Professor
Highspeed

Interview

A man of extremes: speed skiing star Jan Farrell.

Living life at high speed: British sportsman Jan Farrell has a passion for a very special and extreme winter sport – speed skiing. Very few people are brave enough to try it as it involves shooting down specially prepared pistes on terrifyingly steep mountains at unbelievable speeds. Watching Jan as he zooms past in his incredibly aerodynamic, futuristic outfit, he looks like something from another galaxy altogether – something with a built-in warp drive. He donned his first pair of skis at just two years old and by 2011, he was taking part in his first speed skiing race – with great success right out of the gate. Jan is now known as one of the best and fastest athletes in the world. His greatest achievement so far has been taking the FIS Speed Ski World Cup title in 2014. His current speed record is a staggering 231.660 km/h. Even his day job is surprising. Being a university professor in his Spanish hometown is just one of his ventures. As a brand ambassador, he represents a number of fashionable winter sport equipment makers. He also works with a variety of other companies. Including KAMEI. When it comes to transporting his specialist skis, Jan swears by the KAMEI Oyster. We talked to Jan about his passion for speed.

Why did you decide to become a speed skier?

Skiing has always been a part of me. Even on my first ski lesson when I was a little boy, I was the first one to launch down the hill. I’ve tried other disciplines, giant slalom, slalom, ski cross, but I just like going as fast as I possibly can in a straight line. It’s completely different to driving where you need to be steering and taking bends to really have fun.

Do you have any other interests outside of skiing?

I’m an entrepreneur. I started my first business at 17. Technological innovations are my passion. My main job is as a professor at a Spanish university, and I support students with starting their own companies. That’s definitely one of my favourite things to do. Helping people build innovative businesses.

Where’s your favourite place in the world to be?

Kaunertal is beautiful. It’s got a perfect mountain road you can drive up in the car before skiing back down.

And your favourite place to ski?

Grandvalira. They always have the perfect conditions, it’s big and they have a World Cup race there. It’s actually where I took my first World Cup victory. But Schladming is beautiful too.

What has been your greatest sporting achievement?

Definitely the World Cup win in Grandvalira in 2014.

What’s inside your KAMEI roof box?

Lots of different things. Normally mainly skis. But sometimes there’s a bike, my mountain bike fits in there. The box is completely full whenever I travel: skis, ski boot bags, fitness equipment.

What’s your favourite thing about the box?

The ClickFix system – it’s fantastic. You can put it together quickly and it’s really secure. It really is a brilliant thing to have a box like that on your roof. If gives you freedom, you know? (Laughs) For skiing, it really is life-changing as you can easily pack all your equipment in and strap it down, even it’s wet or dirty or whatever. It makes the whole thing much, much easier.

We’ve heard that you also have a passion for fast cars. How fast have you gone with your KAMEI?

I’ve driven pretty fast on the Autobahn with it quite a few times – I have complete trust in the system. I got up to 270 km/h, but you can’t go any faster with winter tyres. It still felt very safe, everything is really secure. In summer you could get up to 310, 320 km/h, no trouble. The problem with roof boxes is normally the aerodynamics, but with the KAMEI box, you feel like it increases the downforce, that it pushes the car back down onto the road. That must be it....