Yury Troshin has followed an unlikely route to Dubai’s waters. The Russian-born general manager of Wind Rises Sailing Experience started his working life on the floor of an internal combustion engine plant before moving through computer sales, Canon commercial printers, telecoms and a clothing shop – until sailing eventually called him home.
Wind Rises, a sailing school founded more than 10 years ago in Russia, where it now has nine branches in operation, chose Dubai as its first international outpost. Mr Troshin arrived in 2022 to help set it up and spent the early months doing his utmost to make the business work: the research, the logistics, the licensing and getting a boat on the water. He splits his time between management and getting out on the water as a qualified instructor.
He earns Dh20,000 ($5,445) a month as general manager – and says that in Dubai, it doesn’t go as far as he’d like.
What was your first job and salary?
My first job was at an internal combustion engine plant during my university studies, around 1998 or 1999. I was taking a part of metal, putting it on the machine and receiving the finished item. My salary was about $150 a month. It wasn’t a big salary but at the time it was good money for someone just starting out in education. I was living with my parents.
Tell us about your career journey. How did you get into sailing?
I was born into a family connected with the sea. My father was a sailor, so there was never really any possibility of passing sailing by. I’ve been on boats since childhood.
Before sailing, I had many different jobs. I was a manager in a computer shop, selling computer parts and office equipment. Then I sold commercial Canon printers and copiers to business clients. I also worked as an entrepreneur selling equipment to government and commercial clients, while also running a clothing shop. Then I moved into telecoms, selling home internet services.
By around 2015, the sailing industry was coming up in Russia and I made the decision to be part of it. That was my first proper job in sailing – working commercially as an instructor. Afterwards, I moved through different positions: instructor, technical manager, then technical director. Eventually, I moved to Dubai.
What is your current role and salary?
I’m the general manager of Wind Rises Sailing Experience. Wind Rises is originally from Russia, with nine branches serving around 50,000 clients a year.
This Dubai branch is the first international one, which I established and now manage. I also go out on the water as a professional instructor when needed. My salary is Dh20,000 as general manager.
Do you manage to save?
No. I can’t really save because I had to buy a car and used up all my savings for that. My apartment also takes almost half my salary.
At the beginning, it was even more complicated – when you’re new to a country, you have to spend on an apartment, driver licence, furniture, everything.
Now I have what I need in general but I can’t invest yet because the apartment costs so much. I want to invest – I just can’t right now. It is working, slowly.
Growing up, were you taught how to handle your finances?
From my parents, from everywhere. When I was in Russia, I tried to make investments. But because of the situation there, all my investments were frozen. It scared me a little.
I still have an apartment in Russia but it’s not a good time to sell.
How do you budget your income?
I know what my income is, so I plan my spending accordingly. I don’t need to spend big sums, I already have what I need. Every month, sometimes several times a month, I do a calculation: what I have in savings and what I need to collect for the next apartment payment, the next trip etc.
What are your financial goals?
In the short term, I would like to buy an apartment here – maybe with a loan – in the next two years. In the longer term, I would like to own different assets: maybe another apartment, some market investments.
Eventually, I’d like to live somewhere in the Mediterranean.
What is it like working in the sailing industry in Dubai?
It’s a small industry. The basic salary for a sailing instructor is around Dh150 per hour, or around Dh10,000 a month for a less-qualified instructor. But if you have proper qualifications and additional licences, you can earn more than Dh15,000 or Dh20,000 a month.
Do you want to be featured in My Dubai Salary, a bi-weekly column that explores how people around the world manage their earnings? Write to pf@thenationalnews.com to share your story.