Stefan Stefanov: I want the best for myself and for the others

Meet the man who inspired our Sports Blend by Stefan Stefanov - the best barista among mountain climbers

When you talk to Stefan Stefanov, you have the feeling that you you are in the company of an extremely spiritual, serious and stable person who likes to control things around him. He talks about his achievements seriously and with a sense of their importance, but also with a touch of humor and healthy self-irony. He does not strive for fame because he realizes that fame will not contribute to the tranquility of his family and that of him - a man of many extraordinary achievements.

We remind you that by bying our Sports Blend by Stefan Stefanov until 24 January 2020 you enter our tombola with a chance to win a stay for two in Bansko. Read here how and enter to win!

And yet, we want to present to you the multiple national judo champion, karate kyokushin champion (who gave up competing after the titles), the first endurance champion after the re-emergence of the discipline in Bulgarian equestrian sports, long-distance cyclist and long-distance open water swimmer, and not least the first and so far the only Bulgarian to climb the three highest peaks of the planet - Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga.

But before all, he is also one of the most successful Bulgarian lawyers and a proud father of a son and two daughters, to whom he has managed to convey his sophisticated sense of aesthetics and perfectionism, satisfied that they also strive to perfection. He has a very specific sense of humor, with largely ironic and at times sarcastic tinges. He chooses the right words with seemingly no effort and easily engages those around him. He shares that his storytelling and writing are easy to come by, but he has not yet decided to take them more seriously, except for his professional focus.

He impresses and inspires us with his achievements, because they are proof of his credo - to be fully immersed in what he is most interested at the moment. Mountain climbing, he says, is another challenge. And when you read this interview, that we have already promissed you, you will probably understand why this man has climbed so many peaks in the literal and figurative sense of the word.

What would you like to share with everyone who is interested in Bulgarian mountaineering and the achievements of Bulgarians on world summits as someone who has climbed the three highest peaks in the world?

Stefan Stefanov: In a way, it is not serious for a non-climber to speak about the achievements of Bulgarian mountain climbing. So let me talk about my own accomplishments climbing on top of those eight-thousanders that have nothing to do with mountaineering in its pure, true form! Within 14 months, I had climbed the three highest peaks on earth. I did it because I love challenging myself and exploring my own opportunities in different fields. I have different hobbies and they are not just sports. I develop and refine myself in the spiritual and professional fields. I am a successful lawyer. I have very good practice. I resolve and help resolving extremely complex issues mainly in bank and commercial law.

How do you schedule your time on a monthly basis to be sufficiently dedicated and as focused as possible in law and preparation for your next sporting challenge?

I manage to arrange my priorities so that many other things do not interfere with the main one - my work. Before I leave for expeditions that usually last more than two months, I schedule tasks for the time I will be away. I prepare for everything that needs to be resolved remotely.

I cannot say that I have any established mode of sport. From time to time I relax, just rest. But I have spontaneous decisions - for example, going to the mountain, or riding a bike, or swimming. I choose a sport that helps me relax. Just before expedition, I split my time between rock, ice and mixed climbing, building and moving a railing, etc. because I do not do it alone, but with my friends, climbers who are much better at these things than I am. They have the patience and they are generous with their time to allow me to learn from them. These are, dare I say, the best Bulgarian climbers at the moment, although there are no former climbers.

I manage to find some balance so that my work does not suffer. Because it is thanks to it that I support my family and finance all my trips. I like my job and feel good in it. For me, the more I get into something, the more it stimulates and entices me. I organize myself so that I feel comfortable in my own skin and at the same time try not to take away the time I have to spend with my loved ones.

Is mountaineering the hobby that most energizes you?

Mountaineering is now on the agenda. I do mountaineering, but I don't feel like a climber. I still have so much to learn! If I were a climber, I would be offended if someone like me was calling himself a climber.

And yet, you have climbed the three highest peaks in the world!

That's right. I may not sound modest, but some of my qualities as mountain climber can be envied by many professional climbers. But they are not qualities that are related solely to mountain climbing. The technique that I acquire thanks to my mountain climbing friends is contributes to my personal characteristics I have built up over the years.

I play sports from an early age. I have played an extremely complex sport that provides such a foundation that I would not replace it in anything else in the world. If my wife is the love of my life, in another aspect I can say that love for life is my love for judo. And I think that judo also loves me a lot because it gave me a lot. One of the people with greatest influence over me was my personal judo coach, Petar Tsvetkov, who, despite my exceptional qualities, according to him and his other colleagues, used to saying, "Stefan, even if you become a World or Olympic Judo Champion, what would you do after that?" I used to reply, "You know very well that I want to be a spy or a pilot." „Yes, but for that you have to study."

This person influenced my future so much that it made me rethink my overall behavior and prioritize studing. I am forever grateful to him for the personal qualities he brought up in me. And it's still there for me. Year after year, we continue to maintain such a close relationship as there aren’t sometimes even between blood relatives.

Judo is my great love. But my love for the mountain is also strong and spontaneous. Although it came later in my life, it is also a feeling for life. In the mountains, I feel free. I'm left alone with my thoughts. And I love that. I get into a trance-like state when I take a long hike of 8-9 hours, when I ride a bike over long distances or swim for hours in open water. I need these moments because when I return, I look at the world from a different angle, see my family in the most favorable way, and feel energized and physically charged.

Can you share some special moments from the expeditions towards the highest peaks - something that happened or went through your head and changed you forever?

