A father’s self-experiment: a week’s offline vacation with two teenagers? Yes, you can and yes, it’s fun!
Screaming amateurs during the day, embarrassing musical performances in the evening? That was once. Psychologist “Olli” Oltrogge has completely reorganized his Robinson Club. The special thing about it is that the young people there have no time for their mobile phones. A self-experiment with two teenagers.
If anyone knows what makes teenagers tick, it’s Ahmed El Adly. The Egyptian surf instructor knows the YouTube generation like no other. “In theory, everyone can ride the waves like Robby Naish,” says Ahmed. But just ten meters straight out with the skateboard – like the “old warhorses” do here in Soma Bay – they wouldn’t be able to do that.
By the old warhorses he means aging surfers who have been vacationing here on the peninsula below the tourist town of Hurghada for decades. The surfing greats get up at seven in the morning, have breakfast and then skate to the water sports station, just like on Malibu Beach. There they are on the water all day long. Spend every second. During this time, the best ager generation is doing what they have always done: they live their lives.
“Now everyone puts their phones down”
“Hey, folks,” calls Ahmed, “now all the kids here put down their cell phones,” says the 36-year-old surf instructor in a friendly but determined manner. Grumpy, the brace-wearing adolescents do what their teacher asks. One by one they put their iPhone aside.
“What do you think,” Mohamad asks, “how long before you can surf the bay out there by yourself?” Shrug. all around “Maybe two weeks,” replies Marie, a 14-year-old from Munich. “Two hours,” Mohamad replies with a visibly satisfied grin on his face. Rarely did you see the teenage troupe look so puzzled. How? Be able? We? In? Just? Two? Hours? Surfing? Learn?
64 different types of sport – long-term games not included
“But that’s only possible if everyone doesn’t immediately pull out their mobile phones and play around with them for hours.” In the two hours, says the Egyptian, you have to be with me mentally – and not somewhere else. “Do you hear? Not somewhere else,” he adds again to be on the safe side. True to the motto: “Look mum, no hands.” Because what applies to small children (“Look mommy, I can ride a bike without my hands on the steering wheel”) should also apply to the younger generation on vacation, actually to everyone.
“We’re busy here every day,” says club director Andreas Oltrogge, just called “Olli” everywhere, who has been in charge of the flagship club in Egypt for five years. “If someone was holding their mobile phone in their hand the whole time, we would have done a bad job as hosts.” The club offers its 600 guests 64 different sports. The motto: There is something for everyone here. For the golfer, surfer, diver, the fitness freak.
Is offline vacation the new luxury vacation?
The kids don’t really have much time for that. On average, teenagers spend 43.7 hours a week on their cell phones. Almost three hours more than 2020 and almost eight hours more than 2019. For school? No. 97 percent of young people use it for WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Co. Digital life has thus become a real “full-time job” for young people. Overall, as a new Postbank study shows, girls are online 70.9 hours a week and boys even more than 72 hours.
That means more than ten hours of screen time. Day after day. Host and hotel director Olli, who was already scientifically involved with the sociologically extremely interesting concept of club holidays more than 30 years ago as part of his dissertation, has made it his declared goal that his teenage vacationers (and adults) should spend as little as possible are online here on vacation. Offline is the new luxury.
We dare the mobile-free holiday!
I myself, the father of two adolescents (Marie, 14) and (Moritz, 17), find Oltrogge’s mission hard to imagine. Nevertheless, I have a (daring) plan with him: Together we want to push my kids Marie and Moritz to their offline limits.
The plan is working. And how! The kids surf through the Red Sea like Robby Naish, romp like little kids (again) on the swimming island, dig and bolt on the volleyball and soccer fields. On the one hand. On the other hand, the kids should also learn something, according to our pedagogical approach at a smooth 38 degrees.
Instead of Handy-Time mindfulness seminar with horses
Why on earth should the kids study on vacation? Once they collect rubbish on the beach, Marie goes to Nicole Lehrer’s “horse-assisted coaching” several times. “The encounter with the horse is a precise emotional learning experience that remains deep in your consciousness and is permanently anchored,” says teacher, who otherwise coaches executives of global players. The next “mindfulness seminar” in the interaction with horses is already being planned.
Marie and Josie in particular have taken a liking to Habiba, Emma and Zamira. While the young testosterone studs spent hours hitting each other on the floodlit pitch on the very first day, the girls are almost meditative. “After just a few minutes of meeting the horses, people know more about themselves than after countless therapy sessions,” explains Nicole, the personality developer and former Wall Street banker.
But why is that? “Horses are masters of perception,” says the experienced coach. With their finely developed senses, the mares in the “Jasmine” stable (only five minutes from the hotel) pick up subconscious signals from the kids. The “Horse Assisted Agile Leadership” trainer explains signals that they reflect to people through their behavior and encourage intensive reflection. Compared to humans, horses would only live in the “here and now”. According to teachers, the noble animals are “neutral and unbiased feedback providers”.
