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All right, well, welcome back to the All Things Croatia podcast, everybody.

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We have a very special guest today, Mariela Steko two-time junior

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European boxing champion who just won the gold medal at the 2023 European

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Championship not too long ago, a few months ago.

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She also models in Germany, along with some other passions of hers.

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And today we're going to hear her story and learn a little bit more about her.

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Mariela, thanks for coming on the podcast.

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Thanks for having me.

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Of course.

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Yeah, really excited to have you.

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I was just telling you off-camera that I saw your interview on the podcast

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Inkubator, which is like the Croatian, in Croatian biggest podcast, I guess.

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But they have a lot of athletes, they interview and stuff.

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My Croatian is not so good, so it took me a while to get through the whole thing.

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But I think I understood most of it.

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So it was nice being there.

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But really, you know that I live in Germany, so it's also not that easy

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to always speak Croatian only.

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So I really try hard to speak Croatian very well, but it's so difficult for me

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because I'm still in school and I'm speaking German all the time.

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So also not that easy, but I'm trying.

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I'm sure.

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Yeah.

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I mean, I only speak English and I'm learning Croatian.

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So you speak German, English, Croatian.

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I mean, even one language is enough for me so I can imagine how hard it is,

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you know, to learn more.

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Yeah.

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So you're near Munich then, right?

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Or in Munich?

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Yes, I actually, I was born in Munich and I live in Munich.

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We have actually two sport, two gyms here in Munich, my family.

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So we live here.

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We've been here for a long time.

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Well, yeah, on that note, can you tell us a little bit about sort of your family

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and then, you know, you're growing up and everything like that?

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So I actually have two younger sisters who are also boxing.

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So we're keeping it in the family.

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My dad was a boxer himself.

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He was world champion in kickboxing and he actually also qualified for the Olympics

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in 2000 in Sydney, but he broke his hand so he couldn't participate, unfortunately.

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But we're very close as a family.

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So with my mom, my sisters and my dad, we sort of, we have a very good bond, I'd say

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as a family, we're all together and we kind of, me and my sister, we go everywhere together

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to all the tournaments, to all the competitions, we train together.

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So we kind of experience everything with each other.

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That's really nice.

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That's awesome.

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I knew you had, I thought you only had one sister and I knew she boxed.

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I didn't realize you have two sisters and the whole family is boxing.

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That's awesome.

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Everyone is boxing except for my mom.

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She's the only one.

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Yeah, she just watches or what?

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Yeah, she just watches.

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Sometimes it's hard for her to watch while I was fighting at the Europeans, you know,

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there was a live stream.

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So my own family was watching, even my grandma was just sitting in front of it, she'd be

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praying all the time that everything would turn out good.

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But yeah, like the big competitions she does watch, but like the smaller ones, we usually

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tell her about them, but it's really difficult for her to see how we get punched in the face.

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So that's not easy for her.

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I'm sure.

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Yeah.

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My mom is the same way.

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I don't, I just train boxing for fun.

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You know, I'm not competing, but even just telling her, you know, I went to boxing today,

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she like winces and yeah, she's always worried about me too.

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You know, so, so is it your parents or grandparents talking, you know, Croatian

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heritage wise from Tomislavgrad?

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Yeah, my, uh, Aki, my parents were born in Tomislavgrad and then they came as sort of

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during elementary school, I think during like for the first grade or third grade, they

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came to Germany then to Munich.

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And since then we've been here.

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So it's also my parents.

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Have you been back there ever?

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To Croatia or to Tomislavgrad?

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Well to Tomislavgrad.

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I know.

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Yeah.

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I know recently we were in Zagreb.

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Yeah, we go there every summer.

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It's like our tradition because we travel a lot.

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We've been to South Africa.

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We've been to New York last Christmas.

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So we like traveling a lot, but that's like our family tradition that we go there.

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Every summer we go to Tomislavgrad, you know, back to our roots.

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I think that's also nice to kind of know where you're from, know your culture.

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That's awesome.

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Yeah.

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Probably a little bit different than going to New York, but it is, it is, you know,

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people, it's, it's a different lifestyle over there.

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You know, people still live in very small cities.

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It's just different, also really different than Munich.

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So yeah, we're used to it.

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My family is from near Ljubuski, so I think not too far.

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Okay.

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I'm a friend.

