This week we’re carrying on with our TEAM TALKS blog posts and this time we sat down to have a chat with Vince, our Strategic Alliances Manager, to see how he got to where he is and to find out just what he loves about Berlin!
Vince, lots of people see you at our events and know you through your close work with our Motivator team, but for those who might not know too much about what you did before coming to join SPRT could you give us a little bit of background?
‘I’m Vince, I was born and raised in Berlin (Zehlendorf) with Chinese roots. At 22 I’m the youngest of all the co-founders at SPRT. Before my journey here began I was studying a dual honour in fitness and economics at McFit (High5 Gym). This is where I met Jakob -our CEO- for the first time, he was a member of the gym and I was a fitness trainer. A few weeks ago, I also finished my bachelor thesis.
At SPRT I started first as the Community Manager and founded the Motivator group, our ambassadors and trainers, who are the role models for SPRT. But my goal was to go into the Business Development direction, so a few months ago I became the Strategic Alliances Manager, responsible for strategic B2B partnerships.’
Congratulations on finishing your bachelor thesis! Can you tell everyone reading a bit about your character?
‘I’m a really honest person, which can be really positive but can also be my downfall as I usually say whatever is on my mind. On the one side, I’m a really serious person, finding it hard to live in the present and always thinking about the future. But on the other hand, I’m a little bit like Kheli or Krzysztof, always joking around!’
Haha well, you are incredibly passionate and focused on the things your working on but I can also vouch for the fact that you’re a joker too. What about your passions outside of SPRT?
‘So normally fitness, and power building – the mix of strength and physical appearance – are my passions. Fitness changed my life because I was overweight for years until I was in the 10th grade. It’s not just the sport which helps you to become the best version of yourself, it’s also about changing and optimising your mindset, to build up discipline and become motivated in the long term.
Over the last few months, I haven’t been able to train too much but I’ve been back working hard for about 2 months now and I try to go to the gym about 2-3 times a week. I mean for me it’s all about time management and I need sport to destress and to turn off my head for few hours, but also to lose these few pounds I have gained in the last couple of months.’
You’re so right about sport being important both physically and mentally, speaking of sport do you follow any sports teams?
‘I’m also a huge fan of the football club Real Madrid. I started to watch their games around 2012 and since then I have tried to watch every single game each season! I think I’ve seen about 90% of them haha! Real Madrid is the best football club in the world. For me it’s not just about the football they play, their phenomenal history or about famous star players in the past -the Galacticos- it’s also because of the values they present and communicate to the team and their fans.
I sometimes compare their values with daily life and with SPRT sometimes too. We all give up everything for this company, especially our free time and we won’t give up.
As well as sport I’m also a huge Marvel fan, I’ve watched every movie more than 2 times and also all of the Marvel series on Netflix haha! Iron Man is, in my opinion, THE hero! He’s so cool and smart. However, even though I love films Kheli is a bigger nerd than me when it comes to Marvel!’
Haha are you sure about that!? What’s been your highlight of the year so far or something you’re really proud of?
‘It has to be leaving my old job at High5 – it was like a second home for me- where I also had to leave a few old friends, to work on something bigger: SPRT. I’m also really proud that we established the Motivator Monday events, we started with 3 participants and achieved 80 at our event with John Reed. To finish off, of course, the App release! But mostly I’m proud that SPRT is now a real and strong brand and everyone in Berlin knows it.’
What’s your favourite kind of food?
‘I love food, I mean who doesn’t haha. But my favourite food is fries. This is maybe the reason, why I was overweight when I was younger!? Besides food I love white wine, if anyone knows a good one, then definitely let me know!’
And seeing as you’re Berlin born and raised, what do you love about the city?
‘It’s a great city, wow! When I was living in Zehlendorf when I was younger, I never got to know the true side of Berlin. Over the past few years when I have spent more time in areas like Friedrichshain – Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte and I saw how multicultural this city is. Full of all different kinds of people, the contrast between old building apartments and more modern ones and the variety of great places to have delicious food. Berlin never gets old. On the one side it’s the main city for Startups and big companies in Germany, on the other side people can enjoy their lives and the evenings here to the fullest.
But sometimes I also need a quieter surrounding to chill and to turn off my head. The life in Berlin can be so fast paced, that you sometimes forget the present and to enjoy daily life a little bit more.’
What’s one place you’d love to visit but never have?
North America and the Maldives! I love full metropolises and skyscrapers, and so I hope to do a tour through North America one day; maybe we -SPRT- have to expand from Germany to the Silicon Valley in the future. But my big dream is really visiting the Maldives, staying in a house on the water. It just looks amazing out there. It would be great to just turn off and chill down for some time.
