Crypto Megan Podcast | Winning Formula: Ana Marković on Sports, Crypto & Mindset

Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Megan Nielsen, aka Crypto Megan. And today I have a very special guest on with me here in Zurich, where all the action is happening at the premier podcast studio, Audiokanzlei. the best world class in Zurich. And I am here today with Ana Marković, world-famous Croatian soccer player who plays as a forward for the Swiss Women's Super League team Grasshopper and the Croatian national team. And she's also noted to be the most beautiful soccer player in the world, but it goes far beyond beauty. There is so much more than that. She's also an entrepreneur and a very talented athlete. Ana, thank you so much for being here today.

Hi, thanks for inviting me.

Yeah, it's so exciting that we get to be here together on the ground in Zurich where you play, where you basically have grown up most of your life, right?

Yeah, I was born here.

Yeah, and so, but so you're Croatian roots?

Yeah, I'm Croatian, like my family, my grandma, my aunt, they all live in Croatia. But like I grew up here, I went here to school.

So this is where you feel identified with, Basically, with Switzerland or tell us.

Yeah, of course. Like yeah, of course. I grew up here. I did the school here. I have a lot of Swiss friends. So, but like my blood is from Croatia, you know.

So you still feel that root and that connection to Croatia as well. That's fantastic. And I know I'm traveling with Vakabi today. It was a smooth and seamless trip. We have a very nice hotel here right in Zurich in the center. And I know you've traveled with them before as well. I think it was to Mexico, right?

Yeah, Mexico. It was amazing. It was my first trip like far away, so.

Really?

Yeah.

So tell us about it. You went to Cancun, right?

Yeah, it was Cancun. Like, this world is amazing. The people are so nice. The resort was amazing.

Which one did you stay at? Do you remember?

Oh, I don't remember.

Really nice one in the area there. 'Cause I also traveled—

It was one from Baccabi.

Yeah, yeah. I also traveled with Baccabi and we stayed at the Fairmont, a 5-star there. It was absolutely amazing. What I loved about it was that we got such good value for the money. Like, I, what I really like about this movement, and, you know, we'll discuss this later on in the podcast, but in the Web3 world, you know, Vacabee being a digital travel membership club, you pay that one-time membership fee and then all the value goes back to you as the user.

Yeah.

Versus booking in hotels where it's like so marked up and they spend billions on ads. And now we get access to those wholesale prices and we get just incredible value. So it's so, so special that we both went to Cancun. It's one of my favorite places. On earth, really. Closer to me than it is to you in California there when I'm there. But yeah, so it's really great to be here and get to know a little bit more about your story. You are now making headlines worldwide, and you're at a very special point in your career. So I really want to highlight that, and we'll get into that. You were recently featured alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, correct?

Yes.

For finance. How was that? What was that like?

Like, imagine you have an idol since you're a little girl. I started to— no, I didn't start to play football because of him. I started to play football because of my sister. But like, he was my idol. Like, I always watched YouTube videos of him, like how he's playing. He was also on the winger. I'm also a winger. So I identify a lot with him, also with the food, with discipline that he has. So it was amazing to work with him together.

I can imagine. Wow, that full circle moment where you're there with your idol and you're next to him as the female idol, right, for women worldwide. That's so special. Were you nervous?

Oh, like a lot. Like, it was crazy. But like, when he entered the room, it was calmer. I was calmer. And then when he started to speak, he was really humble and Like professional, but for me, it was much better than—

Better than you could imagine, right?

Yeah.

It's really crazy how that works. But yeah, you get in the zone when you're just in the presence of, I think, greatness too. You're just like, everything is calm and that's that moment where it's all happening now.

Yeah. And Binance was super professional. Like, everything was so organized. I really knew what to do. Like, yeah.

Good.

Yeah.

Binance, I've known them for quite a while now and I love what they're doing there and the work they're doing. And it's very cool what Cristiano has done with the NFT collection that he has, which we will get into later. But so let's take it back a moment to when you started playing football. You have something very special that not a lot of people in this world have, right? And it goes back to the discipline, I think. But at what point did you understand that you wanted to be a soccer player and that you— sorry, football player. We're speaking to a European audience here. It's the American—

Yeah.

At what point did you understand, like, I can do this, I can play professional?

Yeah, so first I started as a gymnastic. Like, not a lot of people know this, but I was for 10 years a gymnastic.

Wow.

So like really girly, like everywhere glitter, and like I was always alone, you know? It was not a team sport. My sister, my little sister Christina, she started at the age of 7 years old.

Gymnastics?

No, football.

Okay, okay.

Yeah, like she was always, she was always different, you know? And you can imagine, like when she had the games, I was there doing the, how do you call this, like the flick-flops and blah blah blah.

Oh, like the gymnastics stuff.