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She's from Ljubuski, so I know.

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Really?

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You know, there's a lot of, a lot of great Croatian athletes and boxers in particular

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from Herzegovina in general.

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Yeah, I know.

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I know.

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You know, I think also the Kovac brothers, the ones who used to play football, they're

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also friends, both Ljubuski and Herzegovina.

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Huh, very interesting.

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I interviewed, I don't know how much you watch of like current boxing, you know,

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professional boxing and in the past as well.

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But I don't know if you know George Čuvolo or Juraj Čuvolo as he's known in Croatia.

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His are actually from near Ljubuski as well.

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And I interviewed his son and that was really cool to hear all the stories about, you

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know, how he fought Muhammad Ali twice and, you know, all these stories about boxing and

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about, you know, his Croatian roots.

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That was a really cool interview.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, that's really cool.

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Cause actually there are so many people, you know, so many famous ones that really

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achieved great things in life and they just come from the small place.

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Yeah.

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Really awesome.

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That's crazy.

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So, so your dad is your coach.

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What's that like for you with?

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There are some good aspects.

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They're also bad ones.

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So actually most of the times it's actually really nice training with him because he

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really understands me.

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You know, he, it's not only my coach, but my dad, he knows what I'm like, my character.

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And I think that's also why he can handle me very well also during training.

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And he knows how to calm me down.

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He knows how I feel in these certain moments.

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And he also travels to with me everywhere.

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When I go to the European championships somewhere completely different last time

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it was in Armenia, I think it would be way harder to be there not knowing anybody.

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So it's actually nice to always have him around, but I think for him, it's

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difficult to be my dad, but at the same time, my coach, because he also gets very

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emotional when I'm fighting.

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It's also really difficult for him to watch that, but still he kind of needs to stay

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calm so that I can concentrate.

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Yeah. But I actually really enjoy him being my coach.

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I think that if he, it's, it's this certain, I think I do boxing also because it's

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something that only he himself can teach me.

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It's actually something we get to spend so much time together, travel together.

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And that's just a nice thing that we as father and daughter can do that.

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Just the two of us together.

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That's awesome.

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Yeah.

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Do your sisters train with you guys as well sometimes or most of the times or not at all?

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I have, as I said, I have two younger sisters.

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So the youngest one, she turned nine and the other one is 14.

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So the 14 year old and I, Valeria, we train together actually almost every day.

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Actually recently she, she's now training with the different people than I am and

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now we're not training together anymore.

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And it's so difficult for me because she is my trainings buddy.

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We're always training together and you kind of motivate each other.

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So actually almost always.

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So it's, we always train together.

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That's great that you have such a tight relationship with your family and you're

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able to train together and everything.

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You mentioned, you know, the European championships.

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Can you tell us a little bit about that?

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You know, first sort of just in general, the European championships,

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and then how your fights ended up going.

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So my first European championship was actually last year in Italy and it was still

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this under 17 age class.

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And so there were 15 and 16 year old girls and that was actually my first time competing

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at the European and the second one.

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So the ones this year, they were in Armenia, so a different age group.

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So it was under 19.

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So it was a different age group.

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And so it was under 19, so 17 and 18 year old girls.

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That was really difficult for me because last year the girls were, I was one of the

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youngest ones at the Europeans this year and the girls were just way stronger.

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You know, their punches, they had way more experience than the girls last year.

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And actually also, there's always like one category, we have different weight

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categories and there's always one category that's the strongest or where they're in.

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I think mine was also this year pretty strong because there were a lot of girls that

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already have been European champions in the past years.

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So they actually moved up to mine or moved down.

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So I had to fight a lot of strong girls.

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But I like that. I like the challenge.

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And I think that was also the nice thing about this Europeans.

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And the first one was against a local girl from Armenia.

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And I think that was the easiest fight, let's say like that, for the Europeans this year.

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And it was good that my first fight was actually, the first fight is always the most

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difficult one because you need to get used to that feeling, to that atmosphere.

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And then the second one was against a girl from Romania.

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She was also an European champion last year in that age.

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In the weight category.

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And she was really, it was really difficult to fight her because there are sometimes

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certain types or certain styles of boxing that are just really difficult to fight against.

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And she just went straight forward.

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So for me, I had to, yeah, I went back all the time.

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I had to move those, these three minutes constantly.

