My Story
Some paths choose you before you're ready for them.
I was six when a professional academy first spotted something in me. By twelve, I was playing in the Bernabéu, Real Madrid's stadium. By fifteen, I was cut — too small, too late to develop physically. No other club would take me. I still remember what that rejection did to me. It wasn't just losing a sport. It was losing the only identity I'd ever had.
I kept playing at a lower level, in an environment that never felt like me — I felt out of place, uncomfortable in my own skin, and lost the game I loved. I tried to quit, and for half a year I felt genuinely empty, like I was just going through the motions of a life that wasn't mine. I found my way back at a small club in Germany's seventh division — no dream of going pro attached anymore, just the love of the game. That's also where I found the gym. I didn't know it then, but that was the real beginning: discipline that had nothing to do with impressing a scout, and everything to do with rebuilding something that was actually mine.
After school I played it safe and started a teaching degree, but I knew it wasn't mine. I applied for a football scholarship in the U.S. instead, and in 2020 moved continents. That's where discipline stopped being something I did and became something I was. Starter, then captain, a degree finished a year early — not because I was the most talented person in the room, but because I'd learned how to show up on the days I didn't want to. That work carried me to the University of Colorado, where I captained again and trained with a local pro club. That's also in the U.S. where nutrition became a real interest of mine — I started to understand how much it mattered for the long run, not just for performance.
After my bachelor's, I couldn't fully commit to chasing pro — something about it wasn't quite me — so I hung up my boots and moved into business instead. I spent a year in Miami working sales and business development. Around that same time, I found the hybrid athlete lifestyle — strength and endurance trained together — pulled in by my own interest in fitness. It was the first place I felt like my most authentic self, clear-headed in a way I hadn't been since I was a kid on a field. It's also where I met someone who shaped the path I'm on today in ways far deeper than fitness or business — that's where real faith started for me. When my visa ran out and I had to leave, I was devastated.
Back in Germany with no real plan, I took the conventional road one more time — a 9-to-5 sales job in Amsterdam — and quit after a month. My mentor was the reason I finally stopped circling the decision and went after my purpose. Looking back, every rejection and every "safe" detour was teaching me the same lesson: strong body, clear mind, present life aren't something you're handed. You build them, one hard day at a time, the same way I had to. I started building. WeAscend is what came out of it. I believe everything happens for a reason. This is mine.