Gymnastics stuff.

Yeah.

On the football field.

You were like her cheerleader almost, yeah.

Almost, yes. Yeah, and she was playing there, and I always went to see her games, and it inspired me. And I always wanted to try something that I cannot do, like that I thought I cannot do. And I always wanted to be better than my sister in everything.

Oh, you had that competition going on.

Yeah, so I just started to play in my small village there. And yeah, after one year, a big club, FC Zurich, saw me, and after 1 year of playing football, I went to one of the biggest clubs here in Switzerland.

Wow.

Yeah, I was just 14 years old.

So you just basically thought, okay, my sister's doing this, I'm going to give it a shot, see what happens.

Basically, yes.

Wow. So you're just a natural, naturally gifted. But that natural gift comes with a lot of discipline behind what you do, right? I mean, that must be something that's a big part of your life is, I think, like, Going back to Cristiano Ronaldo, when you met him, I've met him a couple of times when he played for Madrid, because one thing you and I have in common is that I am a super fan of his as well growing up, like soccer. And so I've been following Madrid for like 10 years. So when he played for Madrid, and that's when I met him in Madrid, and one thing that struck me about him was that the entire team was kind of talking and smiling before the game. He was sitting there in the corner just listening to his clock, like staring down at the floor, and he was the only one, you know?

Yeah.

And so it's that mega ultra discipline, I think, that gives you guys what you have. Right? So talk to us about practicing growing up then. How was that for you? Was the discipline, did it come natural? Are you naturally driven or is it tough sometimes?

I think I learned a lot from gymnastics because you have to focus on yourself, you know? And if you have the competition, you have to be fully focused on you and you have to prepare your things. In football, it's a bit different. It's a team sport. If you have to prepare the material or like to put some air in the balls, we all do it together, you know. And from gymnastics, I have the discipline to be like very strong in the head, to be a fighter, you know. And I think it comes a lot from there. Like, I learned a lot. Also, like, to be always on time.

It's important for you?

Yeah, it's very important for me.

And how about the nutrition side of things?

Nutrition?

Yeah, are you pretty disciplined with what you eat, or are you—

So listen now, I always thought I'm eating healthy. Since I got like a huge injury, the knee, my boyfriend, he showed me what real nutrition is. So I started to work with a nutritionist. And it's completely different. Like, I ate too much. I ate like— like, you cannot eat a whole avocado in the morning. It's too much fat, you know? And I was like, ah, this is healthy, I can eat this whole thing, you know? And now I learned how important it is, like, with the supplements.

So important. Yeah.

Yeah, with the proteins.

Gotta get enough protein.

Yeah, like, during my rehab, I had so many protein shakes and I thought, I, I'm gonna be fat, I'm gonna be fat. This is not true, you know? And I think I learned a lot of nutrition during my rehab now.

Nutrition is so important for athletes.

Yeah, it is.

For your top performance and that full-circle discipline that you have. How many hours a week do you practice? I mean, is this—

Whoa, a lot. We have everyday training and on Tuesdays 2 times.

Wow. It's a lot. It's really inspiring to see because, as I quoted in the beginning, people know you around the world as the most beautiful soccer player, which you are. You are. You're even more stunning in person, so I can vouch for that. But there's so much more to you, so much more depth, and it's really inspiring for women to see that you can really do it all, you know, and that you can make it if you— the mental— what is the mental game like? Do you think that was one of the biggest, biggest drivers of your success in reaching where you are today?

I would say yes, but I also had the right people behind me. It's so important that you have like really like the right people, healthy people that helps you. And I think this game is not a game with myself, of course, because I have to be mentally strong. I have to work for it, you know, but it's very important to get some help because alone—

It's hard. Yeah, it's hard. Being around the right people is so important. I think the mentality and, you know, the support that they give you is essential in what you're doing because if you have the wrong people, You can actually not—

sometimes they will stop you.

They'll stop you. They'll take you down, right? And so it's like, have you had to kind of like— has your friendship circle changed since you've started becoming more successful, or what has that been like for you?

My circle changed, like, not a lot because I always had my people. And it's also special if you have your team, you know, if you have your football team. I'm playing now with some people in my team for like now 8 years, you know?

Wow.

It's crazy.

So you're like family.

Yeah, it's really like family. So my circle is small. I know a lot of people, really a lot of people, but like my circle is small. Yeah, and it's really important to have some good people around you.

Oh man, yeah, it's everything, I think, you know? It just pushes you to help you believe in yourself and continue to To fight for your dreams like you've done.

No, that's true. I had like I had really toxic relationships. You can imagine I deleted Instagram.

Oh wow! And five years ago, part of your career almost.

It is.

It is.

Wow!

And so why? What happened?

Yeah, because he didn't like that I have Instagram. Blah blah blah. I was the naive blondie, you know.

