About me!
Lifestyle Integration
My life's work-in-progress blueprint is about integrating professional and personal lives.
Quick facts
<>
I slipped my disc when I was 25, and underwent 2 surgeries.
<>
I have been unemployed and broke; and it will happen again.
<>
I have been moving countries at least twice a year since 2007.
<>
Cause and effect
Cause and effect
<>
The result of overtraining combined with desk job injuries.
<>
The price to pay, moving from for-profit to impact-first sector.
<>
The consequence of becoming a semi-part-time digital nomad.
<>
Lessons learned
Cause and effect
<>
Exercise is possible everywhere, suits every schedule and ability.
<>
There are opportunities, if you plan your luck and take a risk.
<>
Self-employment is for everyone, stay in control of your life.
<>
Social Entrepreneur, Mentor & Coach!
Social Entrepreneur, OccOri Business Enablers, India
After the last rodeo in sport for development, I took yet another leap of faith: co-founding OccOri Business Enablers with my dear Indian friend and despite being broke. We intended to build bridges between non-profit and for-profit entities, in India and Germany. Through training, development, and co-creation, overcoming seemingly insurmountable barriers between those two worlds. OccOri derived purpose and direction from the civil sector to re-focus CSR activities and, in turn, aggregating superior resources and capacities of the private sector to drive social change through frugal innovations.
We based our offer on our perception of a new emerging era: one in which technology firms in emerging markets seemed to discover Germany as a potential gateway to upgrade their technological and intellectual base to serve new customers – globally. Unfortunately, we failed! Lack of funds being one reason, but more so were we unable to establish the level of trust needed between our mid-size clients in the Occident and Orient – or just because competitors carry more weight.
Start-up Coach, GIZ GmbH, Nepal
They say you learn from your mistakes, which is mostly true. In fact, the web is full of business f**k ups and not less is written about social ventures going wrong. I usually encourage people to surf the web and read up on international development agencies, as it is the easiest to find something. Though, also grassroots, or small-scale initiatives that didn’t do anything to help, can be found. However, I leave that up to you because understanding what is going on in the sector is daunting.
Nevertheless, I openly share my mistakes and use(d) it as a coaching tool for wannabe entrepreneurs. It’s very easy to get lost when launching an idea into the world. Even more so if one is tackling an issue of social concern. During my first secondment by GIZ to Nepal, I designed a step-by-step workshop-style approach to help youth on their path to becoming social entrepreneurs. Andrew Fiddaman comes to mind, who said: “In every country in the world, our research has shown that one in five young people have the intuitive skill to start and run a successful small business. If governments were smart enough to invest in that one in five, pretty soon, they would employ the other four.”.
Professional Mentor, Fairtrade International, Remote
It is interesting how one name on your resume changes everything; or it is just a matter of time (age). Since my secondment by GIZ, I have been hired frequently as freelance consultant or contractor. I have not been unemployed – if one can use such term for a semi part-time digital nomad –since mid-2017. Semi because, I have gotten picky about opportunities, more inclined to say “no”, and do not adhere to a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday schedule. Though, I reckon that the tables will turn again, getting out of the rat race society, and exploring others means of making a living - entrepreneurship will remain my ultimate goal.
To exemplify the above, after my return from Ethiopia (interim country representative of a local school), I filed three applications and received the same number of offers. I had chosen to advise Fairtrade International in developing a new governance structure and rebuilding its operations in the Asia & Pacific region. Overseeing the liquidation of all entities, mentoring 25 staff through the change process, and responsible of inaugurating a new legal body in Indonesia, was most appealing. That project ended, or was rather aborted, mid-2021.
Development Advisor (AD), Bread for the World, Portugal
Right after my Fairtrade gig, Bread for the World recruited me, planning to send me off as development advisor. I was supposed to go to Cambodia; Phnom Penh to be exact. That never happened, however. The details are somewhat of a mystery, but it appeared to have something to do with corruption. Though, is that a surprise, considering that the country has been awarded the most corrupt one in the ASEAN region? Thanks to ingrained corruption in the public and private sectors, in 2021, Cambodia ranked 160 out of 180 countries globally (according to a Transparency International report). Nevertheless, during the pandemic a lot of governments also diverted funds and efforts inwards, leaving some partner organizations with little choice then enacting dubious means.
Over 180 days, I was benched, waiting for a decision by German officials that kept on being postponed monthly. Fortunately, I was covered by the Development Workers Act from 1969, which does not foresee such a situation; perhaps, there was no corruption in the 60s? Anyway, it stipulates a limited time one is allowed to stay in Germany. So, I had to bite the bullet and packed my bags, deciding to temporarily move to the Algarve, where I remained stranded for my entire "mission". Obviously, not the worst that could have happened, and it did give me plenty of time, emerged in a beautiful setting to plan.
Head Coach, MyFitness, East-Belgium
In April 2022, I started on a new active lifestyle journey. Initially, in the health and wellness sector, joining the MyFitness team in East-Belgium as CEO and head coach. I planned to offer in- and outdoor training routines, design tailor-made programs for road warriors, and prep some gym rats to join one of those fun obstacle course races (OCR). The latter to lay the groundwork to launch the first ever Eifel-Adventure-Race. After having read some of my posts, you might guess, that not everything went according to plan.
