Forbes 30 Under 30: These sports personalities are on it

At the age of 23, Alexander Zverev from Hamburg is already number seven in the world rankings. In 2020, he narrowly missed out on his first Grand Slam title in the dramatic final of the US Open against Austrian Dominik Thiem. Nevertheless, Zverev is the great German tennis hope for the future.

The Swiss is a world champion, the youngest overall World Cup winner in history, four-time European champion and six-time national champion. But the 27-year-old is not only successful in sports: 338,000 people follow her on Instagram. In addition, she has marketing deals with labels such as Ford and the watch brand Tissot. In addition, Neff is the editor of her own magazine "Trois Mois", the profits of which go to the Greenhope Foundation - Sports Against Cancer. "I am an active top athlete, my own manager and a self-made marketing expert all in one," says Neff.

Marcel Sabitzer has been playing for RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga since 2015/16. The Austrian international sensationally reached the semi-finals of the Champions League with the club in the summer of 2020. In the 2020/21 season, the 26-year-old will captain the German top team for the first time.

Mujinga Kambundji, 28, has won 2019 World Championship bronze in the 200m sprint. The Swiss has won over sponsors such as Nike, UBS and BMW with her successes.

The 28-year-old will be playing his second season on the PGA Tour in 2020 and is already ranked 133rd in the PGA World Ranking. The dual citizen (USA and Austria) has already won over two million US dollars in prize money.

The 29 year old professional skateboarder is part of the Red Bull athlete pool and besides skate events he also realizes creative film and photo projects. "In addition to my skateboarding career, I am the owner and managing director of Stricker Freestyle Sports GmbH, with which I promote young talent (training, camps & courses) in various freestyle sports," says Stricker. The skater already employs 20 people. His agency has already supported over 1000 freestyle athletes with courses and camps. Besides Red Bull, the shoe brand Vans and the World Rookie Tour are also partners of Stricker.

The sports marketing agency Stax Agency, which 25-year-old Elio Sabo founded there five years ago, is based in Fribourg, Switzerland. In 2019, the company produced a documentary film about English footballer Jack Wilshere in cooperation with the Daily Mail. In addition, the Stax Agency looks after athletes such as extreme athlete Mike Horn and French tennis ace Gael Monfils. Adidas also relies on Sabo and his company for content production.

In the US, college sports are a mass phenomenon. The biggest college football games attract more fans to the stadiums than NFL games. "With the Austrian College Sports League, our vision is to establish the American concept of college sports in an adapted form at Austrian universities and thus significantly enhance everyone's college experience," says Colin Fuchs-Robetin, describing his company's mission. And indeed, ACSL is now Central Europe's largest college sports platform, with 700 active athletes and 40,000 visitors a year. The company cooperates with five universities and employs nine staff and 120 volunteers.