Father of 5 opens indoor ski and snowboard school in Bucks County
DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- "I was a kid who was put on skis," said Andrey Yunusov, "Thanks to my parents and my father specifically at the age of six."
Yunusov hails from the country of Uzbekistan and has fond memories of visiting Chimgan, a popular ski resort nestled among the Tian Shan mountain range near Chirchiq.
While his parents moved to the United States, Yunusov stayed behind to become a physician. And once he was ready to come to America, he brought his love of skiing with him.
He and his high school sweetheart have five children, each growing up with ski boots on their feet. And over the last several years, Yunusov has been exploring a way to teach his family and the greater community how to ski and snowboard without having to visit the slopes or mountains.
"Three and a half years ago roughly, I became aware about this great technology from SkyTechSport company for Olympic-caliber skiers and snowboarders to train offseason," he said.
Yunusov thought he could use that technology to break down the barriers of entry to the sport. And after all the ups and downs, his new business, 4 Season Alpine, officially opened its doors in Doylestown in October 2022.
There, Yunusov provides instruction to members of the community. The ski and snowboard simulators use 'identical G-force' and virtual reality monitors to capture the sensation without the snow and slopes.
"I like video games. It's kind of like I'm the video game character," said 10-year-old student Rory Czapla. "You're moving side-to-side while rolling your ankles and you have to go around the gates while you're being timed."
On that particular course, Czapla broke the schools' in-house record with a 57-second run.
As for the future, she has dreams of winning an Alpine Ski World Cup. Her mother, Paula, says that Coach Yunusov is helping her on her path.
"One of the things that Andrey does really well with her, and I think all of his students, is allowing real-time feedback," she said. "So, it can make a really big change in a short amount of time."
4 Season Alpine is now open and offering services and training to the greater Philadelphia area. To learn more, visit their website.
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