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So that was really, really difficult.

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And yeah, it took also a lot of willpower to really, to yeah, to fight against her

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all throughout these three minutes while she was just walking forward and nonstopping.

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And then the final fight was against a girl from Poland.

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So she was also really, really good because I really saw how she also, how ambitious she was.

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She also fought through on these three rounds.

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She didn't give up. And also when the fight started, you know, we always have like a technique,

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certain things that we figure out that work for each opponent and a certain, yeah, that I would do during that fight.

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And the first round, she just fought completely different and I was shocked and it didn't work out at all.

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And I lost the round.

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And then I remember sitting during the break in the corner with my dad and he, we just needed to be ready.

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We needed to figure out a completely different way of how I can actually fight with her in order to win that bout still.

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And then the second and third round, I somehow managed it again and it turned out good.

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But I'm still surprised that I actually stayed calm during this whole fight.

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And then the last, and more than this, European was there at the end of each fight.

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There's like, they would pronounce then or explain who, let's say, actually won the fight.

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And sometimes when it's really tight, like my last fight, then there are two separate judges that would still kind of look whether all the other judges before scored well or whether there were any mistakes.

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And sometimes even though the other judges earlier would confirm that you won, they can turn this whole decision around.

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So I was standing there inside the ring waiting for five minutes, which felt like an eternity until they finally announced that I won.

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So yeah, but I think after so tight bouts, you're actually even more proud of yourself that you still managed to win and achieve God.

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Yeah, definitely. So it's three, three minute rounds then, right?

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Yes, it's straight three minute rounds. So for me, it's always like one round has three minutes, but that can change.

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So for the younger age groups, it's only like two minutes or one and a half.

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And then the older you get, the longer the rounds get.

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I see. And so you lost, you knew you lost that first round.

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So you had to win the next two in order to win the fight.

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That put a lot of pressure on you, I'm sure.

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Yeah, exactly. Because you always know every move matters.

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So every second, because in the end, this move can decide whether you win.

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And it's so tight, really.

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For me, I usually always want to win the first two rounds because then I'm safe.

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And you need to win at least two rounds in order to win that whole fight.

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And when you lost the first round, you know yourself that you need to win the last two ones.

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And if something doesn't work out, you would lose the entire fight.

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So yes, that's a lot of pressure.

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Wow. And how did this girl come out fighting that was different than you had prepared for?

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She was really calm herself. So she actually waited for me.

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I'm used to girls being really aggressive, actually.

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Yeah, because I'm always I'm trying to keep them in a long distance and move a lot.

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00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:11,600
And then for me, it's actually good if someone's really going forward, being very aggressive.

236
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,840
But she was waiting. So for me, that can be sometimes very frustrating.

237
00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:18,800
If you see that the other person is always waiting, you don't know.

238
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:20,400
You're actually pretty nervous.

239
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:27,520
You want to, yeah, just that was really difficult because I was waiting for her to do something.

240
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:33,680
And then you do not have this tension in your legs or in your hands to react immediately to

241
00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:39,440
the. Used to that.

242
00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,280
And yeah.

243
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:47,440
Well, I'd heard in the other podcast that you said you sort of like to fight defensively.

244
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:48,640
Is that true?

245
00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,400
Yes, that's great.

246
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:57,680
I figured that just out for myself that that works best for me because for me, boxing is not only

247
00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:00,800
boxing or just punches.

248
00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,640
It's a certain feeling that you have, certain emotions that you have when you're fighting.

249
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:06,400
I really enjoy that.

250
00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:12,240
I always say I'm not good at drawing or not really a creative, but I'm creative when I'm boxing.

251
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,040
And I try to do different combinations.

252
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,960
And that's just when I feel best when I'm fighting defensively.

253
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,440
And I'm also pretty tall.

254
00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:26,640
So I think that's also why it works very well for me because I have long arms and then I can keep

255
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:27,840
them on a distance.

256
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,480
Yeah. So it's like an art form for you more than just, you know, fighting someone, punching

257
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:32,880
someone.

258
00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:33,440
It is.

259
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,720
I think there's there are endless options.

260
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,280
You know, there's so many different things that you can do.

261
00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:45,360
And maybe for me, that works best when I'm fighting defensively for another person, it would be

262
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:47,520
the opposite way.