But look where you are now. Not so naive, right? You were able to get out of that situation. And yeah, I think those toxic relationships can really hold you back from achieving what you're meant for in life.

Yeah.

And you're destined for greatness, evidently. So I'm glad that you found your way out of that. And that's also inspiring for all the women in the world listening. You know, you gotta really, you gotta really fight for, for the best you can get for yourself in life.

Right.

And, and for healthy relationships. So, um, what is one of the most special moments that you remember, uh, starting out to play at this level? Was it a particular goal? Was it a match or what, what was the most like defining moment in the beginning for you?

My football career?

Yeah.

Hey, um, it was my first professional goal. So I started to search for my first professional goal after Cristiano asking me, do you remember your first professional goal? And I was like, no.

Really?

I don't remember. And he was like, me either. Oh wow.

I would think that would be like a moment ingrained in your mind, like, this is it, I made it, I'm done, I got my first goal.

No, no, no. And then I started to search like, what was my first professional goal? It was against Basel with my left foot.

Your left foot?

Yeah, and it's my weaker foot, so it was an amazing goal, you know. I think this is one of my— if I remember back, this was one of my most happiest moments of my life, you know.

Wow. Yeah. Good thing he reminded you then.

Yeah, yeah. And also with the Croatian national team, my first goal. Against Moldova, it was also amazing. Like, with my speed, I just crushed the passing line and then I could score. This was also amazing.

Yeah, you are very explosive on the field. You're known for your speed.

I'm really fast.

Do you train that a lot? Do you do a lot of sprinting or explosive exercises?

If I'm honest, it's from the gymnastics.

Really?

100%. I'm so small, but I can jump really high. I'm fast. It's from the gymnastics. Wow.

Yeah, that's, uh, so that really helped you out, that, yeah, you know, initial foundation that you have.

Yeah, there you have to be explosive, you know, in every discipline that you do.

You must, you must, you must really train if you want to be the best. So you're also a winger like, like Cristiano as well. You can, you're very versatile on the field, right? Um, who would you say has been one of your biggest inspirations football-wise growing up? I know you said Cristiano earlier. Is there anybody else that's inspired you? Maybe a female?

Yeah, it is. It's Alex Morgan.

Ah, okay.

Yeah, it's Alex Morgan. And why is that? I love her. Like, when she stands on the field, she knows exactly what she's doing. And like, especially now also, she was pregnant. She was pregnant. She has a little girl. She keeps going with her career, you know. It's, it's very inspiring for me.

That is so inspiring.

Like, imagine this. And she also, when she was pregnant, she played till she could.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, it's crazy.

So nothing stopped her.

No.

I mean, that's like truly, you're unstoppable.

And that's woman's strength, you know? And for me, this woman is for me inspiring.

Yeah, I mean, they are really, women are so resilient, aren't they? It's really amazing to see you sit here talking about this and probably inspiring so many other women around the world right now with that who don't know, like they've had kids already or they don't know if they're gonna make it and you just have to keep going, right? Perseverance. How do you get in the zone for a game? Do you have any kind of like song that you listen to that pumps you up, or what are you— what's your pregame routine?

Hey, it's really not my songs. It sounds a bit—

Don't worry.

Girly now, but I just love to see me in the mirror and to do my hair.

Yeah.

This is my focus song, I swear.

That is amazing. I've never heard that routine before a soccer game, but that is like, Just seems like so you, right? Like your essence. Like it's just you. Like you told— you talked about earlier about you like the girly stuff of gymnastics. And yet then you get on a field and you're an absolute beast in the best of ways, right? Like you're just so powerful. You're such a force on the field. So that's so funny to hear.

No, I just, I have to feel comfortable, you know? And if I just can look at myself in the mirror, I will. I just do my hair. I put my gel in the hair. And I just focus on myself. Sometimes I speak even with my thoughts, you know?

Do you talk to yourself in the mirror like, you got this, let's go?

Yeah, I don't talk physically. Like, I don't say something, otherwise my team would look at me like, what the fuck are you doing?

Hey, I mean, whatever gets you in the zone, right?

Yeah.

That's so cool though. Okay, so that just gets you right in the moment, you're ready. It's like your focus, right? You're focusing.

Yeah.

Have you ever, this is a weird question, but when I played soccer, 'cause we all play when we're growing up in the States, we play from like 10 years old.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I remember in my college team, recruited all the Spaniards because I wanted to win. And so like Europeans just have this finesse about the way they play, and I feel like Americans are more just like brute force, like just physical, right? But they lack the finesse. Yeah. So, um, so, oh, I just— what, at what age did you start playing? I know you said your sister was 7, but what age?

I was 13.

13?

So really late.

Wow, that's late. Well, late, right?

