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My last season as an athlete
It all started in November 2021 in Gällivare. A small industrial town in the Swedish Arctic Circle. The days are very short at this time of year, the sun barely makes it above the horizon, and it’s not uncommon for temperatures to drop under -20 degrees. I was in the final preparation for my last season, for which I traveled to the far north for the last time to collect important snow kilometers.
At that time, I had just announced my retirement. During this time, I talked a lot about my future, especially with my manager Dominik Leu. I knew that after 16 years of top sport, a completely new phase would begin. And although I was relatively relaxed about the future after a successful career, there was also a certain amount of uncertainty.
The project presentation of my teammates
We traveled to Lapland with a small team. Apart from me, there were only Roman Furger and Jason from the men’s team. One evening during dinner, the two guys asked me if I had time to listen to one of their ideas. That’s when they told me for the first time about their start-up “Trainpub”, which they founded together with Roman Schaad. On the one hand, they wanted to hear my general opinion about the project, but they also wanted to know if I could imagine being involved in some way. I found the idea interesting right away.
Showing new ways
During my time as a professional athlete, I was very often asked for cross-country training, lectures or even coaching. Due to time constraints, I did this only very selectively and mostly only for sponsors. Shortly before my career ended, this topic was very present and I was already thinking about how I wanted to handle this in the future. Since the start-up goes exactly in this direction, I found it all the more exciting. I also know that there are many athletes who are in a similar situation to mine, but who don’t have the same opportunities to pass on their know-how. Whether it’s because they go straight into a job after their career or because they don’t have a platform to pass on their knowledge.
My investment in Trainpub
For the four of us, it was then quickly clear that we wanted to do something together, because both sides saw a lot of potential in a collaboration. It appealed to me to be part of a young project where I could actively contribute and learn a lot at the same time. The fact that the start-up was built by three teammates certainly simplified my decision and made an investment more than credible. After a few constructive discussions, we quickly found a solution that suited everyone and so I became part of Trainpub.
I’m convinced that something cool is being created here and I’m happy that it’s really taking off now.
Trainpub Team: Roman Schaad, Dario Cologna, Roman Furger, Jason Rüesch