It was 16 December 2018 and Kristina Vogel was an evening guest on Dunja Hayali’s Aktuelle Sportstudio. She gave a moving interview about her situation after the accident and her new life in a wheelchair. One day later, on 17 December 2018, Kristina came second in the “Sportswoman of the Year” vote behind Angelique Kerber. What an exciting few days for Kristina, because from the following Monday, her and her manager’s phones were ringing off the hook. She was asked to make appearances as a speaker.
This was new territory for Kristina, so I got in touch with her and her management and asked if we could support her as a speaker at conferences and events. That same week, we met for coffee at the Federal Training Centre in Kienbaum and discussed a possible collaboration. The chemistry was right and there was sympathy from both sides right from the start.
The advantage was that I still had an office in Berlin at the time and was therefore in the capital on a weekly basis anyway. This meant we were able to meet almost every day at the beginning and prepare Kristina’s talk, as we had accepted the first bookings for her for the end of March 2019. We fine-tuned the talk, the presentation, the pronunciation, the logistics and started the adventure.
Kristina Vogel’s first appearance as a speaker was in Aachen and we travelled by car from Berlin to Aachen in one go. The appearance in Aachen was in the morning. And in the afternoon there was a second appearance in Cologne and then we travelled straight to Erfurt by car. The start was made and the presentations were sensationally well received: Authentic, clear, emotional and combined with great storytelling. The participants were happy and there were standing ovations for Kristina.
We have been travelling together ever since and I am very grateful to have been able to develop Kristina into one of the best speakers on the market. Kristina is bursting with power and enterprise. She works hard to get better and better without losing her authenticity. Thank you Kristina!