Manuel

Introduce yourself within a sentence.
Hey, I’m Manuel, a fitness and nutrition coach from Bamberg, Germany.

What is the most challenging part of your life in this time of crisis?
It is not easy to not be able to see the people who are usually in my life. Staying in touch using only social media or telephone is also not easy. Being a self-employed, personal trainer, for obvious reasons, it is not easy for my business during this time since my establishment was closed.

What is your guiding light every day that makes you smile?
It makes me happy when I find out that people are thinking about me despite the restricted contact. It comes in the form of messages, pictures or calls, and it shows that you are important to someone and haven’t been forgotten. That is the reason why I also try to stay in contact with my close acquaintances and relatives. In doing so, I can bring a smile to their face. As a personal trainer, it is also important for me that people, who are not able to go to a fitness studio during this time, still have enough opportunities to get exercise. So, I try to share workouts and how to execute them correctly via social networks. This allows everyone to try routines and get exercise without needing to go to the gym.

If you can share a source of hope with someone in need, what would it be?
I think is important to show solidarity and stick together when someone is going through a difficult time. Thus, my co-operation partner Anja and I decided that we will offer free, regular online workouts which started the “Corona Cooperation Bamberg.” We thought a long time about how we will survive this situation and how we could save our businesses. But we decided not to use the situation to benefit ourselves. Anja and I decided that we would offer the online workouts for free as a fundraiser. Each participant can use this opportunity to donate to “Freund statt Fremd” which is a club that helps integrate refugees in our area. The donations will help refugees learn German, establish social contact and assist them in taking part of opportunities such as sports, education and the job market, just to name a few. We want to show our community that solidarity and sticking together is not only important during this time but always.