil the romance a bit. When I paddle in front of glaciers in Greenland or five metres next to humpback whales in Iceland, those are wonderful experiences. But of course I also do it because I have a camera team and photographers with me. And of course you think: "Is the angle right? Has the cameraman got the picture right? Do I need to move a little further to the left or right? Unfortunately, these are things that, to be honest, completely ruin such moments.
If you have a team with you, it's because you want to communicate something. Greenpeace also started out by publishing stirring pictures of how they manoeuvred between a whaling boat and a whale. These were the iconic images that made Greenpeace so successful.
Funnily enough, these images of whaling ships with inflatable boats still come to mind when I think of Greenpeace. Recently in Iceland, I saw two old whaling ships in Reykjavik harbour and it sent a shiver down my spine - that's the enemy image of my youth! It's totally awesome how it's burnt into my memory. Really crazy. So this kind of communication obviously worked well.
“I’m more the kind of person who builds golden bridges and tries to stay in dialogue with everyone.”
Michael Walther
Of course, Greenpeace is doing a lot more campaigns today, there are a large number of activists and employees worldwide. In your opinion, are such large organisations still up to date in the area of climate protection?
Sure, on the one hand, such large organisations no longer work as efficiently. On the other hand, a wide range of specialist areas can be covered. I am firmly convinced that NGOs should perhaps simply organise themselves more like a group; we actually need all facets of these environmental organisations, from Greenpeace to the last generation, from Sea Shepherd to Zero Emission. An organisation like Greenpeace may be big and have a large administrative apparatus. But we need them for lobbying. Go to the Bundestag. I think we need to talk to everyone in order to make progress somehow. I once said: If Nestlé calls me, I won't answer. But to be honest, if Nestlé were to say: "We really want to change now, we have to start now", who would I be to deny them that. I'm more the kind of person who builds golden bridges and tries to stay in dialogue with everyone.
“I’m the first person to paddle directly across the Atlantic from continent to continent.”
Michael Walther
Speaking of bridges. Are you planning to cross the Atlantic on a SUP?
Yes, six and a half thousand kilometres across the Atlantic from Portugal to South America on a stand-up board. The next climate conference is taking place in Belém in the north of Brazil. Maybe when I get there I can really kick the ladies and gentlemen in the arse.
I'm the first person to paddle directly across the Atlantic from continent to continent. I have a seawater desalinator on board, a second one in case the first one fails, a solar system, safety electronics, AIS[AIS receivers receive the AIS signals of neighbouring ships via VHF and are used for collision avoidance], satellite communication. I have freeze-dried food with me, which means I can't starve, I can't die of thirst, I probably won't freeze to death either. So these three factors that make the sea dangerous in itself, apart from drowning, are ruled out.
Still, a great desert of water ...
Of course, mental strength is even more important here. That's also what appeals to me most about the project. The mental aspect of being alone on the Atlantic for two and a half or three months is, I think, the biggest challenge. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm curious to see how I react to it myself, but I'm confident that I'll be able to cope with it quite well.
Are you not scared?
No, if you approach a project like this with a bit of thought, you can minimise a lot of risks. My safety equipment is similar to that of Boris Herrmann on his Seaexplorer and I have the big advantage that I don't sail through the night at 35 knots, but I paddle across the Atlantic at three or four knots, even at night. But I don't want to talk it down at all. It's definitely a challenge, and there are still things that are difficult to plan.
Our conversation began with the coffee-to-go cup. Littering the seas is a big problem; there are the Great Garbage Patches in the oceans. Would it be an idea to paddle there one day to raise awareness?
I think everyone now knows that plastic waste in the oceans is a problem. But with all the negative news, I find that I switch off myself. I often think, "Wow, another moralising post". I find that very, very difficult. What I actually want to show people with this Atlantic crossing is that we finally have to get off our arses and take action, paddle stroke by paddle stroke - but we have to get going now.
About Michael Walther:
With his ZERO EMISSIONS project, Michael Walther has been combining marine and climate protection with extreme water sports activities for more than 16 years. In this way, he wants to motivate people to fight for the preservation of our livelihood and to campaign for the conservation of nature. Walther has already been honoured by UNESCO for this commitment.
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