263
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,600
I think that does not only apply to this defensive style.

264
00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:57,760
Are there any professional boxers that you had sort of modeled your own style?

265
00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:03,680
Your style after or just that you're a fan of or you were a fan of growing up?

266
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:10,560
I always liked Muhammad Ali because it was just so revolutionary the way he fought.

267
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,400
I think that's so iconic.

268
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:19,280
He himself just as a person not only his style or the way he is boxing, but also for the boxers

269
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:24,400
nowadays, not only that defensive style that I like, I also like the way Canelo is fighting.

270
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,400
I think he's a great boxer or also Usyk.

271
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:33,840
So I think you just need to pick the best things from every boxer and then kind of

272
00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:35,520
integrate that to your style.

273
00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:41,440
What are your thoughts on Floyd Mayweather then as a defensive boxer?

274
00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:47,280
I really like he's also sometimes when he he's not fighting always on a very long

275
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:49,040
distance, but like this half distance.

276
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:50,560
So it's not that close.

277
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:56,960
But and then he always keeps his hands down, but actually kind of protects his space with

278
00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,000
his shoulder.

279
00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,120
That's what I really like.

280
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,160
And I think he's I really like his style.

281
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:09,760
I try to imitate him sometimes as well when I'm fighting, but there's still a long way.

282
00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:11,040
Yeah, that's tough.

283
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:13,760
So you use the shoulder roll in a fight.

284
00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:20,320
Yeah, not in a fight that I haven't used it in a fight yet, but I'm trying nowadays

285
00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:25,360
during the sparring sessions to practice so that it can.

286
00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:26,800
Yeah, I can do that too.

287
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:27,840
Now, that's pretty cool.

288
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:32,400
Every time I try that when I like spar or just train, I just get punched in the face

289
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:33,520
because I can't time it right.

290
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:35,520
It's I don't practice enough.

291
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:41,760
Because you really need to see that punch, you know, what punch the other person would

292
00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:44,080
do and also you have the right distance.

293
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,640
It can't be too far away, but then also not too close.

294
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,040
So yeah, it's really about the right time and the right feeling.

295
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:52,160
Definitely.

296
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,600
Yeah, I saw a picture of you after you won.

297
00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,480
I think it was this past European Championships.

298
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,800
Maybe it was last year, though, but you had your Croatian socks on with the checkers.

299
00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,040
Do you wear those just normally out in public or only when you fight?

300
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,040
No, only when I'm fighting.

301
00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,400
But that's my lucky charm when I'm fighting because I thought, you know, we always have

302
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:20,400
like either these blue ones like the blue pants and the blue top or the red one.

303
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,280
So it's usually pretty boring because everybody looks the same.

304
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:28,800
So I wanted something that would represent Croatia and also show that I represent Croatia.

305
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:31,200
I think the socks are pretty fun.

306
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:31,760
I like them.

307
00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:34,080
That's awesome.

308
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:37,840
So you chose to represent Croatia instead of Germany, right?

309
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,000
Is that a decision that you made or was that just that's how it

310
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,280
like that's just protocol?

311
00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:44,080
Well, I guess so.

312
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:48,960
You were born in Germany, so you could have initially gotten Germany and you chose to

313
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:49,680
represent Croatia.

314
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:50,160
Why?

315
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:56,480
Yeah, I actually started fighting for Germany when I started with kickboxing and I kickboxing

316
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:57,680
only did for Germany.

317
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:03,120
And then when I moved or when I switched to boxing, I also first I started boxing for

318
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:09,520
Germany and then I started also competing at international tournaments, not only in

319
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:14,960
Germany and then they offered me to fight for Croatia and that's when I actually decided

320
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:16,320
to fight for Croatia.

321
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:22,320
So because my dad, he also fought for Croatia himself and it just felt right.

322
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:28,400
I mean, I still kind of feel like a Croatian more than I feel like a German.

323
00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,680
I think it just it's the best feeling actually being there representing Croatia.

324
00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,240
It just feels right for me in that moment.

325
00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:37,840
That's awesome.

326
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,160
Yeah. Well, yeah, that's how, you know, us in the Diaspora, you know, we sort of have

327
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:47,120
two identities, the identity of, you know, where you're born and like me in the US, I'm

328
00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:51,600
American, but as well, you know, you have the Croatian identity and for some reason

329
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,760
Croatians feel so strongly about that and about their heritage.

