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Polina Iodis shone as part of the “Brilliant” group for three years, but at the peak of popularity she decided to leave show business, left Russia and became a surfing instructor. In an interview with Sport, she told why Olga Orlova isolated her from the terminally ill Zhanna Friske, what it was like to work with the world star Danila Kozlovsky and how Bali turned into an island of competition.
“She was on the verge of life and death”
— To leave at the peak of popularity – is it fatigue or a rebellion against the rules of show business?
— For me, show business has never been a goal in life. Being constantly on tour is very difficult. Sometimes we had 32 concerts a month, there was no feeling of home. At one point I was so tired, I also fell in love. I wanted comfort, family, and I decided to leave the group. I also really wanted to snowboard then, but I didn’t have time for that. I remember we came to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on tour, we were put up in a hotel overlooking the ski slope. She begged the director: “Dima, can I go for a ride one evening?” He didn’t let me in because he could break something and then the concert would be cancelled. As a result, I cried all night.
— So I understand that the love of extreme sports is in your blood. How did your passion for surfing begin?
— In general, I have been involved in many types, but water is my element. The first time I saw a picture of surfing was when I was 17, and then this dream appeared. When I arrived in Bali in 2003, there were no Russian surfing schools or good instructors there yet. I remember how a little Indonesian gave me a board and said: “Padal, padal” (“Row, row” – editor’s note). So I went. As a result, the very first wave lifted the board so that it hit me on the nose, on the lip, there was blood… Purely out of perseverance and passion, I continued. An hour and a half later, a Swede swims up to me and says: “I’ve been watching you all this time. You’re cool. Let me show you what to do.” That's when I caught the first wave. We are still friends.
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— Many surfers share stories when they are on the verge of life and death. Has this happened to you?
— A couple of times. One day I went out into the ocean and literally within the first ten minutes such a huge swell came (sets of large waves – editor's note) that four-meter waves began to cover me. I get caught in a strong current and am carried one and a half kilometers to the right of the spot along huge rocks. I had to row for an hour and a half without a break to get back. It’s good that I was physically ready for this.
— How to cope with panic at such a moment?
“I was specially trained for this in Hawaii.” The main thing is deep belly breathing and awareness – this is panic. At the same time, you must concentrate on how you row, how splashes of water fly out from under your hands. Try to be here and now, because panic begins because you are wondering what could happen to you. If a person is an alarmist and is initially afraid of water, then first he needs to face his fears, and only after that get on the board.
— For many, one of the main fears is meeting sharks. Are they often found in Bali?
— There have been no serious cases of attacks on people in Bali, but meeting a shark is still scary. They are usually not interested in surfers; they will only bite if they mistake you for a fish. A friend of mine had the following story. In Bali there is a Balial spot with a very powerful channel (current from the shore towards the ocean), and when there is a lot of rain, the water becomes cloudy and small sharks sometimes hunt for fish there. It was a small bite on the foot. The girl is fine and continues to surf. There are few such places in Bali, all local surfers know them, and never surf in muddy water.
— You have won the championship several times Russia. Didn't want to go to the Olympics?
– I never thought about it. And my level of skating cannot compare with those who grew up near the ocean and spent their entire lives preparing for international competitions. The first Russian championship happened when I was 29 years old, and after the third victory a collapse occurred inside. I felt that this period in my life had come to an end. I lay there and thought that I didn’t want to ride anymore, but my brain told me: “Polina, you can’t help but want this. If you don’t ride for one day, you’re unhappy!” This went on for a couple of weeks until I decided that I needed to listen to myself, let go and move forward. I realized that I no longer want to participate in competitions. Surfing has ceased to be the goal of life, it has become just a pleasure.
“After the bloggers arrived, Bali became different”
— How did you decide to move to Bali?
“It was my first husband’s proposal when I became pregnant with Nicole.” At that moment I was on the verge of signing a contract with one of the sponsors, I could travel the world, ride, advertise them. I got pregnant two weeks before the contract. It was difficult, but there was no doubt about the choice. In the end, Nicole “brought” me to Bali, where I didn’t need extra money to ride as much as I wanted. Children come for a reason, sometimes it seems like it’s not the right time, but God knows better.
— Was it easy to adapt?
