Once, many years ago, Jan and Marek faced each other as bitter opponents on the pitch. But somehow everything seemed to make more sense together. This is the story of WINQS.
"Better together than against each other", Jan remembers his first encounter with Marek. They had heard of each other. Then they met on the pitch. "Better together than against each other. That was immediately clear to me."
Both had grown up in Prague and sports was a defining factor of their youth. Marek was an aspiring decathlete for a long time, throwing javelins and jumping for distance. Jan, on the other hand, took part in almost every team sport in which you could get a ball into some net. They didn't know each other at the time.
Eventually, they both ended up playing floorball, a particularly popular hockey discipline in the Czech Republic as well as in Scandinavia. After their studies took them to Germany, they met in the Bundesliga. Jan as Berlin's scorer, Marek as a gutsy Chemnitz defender.
Better with than against, then. One word led to another and a week later Marek was slumbering on Jan's futon sofa. The transfer was just a formality... and the beginning of a long friendship.
Both completed their studies and found jobs. A return to the Czech Republic was no longer an option. At some point, they founded their first company with another friend. Later they sold it to a Swedish sports brand and worked in its service from then on. Years passed.
At some point, an idea, or rather an epiphany, tugged at Jan. Unlike other industries, the sporting goods industry was struggling immensely with its shift towards more sustainability. The big brands even seemed to actively resist it, preferring to paint things green rather than really change anything.
How great and how important it would be to build a sports brand that does it right. That carries performance and sustainability in its DNA and that resists the excesses of its industry. And it might be fun, too.
Marek's enthusiasm was limited at first. It would indeed be great and important, but perhaps also a little naïve. Would people already be ready? And could the products really be made that way? So Jan quit, overnight, and began to build and work and make and do.
Although the pandemic had brought the world to a standstill, the idea caught on. Established partners like Michelin and Lenzing supported the project and one piece of the puzzle followed the next. In 2020, WINQS was born.
Jan didn't let Marek off the hook. Would he really want to sell plastic jerseys forever? Week after week, day after day. And because even the hardest iron gives way at some point, the doughty defender suddenly stood on the threshold after all.
"Better together," said Marek. The rest is history.