330
00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,200
But it's sometimes so difficult because in Germany or in America, you're not a full

331
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,520
German or American, but you're also in Croatia.

332
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:05,200
You're not fully Croatian.

333
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,560
You're not fully Croatian, so you're always somewhere in between.

334
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:10,240
Yeah. Yeah.

335
00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:14,000
There's never you're never really in the right spot.

336
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:18,000
I don't know. It's a hard feeling to put into words, but yeah, I know exactly what

337
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:18,800
you're talking about.

338
00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:22,960
I wanted to ask a little about music.

339
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,560
Did you have an entrance song?

340
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,600
Did they let you guys have entrance songs, walkout songs?

341
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:28,640
No, actually not.

342
00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:34,240
So they just usually choose a music and then they played for every fighter.

343
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,880
Usually like at those big competitions, like the Europeans, they have like an entry music,

344
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:40,960
but for other competitions, they don't.

345
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,760
But I'm always I'm always looking for song for cool songs.

346
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:50,080
So already for the future, that may be my entry songs.

347
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:54,480
I right now at the moment, I really like there's a song by Beyonce.

348
00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,000
I think it's around the world.

349
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:57,680
So it's a bit like girl power.

350
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:03,120
And then there's another one by Unstoppable that I also like that kind of get me into

351
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:04,720
the right mood.

352
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:05,120
Okay.

353
00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:05,360
Yeah.

354
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,400
Well, I had heard, I guess you say that on the podcast maybe, but I heard that you like

355
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,360
ACDC, which is my favorite band of all time.

356
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:16,160
Or maybe I mistranslated something you were saying.

357
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:18,320
No, I like ACDC.

358
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,920
I think a lot of boxers actually have songs from ACDC as their entry music.

359
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:30,240
So I maybe if I get to choose an entry song myself, I thought of choosing something

360
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,520
different, something new that people are not used to.

361
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:38,960
But I think those are also great songs that I like to listen to before a fight because

362
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:44,720
they actually kind of I get the right emotions or this feeling that I need for the fight

363
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:45,440
afterwards.

364
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,760
Do you listen to any Croatian music or any Croatian music that sort of pumps you up for

365
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:52,160
the fight?

366
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:59,200
Not before the fight actually, but so like in my everyday life, I like to listen to Croatian

367
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:06,880
music, you know, the classics like Oliver or Severina, but also like newer artists like

368
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,000
Vajas or different things.

369
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:10,320
Yeah.

370
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:16,800
It's not that I only listen to this one singer, but I actually, it depends on this song.

371
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:23,120
If I like a song, then I would listen to it and there are different artists that I

372
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:23,760
actually like.

373
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,320
Yeah, that's sort of the same with me.

374
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,200
I've got a friend made a big list on Spotify, so half the time the songs, I don't even know

375
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,240
the names or who it's by, but I just, you know, recognize the songs.

376
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:41,600
You know, you also said that when you hear the national anthem after you win, you know,

377
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,760
that's like one of the best feelings in the world.

378
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:44,640
Can you describe that?

379
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:52,000
Actually, every time in training when it's super hard and you actually do not worry when

380
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:57,760
I do not feel motivated or when I'm training for the Europeans and you know, your whole

381
00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:04,400
body is aching and it's super difficult, then I always think of this moment because for me,

382
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,320
that's my biggest motivation.

383
00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:14,160
That's really the best feeling because just standing on top of this staircase and

384
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:21,600
hearing the Croatian national anthem, that's just, I really get chills all over my body.

385
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:27,680
It's just such a nice moment and it always passes by so quickly, but I really enjoy that.

386
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:35,680
It's just for that one moment, you know, I'm a very pessimistic person or a very ambitious

387
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:36,080
person.

388
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,920
I'm very criticizing myself very often.

389
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:44,960
I'm always looking for the next challenge and that's this one moment where I get to

390
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:50,640
enjoy my success, where I really get to stand there and just listen to this anthem and really

391
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,520
appreciate this moment and enjoy it.

392
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:55,040
That's awesome.

393
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,680
Yeah, I get chills just from watching that happen.

394
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:02,960
I can only imagine being the person that won and is hearing that on the podium.

395
00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:04,400
That's incredible.