It's, it's late in, in the In the football world, it's really late.

Wow, and you just blossomed into who you are today. I mean, that's really crazy. I know we did have some plans to do some behind the scenes later. Maybe eventually we'll get to do some stuff on the field because we are here with also a world-class production company today, Vision Inspires, who is going to be filming all of the behind the scenes. So I'm really excited about that. And so stay tuned for that because that's going to be a special extra here. But let's continue then. So you had something very difficult challenge overcome recently and that you had a really tough injury.

Yeah.

Right? Um, wow, that must be really hard for you to even talk about. But—

Yeah, like, I can talk about it now, so if you would ask me 10 months ago, I would start to cry.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, for an athlete, it's, it's so hard.

No, it was the worst. Like, it's the worst injury that an athlete can have, like ACL, meniscus. I had a lot of, a lot of tears Yeah. And I fight it back now, like, for 12 months.

Wow.

It's really, really a long time.

Yeah.

But I also learned so many things about the nutrition. Yeah, the nutrition. About myself, about my— like, now I know it better, you know. If I have something in the muscle, I just, I have to, I have to control my, my performance, you know. And before my injury, I would just keep going to play.

Like I said.

It's like gambling, like, do I get injured or not? And this is really wrong. Yeah, now this weekend I couldn't play because my muscle is really overloaded. And so I had to say, hi, I'm so sorry. But for me, it was really hard. Imagine you're 12 months out after 4 games, you have again something. Mentally, it's really tough. But I learned to deal with it myself.

So you had this injury, and did you ever think, you know, I'm not going to come back from this?

No.

What were your thoughts?

Yeah, the first 2 months, they were really tough. I had a lot of pain. It's normal, you know, you cannot straighten your leg. Can't straighten your leg, yeah. You can't extend your knee. You have a lot of physiotherapy, so they are hurting you. But when I met my rehab coach, He's in Portugal.

Okay.

I decided to go to Portugal. And when I met him on that first day, I was completely sure that I will never get injured like this again.

Wow.

Yeah.

So he gave you a lot of confidence.

A lot, a lot of confidence.

That's important.

He's amazing.

That's so cool. And so you started your rehab and what were your thoughts in your mind? Like what got you through that time?

So my biggest, my biggest help was my boyfriend. We traveled a lot, like on the weekends. He's also a football player.

Okay, well, that's good.

Yeah, we cannot travel a lot, but always when he had like a weekend off, we went to Milano, to Como, to like to everywhere. And he was there with, do you know GameReady?

Yeah.

So he was with the GameReady to put ice on my knee and everything. He did massages, he did everything, you know. That I just feel better. When I had the crutches, he was basically my chauffeur, my taxi. Yeah, so this was an amazing time.

So he was really supportive of you, and you guys were just trying to enjoy life and enjoy the magic in the chaos, right?

Yeah.

Basically.

Basically, yes.

So you speak about it so nonchalantly, so casually, but that's really tough mentally. You have to be really, really strong. To persevere through that and to come back from that and think, I will still play as good or even better than I was before.

Yeah, and the thing is also, back to the athlete as you are, you are always with your coach alone, so no team around you. And it's completely different to be alone and to be with your team. But it was, as I told you, it was an amazing time. I learned so much more about my body, about my nutrition, about health, and about training.

Yeah, I mean, it's crazy to say, but you can still learn about training at this level.

Poor.

I think you never stop learning, actually.

No, no, no. But one thing I can tell you, the rehab time was the hardest time of my life.

Yeah, because it's painful, right?

Yeah, like in the beginning when I, when I had no muscle, Like, after 5 seconds of holding a position, my leg was shaking, you know?

Yeah, I've seen some of that stuff on your Instagram that you're doing your rehab.

Yeah, I try to share my emotions. Like, I cried a lot during the, during the exercise. I started to cry because I felt like, I cannot do this.

Why?

Yeah, like, 3 months ago I could do it without problems, and now I'm shaking, I'm crying, I'm, I'm dying.

But at no point did you think, I'm not coming back from this?

No. In the beginning, of course, you have thoughts like, and my injury was huge. I had a lot of things, not just the ACL and meniscus. This was the— these two were the biggest problems. That was the biggest. Yeah. But I had a bone bruise. I had torn ligaments, everything. The surgery guy, the doctor, he took 2 tendons of my hamstring. Normally, you just take one. So I had a huge gap in my hamstring. I had, like, for 5 months problems, like always cramps when I did some exercises. And this was the biggest thing that I thought, will this ever go away, this feeling of the cramps? It was crazy, but my coach did it, so—

And you made it.

And I made it here.

You're here. How was your first game back? What was that like? Were you a little bit fearful, or did you just hit the field and just like normal again?

Hey, I swear it was just normal again.

Wow.