I did create training plans for various clients, ran some in- and outdoor group classes, but neither did I find road warriors, nor could I motivate anyone to join me on one of these muddy runs; a prerequisite to have had some certainty that an adventure race in the Eifel-Ardennes region would pique some (local) interest.
I did not expect that neither professional, personal training nor outdoor exercise was much warranted. There is much focus on community and recreation. Though, I do get technical when it comes to sport, which some might find boring; however, I love what I do and inspire others to reconsider unhealthy life choices. Henceforward, I am going to focus on living what I preach: the Lozania Lifestyle and show others How.
Apprentice, Physiotherapy, Koblenz, Germany
In 2024, I decided to add a new dimension to my career and began an apprenticeship in physiotherapy. Returning to school at the age of 43 was not an easy decision, and sharing the classroom with students half my age initially felt daunting. However, I quickly discovered the value of learning and collaborating across generations.
My start was challenging, as I battled a persistent infection that affected my health. Despite this, I completed the first year and began my first internship. A few weeks into the hands-on experience, my condition—particularly the arthritis that formed in my wrist—worsened, making it impossible to continue and ultimately forcing me to abort the training.
I greatly valued my time during the physiotherapy apprenticeship. Although I had to step back due to health reasons, the experience was highly enriching. I gained hands-on insights into patient care and professional practice, which will guide my own sports endeavors and enhance my ability to help clients achieve their health and wellness goals, all while promoting the Lozania Lifestyle.
Engineer of Peace through Sport!
University for Peace, Costa Rica
University for Peace, Costa Rica
University for Peace, Costa Rica
My hopes were set high when my ideal self decided to leave the for-profit sector in 2011 to serve humanity. After 14 years in the corporate world, having poured significant funds into an MBA educational program at Purdue University, I left and never turned back.
2021 marked the 10th anniversary, which commenced with a first attempt to gain a PhD in sport management at the University of Texas at Austin. Unfortunately, I had to abort after a year given unfavorable conditions within the department but graduated with a Masters in Sustainable Peace through Sport in 2013 from the University for Peace.
From there on, a rather bumpy road through the civil society sector began: Though, I would not write that all my hopes were destroyed, beliefs were certainly shattered. Mainly during those early years in the sport for development sector, because I am much more passionate about sport than any other means that are used in development work.
World at Play, Balkan Peninsula
University for Peace, Costa Rica
University for Peace, Costa Rica
When I set sail into sport for development, I believed in the power of sport for social cohesion and communal pride but read that empirical evidence is scarce. However, I did not want to believe the critiques and was left with the urge to experience it myself.
End of 2013, I was appointed managing director of a sport for development charity. The organization ran expeditions on the Balkan Peninsula since the Bosnian Wars in 1992-1995. Their mission: "to overcome distress of children, who suffer from war experiences, by engaging them in fun, sport & play activities". While beneficial at the time did the paradigm have to change.
Thus, I conducted a first ever evaluation by interviewing our partners. The results were humbling, but the board did not approve any changes. Although funding agencies were similarly hesitant to further sponsor us, the trustees needed to decide either adapting their model or cutting costs by laying me off: they decided for the latter.
German Sport Cooperation, Zambia
German Sport Cooperation, Zambia
German Sport Cooperation, Zambia
The psychological distress of the job loss was not without consequence on my mental health, but I continued my journey through the sport for development arena in Zambia almost immediately, in support of the German Olympic Sports Confederation in cooperation with Germany's Foreign Office. In hindsight, it was too early and I was not ready emotionally to move on; hence, aborted the mission abruptly.
At that time, I was about to give up and return to the for-profit world. However, boomerang employees might have been either less valued in 2014 or are not as common in Europe. Though, I should admit that I also did not truly want to go back, as an article in the Guardian observes that, “Having to go back and forth between gears, from home to field, can be physically and mentally exhausting.”
So, I did the next best thing and flew from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Philippines to manage a UNICEF-sponsored sport for development project. This time, it took only a month until I had a minor fight with my superior. Nevertheless, I had no patience to sit or discuss the cause of the issue but decided to withdraw my commitment to the project.
OccOri, Worldwide
German Sport Cooperation, Zambia
German Sport Cooperation, Zambia
Today, I am aware that I had become so agitated, feeling powerless, and alone that at the end of 2015 I was out of options: I had to return to Germany. With little money, prospects, or a place to stay, I was forced to settle at my parents’ place at the age of 34.
Fortunately, around the same time, I met Ann, who coincidentally was visiting her parents in our neighboring country – Luxembourg. She is a classically trained musician but already had a neck for counselling. She allowed and understood that I needed time to reflect to get back on the horse and for the past years I did exactly that: taking my time to make informed decisions, considering alternative solutions, talking them over with my peers but also reflecting through professional supervision.
Today, Ann is a music therapist and her practice would neither be possible nor valuable for her clients without her partaking in clinical supervision. I believe development aid workers too seldom benefiting from the same: to enhance their mental well-being and, in turn, increase organizational capacity through improved employee engagement.