396
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:08,560
So you're still 17, right?

397
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:17,760
You said the 17 to 18 is still in the same bracket, so next year you'll be fighting

398
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:24,000
in the same group that you are fighting now and then after that will be just every 19

399
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:24,880
years and older?

400
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:32,080
Yeah, actually after that it's a bit difficult or a bit complicated because you have this

401
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:38,720
under 22 age group, so there won't be people from 19 to 21.

402
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:45,040
But you can also already compete like with the other women with the open class, so where

403
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:50,320
there are people from 19 and even older, so up to 30 or even older.

404
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:51,680
Wow, okay.

405
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,400
And do you know yet what you'll do for that?

406
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,760
Well, you still have one more year of this group, so you don't have to think about that

407
00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:58,480
now, I guess, right?

408
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:00,640
No, I think I'll do both.

409
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:06,800
I think that's actually a great opportunity because on one hand you still have this other

410
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,960
age group where you have people that are not that experienced, still very experienced,

411
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:16,960
but you can still kind of practice and then you have the other age group where you have

412
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,560
to sometimes fight against Olympic champions and that's I think really difficult, just

413
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:30,880
this switch from always fighting girls your age and then like girls or women way older,

414
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:35,200
so I think it's easier if you do both just to get used to that.

415
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:38,800
Wait, so what is the next Olympics?

416
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:39,520
Is that 20?

417
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,520
Is that next year or in two years?

418
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,360
Yeah, I think so 2024, yes.

419
00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:47,120
2024, so you'll be eligible as an 18 year old, right?

420
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:47,680
Or no?

421
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:50,080
No, unfortunately not.

422
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,880
I will be able to fight because the qualification tournaments, they're already this year and

423
00:25:54,880 --> 00:26:03,680
I'm still 17, so I couldn't compete unfortunately, but the next ones in 2028, I think they'll

424
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:04,880
be in a length, so yeah.

425
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:05,840
That's right, yeah.

426
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:07,680
Pretty cool.

427
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:12,400
So yeah, that's where I'm from in the US from LA, so yeah, I'm looking forward to that.

428
00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:17,120
I'll have to go fly home for a couple of weeks or whatever and watch the Olympics there.

429
00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,560
Well, let's talk about some of sort of your other passions and hobbies.

430
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,600
I know you're a model, you play the piano.

431
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:27,040
Can you talk a little about those?

432
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:34,320
So girls, I'd say boxing and school, that's something I take very serious.

433
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:39,120
I do take modeling and playing the piano also, they're serious, but those are just

434
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:45,760
my hobbies, so that's actually, those are things that I enjoy doing, but yeah, I'd say

435
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,800
when I play the piano, that's just something where I can relax, where I can let out, you

436
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:57,840
know, the emotions that I usually always have to keep under control when I'm fighting.

437
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:03,840
And modeling is just something very feminine and I always like being in front of the camera

438
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:09,440
and people actually also came up to me in Munich on the streets and actually from different

439
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,200
agencies and told me I should model and I should come to their agency.

440
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:20,880
So that's how I figured out that I could start modeling and nowadays I just really enjoy it.

441
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:27,440
Yesterday I've actually been also on a shoot the whole day, shooting with the German brand.

442
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:30,240
It's just fun, you know, trying to get some looks.

443
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:35,120
You also get to meet so many different people from different industries, that's also very,

444
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:35,760
very nice.

445
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,120
That's pretty cool.

446
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,600
Do you find similarities between that and boxing or is it just something completely

447
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:42,240
different for you?

448
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,400
It is different, but there are certain things that I've learned from boxing.

449
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:54,960
Certain things about myself also in modeling, when you go to shootings or to castings,

450
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,480
everyone is very, very nervous because you want to get that job.

451
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:03,600
And I'm used to that feeling and I know how to control it also throughout the competitions

452
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:09,280
and all of these situations that I have been in with boxing.

453
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:15,360
So I'd say that's also pretty good then for the modeling because I just know how to control

454
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:17,280
and how to get myself in the right mood.

455
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:23,840
I find it interesting, a little while ago you said when you play the piano, you can let

456
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:27,520
all your emotions out as opposed to when you're boxing and you can't.

457
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,400
And that's strange for me because I feel like it should be opposite.

458
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:36,240
When you're fighting, you can just punch out all your aggression or emotions or whatever.