No fear, no nothing. I just thought, hey, Anna, you just go inside, you go in and you just give your best, you know? We were losing 2-1, so.

Wow, that's crazy. I mean, usually you'd think you'd go back with some fear or some hesitation and you just powered through?

Yeah.

You're resilient, very resilient person. I think that's so inspiring in itself. A lot of athletes have come back from injuries and a lot of basketball players get ACLs and— And it's hard. It's super hard, especially when this is your whole life. So it's cool to see that you bounced back so strong again. And now you're listening to your body a little bit more from what I can tell, right?

Yeah.

Just a little bit. And so what has football taught you about yourself mentally? Like, have you learned something through your playing about you and the way you are, or has it like helped you grow as a person? Mm-hmm.

Hey, They were ups and downs. So I played for FC Zürich, and there I was like really a leader, you know. I always tried to coach someone on the field. But if I think back, in a negative way, you know, like I was screaming, I was— I wanted always to be tough on the field. Now, if you see me now, I'm so quiet. Like, of course, in the trainings, I'm always like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, not screaming anymore, but like in a positive way.

Encouraging, motivating.

Yeah, yeah. Um, so I think this is the biggest thing that I learned. My mom told me always like, Anna, why are you screaming at the people? I was like, I'm not screaming, this is normal. No, it was not normal. It was in a negative way. If a, if a player screams at me now like this, I tell her like, hey, tone it down. Yeah, tone it down. Yeah, because it's not motivating me, you know. I'm just getting not confident on the field and then I play bad.

Interesting. So it brings your confidence level down.

Yeah, I think this is the biggest thing that I learned in my career.

That is interesting. And what about the self-talk? Did you ever— I mean, you seem like you're just so effortlessly confident. Do you— did you ever doubt yourself, or what, what have you thought? What are your thoughts? I think like One of the keys to success and what's helped me in my career is that really belief, that undying belief that no matter what, you're going to make it. So what are some of those things that you tell yourself or that you feel or you think that help you get there?

Like, as you say, I started to speak with myself a very long time ago. I always also recorded myself and I listened to it.

Interesting.

In a young age, like I was 15.

Okay, there it is. That's why you're so brilliant. You're different. I don't think many 15-year-olds are doing that at that age, right? They're thinking about boys or high school or whatever.

True.

Okay, so what did you say when you recorded? What were, what were you— some of the things?

Like, you have to tell yourself, because imagine I was— I started to play football with 13. I was 15 years old in the U21 of FC Zurich. I was the youngest one. Everyone was much better than me. And you have to talk to yourself like, you are as good as the other ones. You can do this. Um, do your effort, go through your limits. This was also my strength, my, my limits. I didn't have limits. Like, I just run, run, run. Also, if I'm dying, I will just run. Like, this is also my strength, my condition, you know?

Yeah.

And, um, yeah, this kind of things. I had a huge gap with technical stuff, like technique. Still, like now I have my basic technique.

Well, but I'm still basic.

I'm still not Cristiano Ronaldo that does the dribbles and skills and blah blah blah. You know what I mean?

If you're aspiring to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, which you're you're on you are a rising star, but you're already a star. I mean, I mean that's pretty high standard if you ask me. So wow, you know the skills you've got them clearly. And and you're saying that you weren't even the best on the field, or or you say you were one of the quote unquote worst, and then yet you've, you've made it here, but other people who maybe had more skills than you didn't. So there's something to be said there.

Yeah, um, of course. Um, I always say some people have so much talent, so much talent, but the head is wrong, you know? Like, they are not fighting, they are not giving the best or giving everything or thinking about, I work harder, I do more. And I think some people, like me included, I'm working really hard and I'm doing always extra sessions. I'm working every day on me. And, um, yeah, I think this is the, this is the most, like, this is the biggest difference between people that have a lot of talent and they are not doing nothing and the fighters, the workers, you know.

So it's a lot of hard work. So you think with a lot of hard work and perseverance, Even if you've got maybe a little bit less skill than somebody else, you can still make it really big if you continue down that path, right?

Yes.

That's so cool. That's so cool. And speaking of talent, you're much more than an athlete, even a very talented athlete, but you're also an entrepreneur. You are the co-founder, correct, of Reloadz, a vegan energy drink, which I cannot wait to try. It's not an energy drink.

It's a protein drink.

Protein drink. Sorry. Vegan protein drink. Yeah, much different.

Yeah, it's—

Which I can't wait to try. I wish we had some here to showcase, but we actually don't because you're making a change in the company, right?

Yeah. So nobody knows this.

Exclusive announcement.

Ted exclusive announcement. We did a rebranding. Okay. So it's amazing. Now it's perfect. Like we started with Reloads, It was just an idea, you know? And we presented this idea here to one of the biggest retailers, Migros.