— I don’t perceive the world as something separate by country. I can very easily imagine that tomorrow I will find myself in Peru and live there. When I went to Bali, the island was not yet so fashionable, everyone told me: “Polina, what village are you going to?” But Bali turned my life upside down. I have never experienced such harsh cleaning myself. I worked off all my karma (laughs). Now for me Bali is a feeling of complete harmony and happiness, it powerfully reveals you.
— < strong>There are a lot of bloggers in Bali now. Didn't the atmosphere on the island deteriorate after that?
— When I lived there, there was a very powerful community in Bali, there was a feeling that the whole island was one big family. Everyone knew each other, supported each other, there was no competition. But then there was no Instagram*, bloggers: “But look: I have a cooler swimsuit!” Bali is different now. I think that everything has already changed, including the energy of the island. I still have a house there that I rent out, but I wouldn’t move there anymore.
— You said that Bali has become different. What is he like now?
— As I already said, wild competition appeared, everyone suddenly became enlightened. There is rivalry between bloggers and spiritual mentors. I do not like it. I don't want to compete with anyone. I think that the most honest people in Bali are IT specialists; they don’t care where they work. Most likely, they are now the community that we had. I in no way want to devalue truly advanced people who promote spiritual growth and teach various practices; I myself have been practicing meditation and pranayama since I was 19 years old. I’m saying that now there are a lot of people who, having one month of practice behind them, having completed some courses, suddenly become “gurus” in Bali and breathe like a womb (laughs). People fly there and don’t know how to make money. And this is the easiest direction.
— Did the problem of competition arise because of social networks?
— Social networks lead many people into a state of envy and depression. There are too many fictitious ideals, but this is an illusion. Every even the most beautiful girl has her own problems, every business has difficulties.
— Are you active on social networks?
— I I actually started an Instagram account* only when Danila Kozlovsky said about it.
— Unexpectedly. How did you meet?
— The director of the film “Dukhless”, Roma Prygunov, once directed “Brilliant” a video for the song “Clouds”. So we have known each other since I was 16 years old. He found out that I was in Bali and called: “Don’t go anywhere, I’m sending our actor Danila Kozlovsky to you.” Honestly, I didn’t even know who it was. I lived “in the village”, in my own world! I remember that I had to meet Danila at the airport, I printed out a photo and glued his head to some surfer. It was fun.
strong>— Found a common language right away?
“We were together for the first two weeks, twelve hours a day. During this time we became very good friends, he is an amazing person. My task was to teach him to be a surfer, to immerse him in this atmosphere, to help him get into character and teach him to behave like a surfer in the water. Danila is incredibly talented; he mastered the board in those two weeks, which is actually very difficult. He had incredible concentration. This is the secret of his success, I think.
— You currently live in Portugal. Is the country different from Bali?
— If Bali is the energy of the sun, puppy joy, then Portugal is acceptance and tranquility. I came here at the beginning of 2015, and for two years I could not adapt to this feeling of Portugal. It was wildly boring after the island, there was still a terrible depression inside after giving birth. I didn’t understand where this bursting energy of movement was. But in Portugal you just need to breathe out, stop running, concentrate on yourself and trust the Universe. Now I'm enjoying Portugal, I really like working and living here. The only thing missing is a warm ocean.
— What are the people like in Portugal?
– They are very measured. They always tell you: “Amanhã” (“tomorrow” in Portuguese – editor’s note). And they are “amanya” in everything. If your pipe bursts, they will tell you: “Don’t worry, plug it with something, and we’ll come tomorrow. Everything will be fine.” But we have a big advantage – expats create the coolest services and projects here. So far the competition is very small!
— What is the attitude towards Russians there now?
— Now, it seems to me, it’s hard for Russians throughout Europe. I just have a slightly different situation: my youngest daughter is Portuguese according to her passport, since she was born here, and I have had a residence permit for many years. I don't face difficulties like those people who are moving now. They have problems with opening bank accounts and obtaining residence permits, many cannot draw up documents, apartments are not rented to them for a short period, because you must have proof that later you will be able to be solvent. There are many problems, but if your heart leads you somewhere, you definitely need to go after it.
“Men came with weapons, they said: come out, let's drink”
— As a child, did you have a dream of getting into show business?