459
00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,600
And while you're playing the piano, you have to be calm and everything.

460
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,760
So it was interesting for me that you said that.

461
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:43,760
Yeah, it depends.

462
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,520
I'd say those are just different emotions.

463
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:55,360
And then playing the piano, it's really, yeah, I'm calmer, but also when boxing,

464
00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,320
you just, when I started boxing, I was really aggressive.

465
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:03,360
But that's, I'd say that's very difficult throughout the fight because if you're only

466
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:07,280
being aggressive, then you can't really think about your next move.

467
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:11,920
You sometimes just really need to look and really think through everything that you'll do

468
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:14,000
within these three minutes.

469
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:20,800
So yeah, but still I feel like I can let my emotions out on boxing.

470
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:25,680
The emotions are just different than when playing the piano.

471
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,120
Hmm, yeah, that makes sense.

472
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,760
Do you have a favorite boxing movie?

473
00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,320
I really like the Rocky movies.

474
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:36,240
It's a classic, but I really enjoy them.

475
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:39,600
I've always watched them with my dad growing up.

476
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,240
Like also the new Creed movies.

477
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:43,280
Yeah, I think so.

478
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:47,440
I've never actually watched, oh, I forgot the name.

479
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:53,040
There's a very famous boxing movie with a girl staring.

480
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:54,240
Million Dollar Baby.

481
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,080
Yeah, you've never seen that one?

482
00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,320
No, I've never seen it, but actually I wanted to watch it.

483
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:01,360
I really have to.

484
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,600
Yeah, that's with Clint Eastwood and I forget the actress's name.

485
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:07,280
If I heard it, I would remember it.

486
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:10,400
But yeah, actually I've never seen it either to be honest, but I know it's a classic.

487
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,360
So I should probably watch that at some point.

488
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:15,200
Do you have a favorite of the Rockies?

489
00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:16,400
Mine is always Mr. T.

490
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,440
I think that's the second one.

491
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:19,760
I like all of them.

492
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:24,240
I think, yeah, it changes, but I think all of them are so cool.

493
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:26,160
I really love them.

494
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:27,840
Yeah, those are classic movies.

495
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:33,280
Mariella, do you have any other sort of hobbies or anything else that you're doing?

496
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,800
Aside from boxing and piano and modeling, you're going to school.

497
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:39,840
What are you going to school for?

498
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,720
So actually in Germany, it's a different school system.

499
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,360
So right now it's called Gnazim.

500
00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:52,640
So there after elementary school, you'd go to either the Gnazim or different schools.

501
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,040
And that's actually my last year.

502
00:30:55,040 --> 00:31:01,680
So in April, I'll take my final exams and then I'm done, hopefully.

503
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,400
And afterwards I'm thinking about studying law.

504
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,320
So something completely different.

505
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:13,440
But I just think it's good to kind of have the base, you know, if it doesn't work out

506
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:19,120
with boxing or modeling or the other things that I can, that I just have something else

507
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:19,920
to rely on.

508
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:21,760
Very cool.

509
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:24,240
Yeah, very different from, you know, box.

510
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:29,040
Well, I guess any sort of degree maybe would be different than boxing, but pretty cool.

511
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,800
When you're in Croatia, when you go to Croatia for the summer or whenever,

512
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:36,000
what's your favorite thing to eat?

513
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,800
We have actually, we're usually in street because,

514
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,160
yeah, that's just our spot where we always go to as a family.

515
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,960
And there's a really good plate where they have really good ice cream.

516
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:50,160
So they make it themselves.

517
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:55,520
And I think it's called Pumparela and I really enjoy going there.

518
00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:58,080
So that's my favorite food spot in Croatia.

519
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,200
But other than that, I think they have great meat.

520
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:07,920
I think all the Croatians they eat them are to meat, but also the fish and yeah, they

521
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:11,360
just really have great food because I think they also make a lot themselves.

522
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,560
It's just really different than also here in Germany.

523
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:16,800
And then we really enjoy being there.

524
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:20,080
It's just, everything just tastes completely different.

525
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:21,280
Yeah.

526
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,120
Which ice cream flavor do you get usually?

527
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:25,440
It's called Ksenino.

528
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:31,360
It's white chocolate with Nutella, but it's really good.

529
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,240
So it's freshly made every day.

