THE FREDDY STORY
Freddy is a qualified ski instructor, one of less than 400 active British ski instructors who are qualified to work in France.
Freddys passion with the mountains started when he was 18 years of age after coming out to a ski resort for a gap year in 2005/06. Freddy became one of Club Meds youngest resident piano bar entertainers at just 19 years of age,
After studying Music at Sussex University and Guild Hall Freddy came straight back to the Alps as soon as possible. Winter 21/22 will be Freddys 15th th season!
After singing and playing piano in everyone’s favourite Alps Band for 5 winters ‘Les Trois Tetes’, Freddy first studied to be a paragliding instructor and spent two summers training intensively to learn to fly around Lake Annecy.
It was only in January 2012 due to the inconsistency of decent flying conditions during winter that Freddy decided to swap paths and become a ski instructor instead (despite never having put on a pair of skis!)
In France, to become a ski instructor you have to ski within 18% of a professional ski racer (24% if you are a girl) This meant that Freddy’s optimism about becoming a ski instructor despite having only started skiing aged 25 years of age were laughed off by many. However, against all the odds, he pulled it off!
Freddy likes to think thought that he has an advantage over other instructors who have skied since they were small children due to the fact he has had to learn from scratch as an adult. “I know how frustrating it can be sometimes when you are starting out, trust me, I have been there, I only skied for the first time in January 2012…”
Freddy is also a qualified snowboard instructor “I spent 4 seasons snowboarding before I decided to get into instructing. In France however you have to become a ski instructor before you are allowed to become a snowboard instructor.
Now I can teach both!”
Freddy Wilkens 