– Never! I think it runs in the family. My mother is a vocal and piano teacher, and her father, my grandfather, was an artist and deputy director of the Central House of Arts. Everything happened by itself. I needed a summer internship, and my mother got me a job as a secretary at the Manhattan Express club. There I met our future director Dima Gribakov. Olga Orlova was very close friends with him then. At the same time, I danced in the alternative group “Mesmer” and invited the guys to one of the concerts. Soon Olya calls me and says: “We have decided to create a women’s group, come with us. We will have a casting soon.” In a month we have a video coming out for the song “There, Only There”. After another two weeks, people began to take autographs on the street.
— Were you not starstruck?
“It happened that young girls threw gold rings that they had stolen from their parents onto us on stage. We tried to return them. They could send flowers, but not money or cars. No one has ever given me a car, although I always dreamed that “she” would come with a bow under the window for my birthday. There were no social networks back then. Imagine what would have happened if Instagram* had appeared then. I would already have 12-15 million subscribers.
—Is personal life possible while constantly touring?
– It's almost impossible. You are constantly busy, you couldn’t even leave the house without a backpack with concert clothes. You always need to be available. When we started singing, there were no mobile phones, and we called from home phones or from pay machines for a pretty penny three times a day and asked: “We don’t have concerts? What time should we be there?” This is not freedom. But one day I remember how, without telling anyone, I went to Kazantip for five days to windsurf. She was little and was angry that they didn’t let her in.
— How did the producers react to such an outburst?
— They called and said that I was fired. I think: “Well, okay!” As a result, I arrive, they call me again: “You have a concert tomorrow, be ready!” After that, I worked in the group for another three years and then decided to leave.
— Did the producers let you go easily? Didn't have to pay a penalty?
— I was very lucky, I didn’t have a contract, although all subsequent participants already had one. When I came with the phrase that I wanted to leave, Andrei (Shlykov – director and partner of the producer of the group “Brilliant” – editor's note) looked at me like I was a fool and said: “Okay, tomorrow is your last concert in St. Petersburg and leave” . Now I understand that he simply didn’t believe me. The girls told me a few years later that I didn’t even warn them that I was leaving. That is, I decided everything for myself and it seemed to me that they already knew everything.
— How did they react?
— Not I know. But I was so exhausted by daily travel and concerts that the decision was made.
—Did you manage to build friendship in your team or was it a working relationship?
“I always felt like a black sheep.” At one time I was friends with Zhanna, then Olya intercepted this friendship. With Olya I always had a feeling of competition. I kind of wanted to be friends with her, but I didn’t feel the same way from her. Living in Bali, I found out that Zhanna had given birth, and we started communicating again. Then she suddenly disappeared, all contacts were cut off, even her messages on Facebook* disappeared. Later I found out that she was sick. I tried to improve relations with Olya, but she has her own view on my desire to be friends.
— Did you try to contact Zhanna when you found out about the disease?< br>
“I really wanted to help, I wanted to participate in this process, since I have been studying medicine all my life. I asked Olya to give me a contact, but she refused. I was isolated from Zhanna. I don’t know why Olya has such an attitude towards me. Although now it turns out that not only me, but generally all the people close to Zhanna were isolated. This is difficult for me to understand.
— Were you worried that you couldn’t find a contact?
— Of course, I was very worried. Strange story. I think that it was impossible to do this. Olya had no right to do this, because she did not know what kind of relationship we had with Zhanna. And not only with me. Maybe someone was in a quarrel with Zhanna and wanted reconciliation, which would be important for Zhanna, or maybe someone just wanted to support… What if a person appeared who could really help?
< br>— Are you currently communicating with any of the “Brilliants”?
— With Ira Lukyanova, with the new girls. Despite the fact that we only talked a few times, Anya Semenovich is very sympathetic. She is a very sincere, open, kind person.
— Will fans expect new songs from you?
—I have an idea to record a couple, but I definitely don’t want to tour. If this happens, it will probably be a YouTube story. Let's see, maybe next year something will grow together. But still, the main goal is my jewelry brand, Freemind Jewelry. I put everything I had into it. It was very scary to decide to take such a step, and now, to be honest, it’s also scary: you need a partner, you need to grow. But there is no turning back. I believe that if you are on the right path, then everything will be fine.
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