What’s more, the animals enable Josie and Marie to gain “meaningful insights”. The result: self-reflection leads to a profound and lasting change in attitude and behavior. An example: Josie has a lot of respect for the tall Zamira, especially in the first few minutes of sniffing. But noticing that Zamira was beginning to trust her, Josie suddenly walked upright and exalted through the ring. Zamira, a highly sensitive horse, trusted Josie, although as a flight and prey animal she must always be able to decide whether danger is imminent or not.
If, on the other hand, “over-cool” boys are in the interaction, Zamira usually behaves differently. “Horses recognize when their counterpart is not authentic,” explains Nicole. This means: If someone is insecure inside and he only acts cool on the outside, you will be exposed the horse Nicole: “But if you manage to connect with yourself and the horse – then all your strengths will be revealed.”
A trip to the coral reef
Mori, who plays for TSV Großhadern in Munich, has always been on the pitch at 5 p.m. for the past few days. Cool tricks and Haarland’s and Lewandoski’s victory poses are the order of the day. But today is the sunset tour, which means we all drive at half past four in the direction of the “7 Towers”. This is a stunning coral reef just a few minutes away by boat.
The underwater world there looks like the night program on “Arte”: turtles, stonefish, moray eels – everything swims around under you, even a shy white-tip reef shark. But before they go snorkeling, the boys (and girls) jump off the five meter high boat called “High Heels” in Patrick Hausding style (high diving). There are cool drinks, delicious snacks and plenty of sun. The only thing the teenagers have to do without is alcohol. In Egypt, alcohol can only be served to 18-year-olds. “We don’t tolerate any exceptions here,” says Olli.
An exceptional director is Olli Oltrogge. “My new goal is process optimization,” he says. He loves getting better at getting better. And trying new things. In addition to the “tasteJAM”, which is a culinary evening with burgers & beats with a street food feeling, the club captain has introduced “LUHANA”. LUHANA conveys a Hawaiian attitude to life and a gourmet dinner down on “Waikiki Beach”.
In any case, the romantics don’t miss out here. It is often the women who speak of a magical place in “Soma Bay”. And this is especially the sunset that dips into the sea behind the “Red Sea Mountains”. The shades of the up to 700 meter high rocks, the extraordinary light-shadow conditions: there is no better way to end a day than with a tasty cocktail. Really not.
“We used to hop around aerobics style in the mornings and evenings”
“We used to all hop around aerobics style in the mornings and evenings,” says Oltrogge. According to Oltrogge, what has changed in recent years is the awareness of a healthy and balanced diet and a strong body cult. Yoga, TRX and fascia training – from morning to night, holidaymakers can whip their bodies into shape. Although Moritz plays football three times a week and does gymnastics twice a week, he quickly reaches his limits with fitness coach Joel.
“Today we’re doing a mix of calistehnics, freeltacis and breakdance,” explains Joel Rodriguez. The first two forms of fitness using your own weight have been booming for years. Joel is now connecting them in the “Sportalive” week. “I have sore muscles in places I didn’t even know I had muscles there,” says Moritz with a laugh. Marie is no better. The 14-year-old gymnast works up a sweat with Joel. According to the new Robinson motto: “Share the moment” both have to do with “crying muscles”. Marie’s recreation program: “Aqua Jogging” in the sea.
Then there is lunch on the beach. Suddenly the bass boomed, club director Olli and another 45 employees stormed the beach restaurant to promote the topic of “sustainability”. Olli asks the guests to use an environmentally friendly “Reef Save” sunscreen (up to 14,000 tons of cream are washed into the sea every year) and to support his environmental concept. Oltrogge: “It must be important for every guest to treat our nature sustainably and to preserve biodiversity.”
Surf instructor Ahmed is already on the board while everyone is still asleep
But how does Oltrogge relax himself? After all, the man from Cologne dashes from one meeting to the next 16 hours a day. “I dive when nobody’s on the beach,” says the 63-year-old. At six o’clock he goes into the sea with his fins and snorkel. “It’s the only hour of the day when I can’t speak to anyone in the world.” On his day off, he kites passionately and is not the only one to claim that this is one of the best flat water areas in the world.
That’s exactly how surfing teacher Ahmed ticks. He stands on the board when everyone is still asleep. “Once I’ve let off steam on the water, I’m ready for my guests,” says the man who has already surfed with Robby Naish. The Hawaiian won his first world title at 13, with 23 more to follow.
When asked what differentiates Ahmed from Naish, the qualified educator says: “Robby can surf better than I can, but he can’t explain it.” He’s often observed that. In addition, he gets through more. Also on vacation. Ahmed turns to his group of kids, who are taking a break: “Okay, folks – now everyone puts their cell phones away again!”