To celebrate the Olympic Games, find out how our TRICOFLEX employees integrate sport into their professional lives. In these interviews, Anaïs, Gaël, Christophe and Mégan share their inspiring experiences, and how their passion for sport positively influences their professional lives.
ANAIS WILLAIME – HSE Technician, has been playing squash for two and a half years.
Can you tell us about your sporting career?
I’ve been playing squash, a one-on-one racket sport, for two and a half years, once or twice a week as a hobby. I’ve also been running for eight years, both road and trail. I’ve also been riding for twenty years.
What benefits do you derive from regular practice of your sport in terms of physical and mental well-being?
For me, physical well-being is essentially linked to personal maintenance and staying in shape. But what’s really important is my mental well-being. The sports I do have always enabled me to let off steam and find a state of calm. With work, tensions and little frustrations build up, and sport helps me to get rid of them, enabling me to get back on a healthy footing.
How do you manage to fit your passion for sport into your daily and professional life?
The flexible working hours at TRICOFLEX are a major advantage, making it easier to fit sport into my schedule.What’s more, I live close to the gym, and the duration of the sessions (45 minutes) is also very practical.If necessary, I also train at the weekend to keep up my fitness routine.
How does this passion influence your approach to problem-solving and decision-making in your professional life?
Sport gives me a lot of self-confidence. When you start a new discipline, you often find yourself in a weak position, but succeeding in achieving something you never thought possible gives you immense satisfaction and boosts your self-confidence. It shows that we often underestimate ourselves and that we are capable of more. This confidence and self-assurance also translates into my professional life: I approach problem-solving and decision-making with the certainty that I’m capable of rising to the challenge.
GAEL DENNEVAULT – Project Manager, has been playing ice hockey for 7 years, as a goalkeeper.
How does your sporting experience influence your approach to collaboration and teamwork at TRICOFLEX?
My experience as a goalkeeper, a position that requires constant concentration and great rigour, is reflected in my role as Project Manager at TRICOFLEX. It’s crucial to supervise and protect your project, while relying on the team, whether in production or development, to ensure that information flows smoothly. This discipline and vigilance, developed at hockey, are skills that I apply every day in collaboration and teamwork.
Have you discovered any important values or life lessons through your involvement in sport?
Sport has taught me essential values such as teamwork, mutual support and unity; these are fundamental to me. What’s more, the satisfaction of being able to stop an opponent’s shot is extremely gratifying and a great boost to self-confidence. These life lessons have an impact on the way I approach challenges and relationships, both personally and professionally.
How do you stay motivated and enthusiastic about your sporting activities, especially in difficult times?
Being enthusiastic is a real philosophy for me, it’s in my nature and I’m always like that: I work on the principle that life is short and you have to make the most of it. Although hockey training takes place late at night and that can be complicated by work schedules, the resulting fatigue is satisfying. The physical effort is good for me, so I’ve never felt a drop in motivation linked to my work or my personal life.
CHRISTOPHE ZELLER – Computer graphics designer, practises aikido and windsurfing, and enjoys pushing himself to the limit in triathlons.
Can you tell us about your sporting career?
I started aikido when I was a teenager and I’ve been practising it for around twenty years now. At the same time, I do other sports such as windsurfing, running, cycling and swimming.
How has your passion for sport enriched your relationships with your colleagues and family?
I took part in the preparations for the Der triathlon with a few colleagues. I really appreciated the atmosphere and the group dynamic during our training sessions, as well as the collaboration with our coach. This experience has transformed my sporting practice: I now really enjoy being surrounded by others and find it hard to train alone. There are currently eight of us taking part in this challenge to represent TRICOFLEX, and I’m delighted that they’ve joined me in this adventure.
What are your personal sporting goals and how do you go about achieving them?
I’ve often wondered about this and I’ve realised that what interests me most is the technical and artistic aspect. My approach, whether in my sporting or professional life, is not to aim for performance at any price.
In my job, when I create an image, I pay particular attention to construction, detail and movement. But in this context, perfection is defined by my ability to meet the requirements of the brief.
From a sporting point of view, my aim is only to progress over the long term.
What advice would you give to someone wishing to take up a sport for the first time?
For me, the most important thing is to focus on enjoyment: choosing an activity that you’re passionate about is more sustainable than committing yourself purely to winning. It’s also essential to be motivated and not to get discouraged by periods of stagnation; self-confidence is crucial at this stage because that’s where future progress is built.
Mégan LORENZI – Finishing operator, has been weight training for a year and running for three years.
Can you tell us about your sporting career?
I’ve been doing weight training at home for about a year. At the same time, I’ve been running for three years. In the past, I also practised two combat disciplines, judo and Qwan Ki Do, for several years.
How does your passion for sport influence your mentality and your approach to professional challenges?
Working shifts, such as 3×8, can be exhausting at times, and requires a great deal of mental strength. I think that practising a sport with precise objectives, which encourages you to surpass yourself and progress, helps me enormously. At work, I adopt a competitive mindset towards myself. It gives me the confidence to face and overcome any professional challenge.
What’s the biggest sporting challenge you’ve faced so far, and how did you overcome it?
I took part in two European Cups in the junior category when I was practising Qwan Ki Do. In 2012, in Berlin, I came 5th in team combat and tied for 3rd in 2014, in Saint-Memmie, in the same category. Taking part in these competitions was an impressive and extremely gratifying experience for me, given the results I achieved.
What’s your favourite ritual before a training session or a competition?
At the moment, I don’t have any particular rituals. When I was fighting, I couldn’t eat before a competition. Before warm-ups, I would clear my mind and concentrate solely on the fight ahead; my ultimate goal was to win. That way, even if I lost, I could be proud of having given it my all.