Okay.

And imagine, we had just like things to try.

Small samples.

Yeah, small samples. And they loved it.

Wow.

So this idea, and they told us like, yeah, in week 16, we will put you on our—

On your shelves.

On the shelves, yeah. And we were like, oh my God, okay, okay, now we have a lot of work to do. This is real.

It's exciting.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we started, we were not vegan and we wanted really to be vegan. So we started to work on it to be the first vegan protein water in Switzerland.

That's so cool. Vegan protein water. I mean, that's such a great concept too because I can't have whey and stuff because I'm lactose intolerant. The vegan was— I saw that, it was like, yes, I got a product for me.

This is also the thing, Lactose, it's without milk. It's a protein water. So many people are asking me, what is a vegan protein water? Water is vegan. Yes, it is, but the protein is not. And our base is the rice protein.

Oh, that's actually for me the best. It's the one that doesn't upset my stomach at all. Like when I take protein powder, it's rice powder.

Yeah, and it's the best that— like, the animal proteins are the best ones for our body, but the next best one is the rice protein.

Right.

Yeah, so we worked really hard on it, but with the first branding, we were not so happy, but we have to have something.

You had to come out. You just had to go. Yeah, we had to.

Right, true, yeah. And now we started the rebranding.

That's so exciting.

And the look is completely different. Because of that, I didn't want to give you some old—

You didn't want to give—

I mean, it's not old. It's still in the—

still on the shelves.

Still on the shelves, but yeah.

That's very exciting. So hopefully we'll get some designs that we can show later on and we'll be able to tease that a little bit more, but I cannot wait to try it because that's such a genius product. Right? I'm like super excited. Vegan protein water all the way. And that's just the beginning of your career. I mean, you're just at the pivotal point of your career where it feels you're just about to explode now, right? Like sky is the limit. Like you said before, you have no limits. You just keep going. You just keep going. And this now venture of yours is amazing. I'd love to see it on the shelves in Spain.

Me too. Me too. We are working on this.

Yeah.

But yeah, every market is different. The protein itself, it's a bit more expensive, you know, and it's a Swiss-made product. So it's a bit more expensive. If you see markets in Germany or somewhere, they will not buy it because it's too expensive.

Right. It's a premium product.

It's a premium product. So we have to see, we have to look for a good concept with the right people.

Yeah, absolutely.

So that we can be in Europe.

Yeah, that's very cool. Well, I'm definitely going to be excited to try that soon. Premium products, you know, you got to be careful what you put in your body. So I know there's a huge market for people who want those pure ingredients. So that's fantastic. Congratulations on that and on the rebranding.

Thank you.

And now I wanted to touch on, you know, a little bit more of what my world is and what I'm involved with, which is crypto and Web3. I know you're new to the world and it's really exciting. There's a lot happening. I know you got exposed to it through Cristiano Ronaldo and his NFT collection with Binance. What do you think about all this? I know it's really new to you as well. What are your initial thoughts?

I think that technology is amazing. Like, if I'm honest, I have not such a big idea of the NFT world or the crypto world. I started to watch this kind of things now because of Binance. Yeah, I had also, um, or I'm having a cooperation with Flowbank.

Nice. Yeah, very nice. Yeah, um, yeah, it's just such, it's such incredible technology and it is my whole world now and I'm so excited. It's what brings me around the world to speak to like brilliantly talented people like you and, um, there's just so much you can do with it, especially with NFTs for athletes who you have so many fans worldwide who want to be more connected to you. And there couldn't be a better technology than NFTs. And forget the NFT part, right? It's so technical and all the lingo and it just kind of like drives people away, especially when I see I'm going to teach. I love to teach women, by the way, because I think they're such go-getters.

Ooh.

Like when I explain to women, it's so much more like, okay, tell me now, let's go. So it's super fun. But so a non-fungible token, right? So an NFT is basically like, Like a smart contract that you can program things into. I like to equate it to like a vending machine. When you're going to put tokens into a vending machine, then you have a contract established where you type the number in of the product you want, and as soon as you put the money in, it's executed and your product comes out.

Yeah.

So that's kind of like what's happening on the blockchain. So for fans, for example, for you, it's absolutely revolutionary because you can connect in such a different way. And for example, like some of the things that Cristiano has been doing with his NFT collection You know, you can drop a collection where fans can buy, you know, like maybe they get a backstage pass to your game and they get to connect with you. And maybe the fans that hold your NFTs can get certain benefits when they go to games and they can be more connected to you as your fan. You can see who your super fans are, who buy the most NFTs of yours, the most merch. Maybe it's a signed ball, which we are going to do later on today as well with Bakobi. So there's so much you can do with that, and I'm really excited to explore that avenue with you. I'm sure that there's something very unique that we can come up with that you can establish for your brand and even for your Reloads energy drink.

