ISPO Munich 2022: That Was Monday

What a dynamic start to ISPO Munich 2022! At the 45-minute ISPO Community Run with running influencer Imke Salander, running enthusiasts from all over the world broke a sweat even before the opening of ISPO Munich. Missed the run on Monday? There's a second chance on Tuesday in the morning!

At 9 a.m. on the dot, the time had finally come: After a good two-year break from Corona, ISPO Munich is back! And the rush already in the early morning hours showed: The sports community could hardly wait to finally come together again, to present and discover innovations, to network and to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the industry.

For example, at the ISPO Conference on the winter sports of the future. After all, the challenges are considerable: inflation, rising energy prices, and climate change. At the "New Perspectives on Wintersports" panel, experts discussed possible solution strategies - and were quite confident. Martin Dolezal, CEO of Snowsports GmbH, is certain: "Winter sports will continue to grow in the future. Numerous ski resorts are already reducing their ecological footprint with their own photovoltaic systems, for example. And demand is already high at the start of the season: Many ski resorts are very busy on weekends.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be done. One challenge is that the majority of people still travel to ski resorts by car. For this reason, work is needed above all on the infrastructure to bring people to winter sports in the long term, especially from urban regions, says Bernhard Ratschiller, CEO of Snow51.

Once again, ISPO Munich is also a meeting place for sports stars. For example, Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev and his brother Mischa provided information about current training technologies in professional sports - also with the help of virtual reality - at a press conference held by improVR.

What do Alexander Zverev and his brother and manager Mischa Zverev do after a match at 9 o'clock in the evening? That's right, they train until security turns off the lights. This is mainly due to Alex's unique work ethic. Mischa also confirms this: "No one works harder than him."

The injured tennis pro is currently fighting his way back to old strength, and he uses the time in between more than wisely. Not only are the brothers visiting ISPO Munich for the first time as a result of the time they've gained, Alexander Zverev has launched a heart-touching project. With the Alexander Zverev Foundation, he wants to help people with diabetes. Zverev, who suffers from the disease himself, explains that he wants to save lives and send a message: that you can have a fulfilling life and achieve anything, even in spite of this disease.

Ex-Alpine skier Felix Neureuther was on hand at the Schöffel stand.

In the Future Lab in Hall B2, Bluesign initiated an exciting panel discussion with Antje Dewitz, CEO of Vaude, Eva Karlsson, CEO of Houdini, Kilian Hochrein of Gore-Text and Kutay Saritosun of bluesign on the topic "Enabling a better future: A vision for sustainability". The experts spoke about the critical developments, limitations, obstacles and opportunities of the last 20 years, the present and took a hopeful look into the future. Sustainability is being redefined: It is not just the material that makes a product sustainable; instead, "behavioral sustainability" is the new way of thinking.

Above all, it is important to think about products not only until the end of their life, but also to take a look at the next life and the life after that. Vaude is leading the way with a prime example. CEO Antje Dewitz explains that they have been working on closing the circle with their own brand Greenshape since 2010. It's not just about sustainable materials, but much more: repairable products, for which Vaude not only provides how-to videos, but also a repair factory. In addition, products are specifically designed so that they can be worked on more easily, for example through easily removable plastic parts or zippers on the outside of the products.

Half an hour full of valuable tips and tricks. In the Red Bulletin Live Podcast "Die Biohacking Praxis" Stefan Wagner, Anton Palzer, Dan Lorang and Andreas Breitfeld delivered an exciting coaching session. Here is a little sneak peek into the individual topics:

• Ice bathing doesn't help at all?

At least there is no study that proves the positive effect on the immune system, explained Andreas. But the cold is still an exciting topic in areas such as regeneration and in training preparation. A Stanford study shows that cold before and during strength and endurance training has positive effects.

• Sober workout? This brings carbohydrate reduction

A clear advantage in terms of energy supply: If you leave out carbohydrates in the evening and before training, the fat metabolism starts and supports your training. But be careful: You should clearly separate the training episodes from the competition episodes.

• Adhesive tape in bed - That's behind mouthtaping

There is also a term that Toni was not familiar with: mouthtaping. A breathing exercise technique in which the mouth is taped shut at night to encourage breathing through the nose. It remains to be seen whether the professional cyclist will take adhesive tape to bed with him from now on.

You weren't there live and would like tips on grounding and altitude training?
Listen to the whole episode here and on all major podcast platforms!

Textile expert Louisa Smith presented the ISPO Textrends Award to the winning brands and introduced the 3 megatrends in the textile sector.

• Accountability: Measures such as the circular economy, the use of renewable energies and innovative, sustainable materials such as vegan leather are intended to counteract problems such as overconsumption and overproduction.

• Transformation: Technologies such as Web.3, NFT and Crypo have arrived in the textile industry and enable communities to become creative together with brands - and advertising is becoming increasingly immersive.

• Humankind: Wellbeing is also in focus in the textile sector, and with it topics such as inclusion, diversity, mental and physical health, and the connection to nature.

There was a novelty on the evening of the first day of the trade show: With Patagonia, for the first time not an individual but a company was honored with the renowned ISPO Cup for its services to society. Tobias Gröber, Head of the ISPO Group, presented the ISPO Cup on the Main Stage of the Future Lab. In a video message, CEO Ryan Gellert said he felt deeply honored that the work and goal Patagonia has been pursuing for over 50 years is now being recognized in this way. 'Since its inception, Patagonia has tried to do as much as it can for the planet: Starting with sustainable circular economy, the production of sustainable products to the initiative '1% for the planet'."

So now, 100% of sales are to go toward preserving and saving the planet. "Donating to nature and the planet" is the overarching goal. $100 million will probably be it initially. Gellert hopes that many other companies will follow Patagonia's example. Furthermore, he said, he would like to thank all the companies that are equally committed to the environment and sustainability.