530
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:36,080
And I think you can just taste that.

531
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:37,040
Wow.

532
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:37,280
Yeah.

533
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,440
I'll have to try that then this summer and go down to Split.

534
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:40,240
What was it called again?

535
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,040
There are actually two stores.

536
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:47,840
So they have one that is called Pumparela and the other one is called Emiliana.

537
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:49,600
Okay.

538
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:50,640
I'll have to write that down.

539
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:51,200
Good.

540
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,720
Nice shout out to those places.

541
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,160
I'll have to check those out this summer.

542
00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:03,520
Marijela, as we sort of run out of time here, I just have one more question, two more questions,

543
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:04,720
I guess I'll have to ask you.

544
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:11,360
Before the last one, I'll just sort of ask any other sort of future plans or future things

545
00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:12,960
you want to accomplish or do.

546
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:19,280
So actually next year there's the World Championship in Croatia in boxing.

547
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,240
So that's the next big goal for me.

548
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:28,160
So I actually really want to win the World Championship, especially as it's in Croatia.

549
00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:33,520
So yeah, that's kind of the next goal that I'm working towards.

550
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:34,720
What month is that in?

551
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,520
It's in November.

552
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,320
So there's still a year, still some time.

553
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:41,520
Okay.

554
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,160
So you'll be training and working your way till that.

555
00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:44,720
That's awesome.

556
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,920
Well, sort of last question and I want to thank you again so much for taking the time

557
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,320
to come here on the All Things Croatia podcast.

558
00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:57,120
What to you makes Croatia so special?

559
00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:04,160
I think us Croatians, it's just a certain, it's not even maybe also our history, but

560
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:09,840
it's just the feeling, you know, I think we as Croatians, we're very proud to be Croatians,

561
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:15,680
but also this Croatian community, even if I myself, I'm living in Germany and feel

562
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:20,240
like I'm part of this Croatian community, we're very proud to be Croatians.

563
00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:26,480
Part of this Croatian community, we can see that also during these soccer games when like

564
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:31,680
people, Croatian people coming from everywhere to watch the Croatian players play, it's just

565
00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:33,280
certain feeling that you love.

566
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,360
That's being part of this community, just being proud to be Croatian.

567
00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:38,720
Incredible.

568
00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:39,120
Yeah.

569
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:42,160
I know, I know there's a big Croatian community in Germany.

570
00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:43,520
I know Frankfurt has a big one.

571
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,000
I guess in Munich as well, there's a large Croatian community.

572
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,040
Are you involved at all in any, I don't know, did they put on events or do you go to any

573
00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:56,240
of the soccer games, football games, excuse me, where, you know, Croatians are playing?

574
00:34:56,240 --> 00:34:58,480
That was my American English coming back.

575
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,800
Yeah, I'm actually really involved in that.

576
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:08,080
We have a Croatian community here in Munich because like the church organizes certain

577
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:08,560
events.

578
00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:14,000
So also for the teens, they actually, there are certain meetings, it's called Frama in

579
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:20,000
Munich where all the Croatian or the younger people would go to and yeah, there are always

580
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,120
certain events and it's always nice because in, I don't know how it's in other cities,

581
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,440
but we in Munich, the Croatians, we know each other.

582
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,120
We're actually really connected.

583
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:31,120
That's awesome.

584
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:31,440
Yeah.

585
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,360
Well, Marijela, that's the end of the podcast.

586
00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,760
I want to thank you again so much for coming on.

587
00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:41,120
I don't know if you have, you know, maybe if you want people to follow you on social

588
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,600
media or did you also launch a YouTube channel recently?

589
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,560
I don't know if you want to shout any social media is out or places for people to follow

590
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:50,960
you on.

591
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:58,640
So I actually only have TikTok and Instagram, but I would really like if people would follow

592
00:35:58,640 --> 00:35:58,880
me.

593
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:01,920
What's your username there?

594
00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:06,880
Marijela Stikweber thing together in small, simple and easy.

595
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:11,680
Very simple. Yeah. I'll put that as well in the show notes so people can click on that

596
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:13,120
and find you if they wish.

597
00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:15,520
Marijela, thank you again so much for coming on the podcast.

598
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:18,960
I really appreciate it and wish you the best of luck in the future and big things to come.

599
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:36,240
Thank you.