Protein.

Sorry, protein. I keep saying energy. I must need an energy drink because it's early here. It's like subconscious vegan protein drink. You can sell them in that way as well and do special activations and things like that. I recently, actually speaking about football and entrepreneurship, became one of the majority shareholders of a vodka brand called All Time High.

Okay.

Which is really cool for the NFT and crypto world. As you know, Bitcoin just reached its all-time high recently. And they acquired a football club in London. Well, it's called Chorley. It's near Manchester. So it's one of those semi-professional leagues, you know, like Ryan Reynolds bought one and it's becoming all the new hype. And so in that football club, we're now getting our— it's called the ATH token and we have a whole system where you can buy, you can obviously, you can buy the vodka through that online with the ATH token. But the coolest thing is the people at the football club. So this is, you know, like this level of football where the fans are super engaged and they've been going for 10, 20 years and all their family. It's like a legacy, you know, they just keep going and it's this local club with so much heart and soul. You'd absolutely love it. You should go one day, actually. Their face is Boyzone. I don't know if you've heard of them. It's like the Backstreet Boys of Europe.

Okay.

So it's pretty cool. And so what this enables, the token enables fans to do, is through the app, they can tip the soccer players. So they can tip their favorite player. It's awesome because normally you can't do that at these levels of football clubs. So through the technology, through blockchain technology, and with the points they have from this app and the token, they can just send the tip to the player's wallet.

But just from this team or from all the teams?

Well, we're opening it up to teams around the world, which is what I wanted to talk to you today about. Yeah, because now when you're playing, all your superfans can give you a tip and write you a message like, Anna, well done today. You're such a beast on the field, or whatever they want to say. That's so cool. Yeah, so they can tip you and they're actually making quite a bit extra money through it. And not only— it's not just the money, it's the connection with the fans, because then you see who your super fans are, then you can reward them as well. So it's a whole new world. Technology. Yeah, yeah. So it's really exciting. They can pay for all the stuff at the club, they can support the club.

Really?

Yeah, yeah.

And also with the women's clubs?

Yes, yeah. And that's one of my missions, is to empower women, obviously, and uplift women.

That's also my mission in the world.

I know. And yeah, we're going to definitely close with that to see where you want to position yourself in the coming years. But I think that that would be really cool to launch at your club and start allowing your fans to tip you when you've done a good job and let them connect with you on a deeper level. So that's really cool.

Amazing.

Yeah. And so as we come to the end here, I'd like to know, what is your vision? Now, it seems like you're just at a point in your career where you can go any which way. What is your vision for the next, I don't know, 5, 10 years? Where do you want to be? Like, what is your goal?

Yeah, first of all, I never want to get injured like that again. But I always wanted to play like a Champions League, and I want to qualify with the national team for a big tournament, you know, like now, 2025, will be the European here in Switzerland. Wow.

Yeah, that's right.

This is now the first goal. And then the next 5 years, it's the World Cup.

Oh, wow. That's incredible.

Yeah.

I would love to see you playing in the World Cup. I mean, that—

Yes. I invite you.

Honestly, like, with your mentality and your drive and your discipline, I don't see how you won't make it.

Yeah, it's not just up to me. It's the whole team.

That's so exciting. Okay. And then what about business-wise? Have you thought about that?

I have a lot of visions. Business thoughts, Reloadz. So Reloadz, I want that everyone understands what vegan protein water is, because in our world, like, we know what a Coca-Cola is, we know what energy drinks are.

Clearly.

But for what is the protein water, you know? And a lot of people have lactose intolerance. I mean, yeah. Me too.

You too? Okay, something else we have in common.

And like, why is it so good for you? Not just for athletes, also for normal people that are going to work or having, I don't know, a break for 10 minutes.

Yeah, and you get your protein intake. You know, they say you should have 2 grams of protein per kilo that you weigh per day.

Yeah, and a lot of people are not eating enough protein, so I think this This would be a very good extra for them.

Oh yeah, and it's an easy way to get protein because a lot of people— we also have a fitness background, and a lot of people say, I just— the shakes, I can't get them down. I don't like it, you know, the whole protein powder shakes. So this is a much lighter, you know, easier to drink.

Yeah. So if you ask me about my business plan, I think the next 5 years I want that everyone in the world knows what Reloadz is. Um, yeah, and that I have a lot of other plans.

Yeah, I'm sure you do. I mean, I can't wait to follow your journey, and I, I think Reloads will become a household name, you know? You gotta reload. I love the vegan protein water idea. I got it right this time. Um, and, uh, yeah, I've actually tried it before, and I actually, I love it. So I can't wait to try your brand and, um, see, see how it is. And so, uh, what is one of the most inspiring things a fan has Has there ever been a moment where a fan has connected with you and it's really stuck with you? Like, wow.