There are such moments in every expedition. In my first expedition to Everest, the climb itself was a fairy tale. There was a difficult moment there, related to the disappearance of Boyan Petrov, with whom we had to climb together. I was expecting him at Everest Base Camp. And that expectation became endless - I don't know exactly how to define it, but it is something that shook me extremely hard. Ten days in which all thoughts go through a person's head. From wandering between endless and unrealistic hope, intense emotion and the desire that something positive will happen to listening to common sense, if there is such a concept at all as common sense. The collision of these two things shakes the human soul to its foundations.

And after that, you have to attack the highest peak of the planet for the first time. Everest from the north side is not Everest from the south side - without underestimating climbing the summit from its south side! But it is a well-known fact that the north side is more difficult, especially when you are unfamiliar with it and the conditions are difficult. This experience is really shocking. During the attack itself, unforeseen things happen that you remember. On one hand, it is like an unbelievable dream, an experience of which you are a bystander, and on the other, it is something that you went through personally and that shook you and leaves a deep imprint on your whole being! Even today, when I look at Everest footage, the whole thing is cracking and my eyes tear.

K2 is no exception. Neither is Kangchenjunga.

I faced a serious problem climbing up Kangchenjunga. For the last two and a half hours before the summit, I had to climb without oxygen. Not that I'm not strong enough to climb the top without oxygen, but I wasn't mentally prepared for that. Faced with the alternative of going back, after climbing up in difficult conditions for seven to eight hours, my whole being resisted. Especially after spending two months in incredible misery! At one point, you decide - maybe beyond 8,000 feet you can't reason soberly - that you keep going up. Thank God when I got to the top, my companion, Sherpa Chepal managed to provide me with oxygen from Lakpa Sherpa. The photos from the top show my anxiety and insecurity – I wasn’t able enjoy the moment because I was tensely thinking if I had the strength to go down.

They say the summit is only the halfway point.

That's right. I'm one of those who always thinks about coming back. When running, swimming, cycling, hiking, I always leave enough reserves for the return trip. As a professional judo player, if a judo match lasted for five minutes, I always had a strategy for running the whole fight, with a focus on the last two minutes of it. All these moments are only in my mind and are extremely personal and sharing them in one way or another defiles them.

Probably, since they are personal, they cannot be experienced by another person the way you experienced them.

Exactly.

Something we have in common with you is love for coffee. Coffee is one of your companions for these expeditions. What coffee do you carry with you?

Always the best coffee - specialty coffee. I'm one of those who like special things. I like having a special coffee for me, different from what others drink. I always want more and the best - for myself, for my loved ones, but also for others. I always want something above average, a real high class. I consider myself a high class person and don’t mean this in any materialistic sense. I want to feel and enjoy the best. I want to feel what not many people have felt. I want to be special.

I always carry the best coffee. I grind it in advance for an Italian coffee maker, a French press and an espresso machine because we don't have coffee grinders there. There are some nano-espresso machines out there, but it's not the same, of course. The way I make coffee in the Sherpas’ kitchen, even when I have no special tools at hand, the way I present coffee, makes others look forward to trying it. It is simply a ritual that charges people in these harsh conditions and brings them pleasure. Many Sherpas and expedition members are now familiar with DABOV Specialty Coffee.

I drink one coffee a day, after breakfast, which is between 7am and 8am on an expedition. People are in a hurry to drink coffee. But I have a ritual. It must be at least half an hour after I have eaten the last bite of breakfast, I need to relax, then put the kettle on the clean table, before loading up the Italian coffee maker. And early in the morning I had filled the coffee maker with hot water, because there is only boiled water. I don't know why I decided it was better to let it cool. I put it on a slow fire, then amplify it at certain times – in my understanding thus coffee is tastier. People think this is a special preparation that I studied somewhere but I do it because that's how I feel. Then they all line up with the steel mugs and wait impatiently. And I brew 4 doses at least!

You are a barista climber!

More a barista than a climber. The funny thing is, there was no Italian coffee maker on Kangchengong. I found the smallest pot, which is quite big actually, and had to make Turkish coffee by putting a third of a large 200g pack with a coffee ground for an Italian coffee maker. When they saw me putting on my apron and coming with a pack of coffee, the Sherpas immediately ran over. I was carrying different packs with different types of coffees and telling them about different ways of brewing, flavors, roasting, etc. They look at the label with the photo, and I tell them: "It tastes like chocolate and coconut, for example," as I have read the label in advance because I'm not sure I can sense exactly all the flavors that are listed.

Wherever you ask what they think about me, a Bulgarian, they will answer you, and that makes me proud: "He is an incredible, extremely strong climber, great person with a great sense of humor and a great barista." I have not dishonored Bulgaria. On the contrary. Coffee brings people together. But this is also its role.

As long as it's good; if not good, it could lead to a quarrel.

There are people who like bitter coffee. I don't like the nasty, commercial taste of over-roasted coffee, in which you have to put thousands of things to transform it into a drink that could be digested, one of the many anonymous and tasteless artificial drinks. I blackmailed everyone, including those who always drank coffee with sugar, to drink mine without sugar. I was particularly harsh with those who didn’t oblige. Especially with the Sherpas who hid to put on a spoonful of sugar. After their first attempts, I punished them with a stroke on the back of their necks and warned them that they would no longer drink coffee if they continued this way. And I taught them to drink my coffee without sugar.

It's funny, but when we were leaving, we said to ourselves "Cheers" with cups of coffee, and this is extremely to my credit. I have now promised half the world that I will send them coffee. And I already do.

If they promise to drink it without sugar.

This is an explicit condition.

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