What lessons have you learned from your experience in sales?
I’ve learned that sales is much more fun when you really love the product! I’ve been a member of Urban Sports Club since 2016, and three years later I joined the company as an employee.
During my time working here I’ve learned to be more relaxed with numbers and KPIs. Working in sales comes with a lot of pressure, but getting stressed doesn’t help. Just be yourself and do your job!
You lived the dream working at a surf resort in Bali. Can you tell us more?
That’s true! I moved to Bali in 2019 to work as a sales manager for a surf resort. It was a life changing experience. What I enjoyed most (besides the free surf lessons) was working with my Indonesian team members and getting to know their culture. Bali is amazing and living there was like a dream come true, but I soon realised that working 8 hours 6 days a week for little money in exploitative working conditions was not for me. Everyone wants to work in Bali and it is so difficult as a foreigner to find employers who treat you properly. But I don’t regret the experience because it taught me the importance of being valued by your employer. That’s when I applied for my position within Urban Sports Club, and now I couldn’t be happier. Urban Sports Club sees me for who I am, not just as a money making machine. For example, I wanted to move from Germany to Spain earlier this year and Urban Sports Club made it happen – so now I’m living next to the beach again – not in Bali, but in Barcelona! 😉
What’s your morning routine?
My dog Jascha forces me to have a routine. Every morning I walk him along the beach in Barcelona. Sometimes in summer I combine the walk with a sunrise stand up paddle tour or sunrise yoga at the beach. It feels great to do sports before the working day begins.
During the pandemic you enrolled in a Marketing and Sales Management master’s. Who or what led you to this decision?
Yes, I started my master’s course in August 2020, and my studies have helped me look at my sales job with a fresh perspective. My daily work is really hands-on, but I was curious to learn a bit more about the theory and strategy behind what I do. The pandemic gave me more free time, so I thought why not challenge myself? Currently I’m writing my master’s thesis about Work-Life Balance during Corona times.
Which Urban Sports Club value do you feel most connected to and why?
It’s really difficult to choose one, but I feel most connected to “Challenge yourself and others.”
This sums up my decision to invest in my masters studies. I don’t need to study this to work in my current position, but I believe it’s important to always raise the bar. I can always do better so I’m going with the choice that scares me the most because that’s the one that will help me grow. This applies to my approach to sports as well. I love to try new things and it definitely scared me when I sparred with a huge guy in Thai boxing class, or started to skate at the age of 30. I’ve learned from my mistakes (i.e. get protection when skating and choose someone your own size to spar with!) but I’ll never stop challenging myself – because that’s what makes me feel alive!