Hey, um, 3 weeks ago, uh, we had a visitor. Like, he came to see me training. Um, he is 18 years old and he has this muscle— how is the— I don't know the word in English. Like this sickness where the muscles are Oh. Like dying, like—

Atrophy, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And like in the end, you will— he will have a heart attack, you know, because the muscle—

God.

Yeah. And I think this was one of the craziest, um, meet and greets with a fan, uh, because for me, health is everything, you know. And some people cannot do this, what they love. And he's inspiring a lot because he's playing football in his wheelchair.

Wow. Yeah.

Oh my God. Yeah, they have like special equipment, you know, and for me this is amazing.

Oh wow, you just see that and you think, wow, if he can do it, then we must all fight, right? There is no choice.

No.

And that God-given talent that you have, you can't—

I have goosebumps now.

Yeah, me too.

It is crazy.

You just got to persevere in life and really stick with it and never give up, never give up, right? That is the most important point.

That is the most important point, yeah.

Never give up. Yeah, that's really special. What a moment, and connecting with your fans like that. I would love to see you again get more involved in the crypto world. And with, you know, if I have anything to say about it, I'm going to help you out as much as I can because I think that there's so much more we can explore in that avenue. And you're inspiring women on all fronts, tech, just as a person and as a professional athlete.

Thank you.

It's incredible. And Instagram, actually, before we close, that's been a really key component to you getting out there and sharing your thoughts and your vision with the world. And I know that you said you didn't have it before because of that toxic relationship. And now it's like an instrumental part of your brand and who you are, right? So it's kind of like social media is transforming sports. Yeah, it is.

With social media, I started 2 years ago.

Wow, okay.

A long time ago. And now I have 3.3 million followers. And do you know how it started? With Cristiano Ronaldo's fan pages.

Really? That's what kicked it off?

It was really like this. I had 6,000 followers. Well, this was also for me a lot, you know. Yeah, I know.

Here in Switzerland, 6,000.

And, um, yeah. I don't know where, I always spoke about, yeah, Cristiano is my idol, blah, blah, blah. So one fan page started to speak about me, like, I have the number 7 because of Cristiano. And so you can imagine how many fan pages he has, you know? So every fan page spread it.

Wow.

And from one night to another one, I had 10,000.

Wow.

And this was a lot.

You're like, hey, what's happening?

It's a lot, you know?

Yeah.

And I just grew, grew, grew. Really fast. I was scared. What for one week I didn't post nothing because I was so scared.

You know, you wouldn't picture that the way your social media looks today. You just look like no. You know, it's effortless and it's no. Yeah.

So it started like this two years ago.

So it's not like you know you you were just got on social media and you blew up overnight. This is something that was a process. You put yourself out there. Wow, that's cool. That's also inspiring to people who want to grow on social media and have some kind of like. Like you know brand there. That's very cool. And so then as we wrap this up, you will be taking a vacation later this year with Vakabi, right? That's exciting. Where do you have you thought about where you might go in the world?

Or hey, we still don't know it exactly, but maybe Santorini.

Oh, I love Santorini.

Yeah, the thing is we like I don't know how long I have vacation in summer because of the national team.

Right, right.

And so we have to stay somewhere close. Um, yes, I'm so excited. I'm so happy because I didn't have vacations for now 14 months, you know.

Yeah, you've been just like going really hard. That's so cool. You deserve it.

I'm so happy to have these vacations. Yeah.

Oh yeah, I mean, that's, that's going to be really cool. Actually, we're doing a hotel takeover with Vacabi in New York next week.

Oh no, cool.

Yeah, yeah, we gotta get you to the US. Yes, they're gonna love you over there.

I was in Miami.

Okay, how'd you like it?

But I was 19 years old, so I could do nothing.

Gotta be 21. You gotta be 21 in the US. Yeah, I don't know, we're pretty far behind in that front.

It was amazing. It's a complete different world. Like, the people are different, the food.

Yeah, yeah, I mean, well, we're much healthier here in Europe, I think.

Yeah.

The food is very good there. But see, I'll be seeing the guys at Vodka Bee there. We're doing that hotel takeover at the Virgin. Actually, for a crypto event.

Oh, okay.

So yeah, for an NFT event.

Okay.

Maybe we'll get you to come to the next one.

See ya. Yeah.

And so closing note, what would you say to women and fans around the world as some words of advice who are trying to fight to follow their dreams like you are? What would be the one piece of advice you would give them based on your experience?

Like, just never stop dreaming. Be strong. Never think that you are weaker than other people because you're not.

You can do this just like they can, right? Amazing. Wow. Well, thank you so much for coming today, Anna, and for sharing your life story with us. And I cannot wait to follow your career.

Thank you very much.