When WordPress Meets the Black Sea With the Promise to Protect It

by Vipe Team in Freestyle; Published on 19.02.2022

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What’s the connecting link between WordPress, the Black Sea, and the fight for its conservation?

Well, we’re immensely proud to share that one of Vipe Studio’s WordPress developers, Yoan Kolev, is among Bulgaria’s most dedicated advocates for keeping the Black Sea’s marine landscape free of plastic.

His way of bringing everyone’s attention towards the problem of polluting the sea with plastic? A one-of-a-kind windsurfing challenge that, in its heart, is an ambitious initiative fueled by his unbreakable sports spirit and love for nature.

Meet Yoan – The WordPress Developer Who Surfs and Codes With the Wind

An integral part of Vipe Studio’s stellar team, Yoan Kolev is a former Olympic competitor and Balkan champion in the RS: X windsurfing class. He began his professional sports career when he was ten years old, and he quickly rose to the prestigious fifth place among Europe’s top young surfers.

Yoan has a Bachelor’s degree in sail coaching from the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”, and he’s one of Akasha Surf School’s co-founders.

He broke into the top ten of the World Cup in 2010 and won his first Balkan title the same year. 2011 was the year when Yoan ranked third among the world’s top young surfers, and in 2012, he competed in the Summer Olympics in London, where he finished 26th proving once again that he is indeed one of the greatest surfers in the whole world.

Apart from his love for sports and nature, Yoan is also among the most skilled WordPress developers in Bulgaria who has chosen to use and share his expertise as part of Vipe Studio’s team of professionals. We couldn’t be more proud to call him not only a colleague but a friend who’s been with us from the very beginning of our journey.

Like all other experts from our WordPress Agency, Yoan has meticulous attention to detail and a strong passion for cutting-edge technologies. Mix that with a solid dose of windsurfing know-how and a dedication to preserving nature’s treasures, and you have a recipe for success.

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The WIND2WIN Initiative

The pollution of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast with plastic is an indisputable fact. Thankfully, people like Yoan Kolev are actively working towards solving this urgent problem. Yoan is not completely on his own, though. He and Iliana Stoilova are two professional windsurfers who are avid proponents of the cause of keeping our sea free of garbage.

The windsurfing duo believes, wholeheartedly, that “The Black Sea, free of plastic” is not merely a fairytale concept that can’t be brought to life. On the contrary, the two of them are actively involved in spreading awareness about marine preservation.

Back in 2018, Yoan and Iliana took an innovative approach to draw public attention to the problem at hand and began an unusual journey that ended up being incredibly engaging for the wider audience.

The WIND2WIN initiative started with the first-of-its-kind 300-kilometer windsurfing challenge, which supported the “Black Plastic-Free Black Sea” cause. Their adventure took them from Durankulak to Rezovo, which are the northernmost and southernmost border points of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and the two windsurfers were driven solely by the force of the wind.

A 300-kilometer crossing on water, which undoubtedly tested their strength and will. The challenge was successfully completed in 72 hours, but the most impressive part is that it evolved into a fully-fledged cause for a cleaner sea that goes beyond a one-off challenge.

The lesson? Anything is possible, and there is no problem that can’t be solved if there is enough determination to do so. What started as a brave adventure of two windsurfing athletes has now turned into an initiative that has no expiration date.

Vipe Studio is proud to disclose that in the last several summer seasons alone, WIND2WIN has collected over 3 tons of waste from various Bulgarian beaches. The cause has also led to the installation of alternative containers for collecting cigarette butts, and there are many enthusiasts who continue to fight sea pollution on a daily basis, thanks to WIND2WIN’s commendable initiative.

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The incredible narrative of Yoan and Iliana’s thrilling journey can now be seen in the documentary “Sea of Wind”, which received the prize for best Bulgarian documentary at the Bansko Film Fest 2019.

WIND2WIN: The Cause Beyond the Challenge

The WIND2WIN challenge’s major goal, as well as the initiative’s introduction, was to raise public awareness about the problem of plastic pollution in the Black Sea.

The Black Sea is a badly contaminated body of water. Every day, 3 tons of plastic is estimated to reach the Black Sea via land and rivers, according to scientists. Additionally, industrial polymer waste accounts for 90% of the total solid garbage in our sea. The WIND2WIN initiative aims to change these somber statistics and prove that the ever-changing nature can motivate a person to move forward not just for their own good but in the name of a significant social cause as well.

Back in 2018, along with Yoan and Iliana on their windsurfs, the 300-kilometer ambitious crossing was also accompanied by another vessel, onboard which were two renowned marine biologists – Velizara Stoilova and Dimitar Berov. They were tasked with the monitoring of floating marine litter. As a result, they managed to successfully record seawater parameters in coastal regions and observe marine animals.

The whole team at Vipe Studio takes great pride in the fact that WIND2WIN is now more than a challenge or even a cause – the initiative is also a symbol of the larger transformation that must begin within ourselves if we are to have cleaner oceans and seas.

Plastic Pollution in the Black Sea

Industrial polymers or plastic particles larger than 2.5 cm – primarily plastic bottles, packages, sacks, and bags, were found to be the most abundant waste in the area surveyed between Cape Kaliakra and the city of Burgas.

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This examination was conducted by the Laboratory for Marine Ecology in Sozopol in partnership with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in August 2017. Onboard the Rainbow Warrior vessel, marine biologists Dimitar Berov and Stefania Klein conducted their study throughout Greenpeace’s “Free of Plastic” campaign.

Despite the unambiguous results of marine biologists’ studies conducted in the last couple of years, the Black Sea remains alarmingly under-researched, and adequate knowledge of floating solid waste is severely lacking.

To proceed with suitable efforts aimed at limiting the amount of plastic waste floating in the Black Sea, sufficient data gathering and monitoring are required. However, thanks to people like Yoan Kolev and initiatives, such as the WIND2WIN challenge, everyone at Vipe Studio is certain that positive change has already begun and it will only grow stronger with each passing year.

Let’s Put a Halt to the Impending Microplastic Catastrophe Together!

Plastics were first mass-produced in the 1950s, and output expanded dramatically from 1.5 million to 280 million tonnes per year. Roughly one-third of current world manufacturing consists of throwaway packaging.

According to scientists’ forecasts, by 2050, there will be more plastic waste in the ocean than actual fish. This gloomy prediction can become a reality if humanity continues to consume at its current rate. Let’s not forget that seafood is the primary source of nutrition for 2.6 billion people.

Plastic waste has a substantial detrimental influence on human health, in addition to the serious harm, it poses to marine biosystems. A microplastic disaster threatens the entire world’s population, but not all is lost.

The experts from Vipe Studio believe that we can all work together to put an end to the impending microplastic calamity that we alone are bringing upon ourselves. Let’s follow the lead of our colleague and friend Yoan Kolev and take care of the blue part of our planet together!