Iām Adrian, CEO and co-founder of SportIn.
My journey with sport isnāt marked by trophies or medals, itās marked by clarity. For me, sport has always been a place to reset, to think clearly, and to reconnect with myself. Itās where I go when everything else feels overwhelming.
Iāve been a sports trainer for 8 years and an entrepreneur for over 15. Iāve built businesses, failed at some, and learned hard lessons.
One of the hardest: I lost my father because I failed in business and couldnāt afford the treatment he needed. That pain pushed me into deep depression.
Movement. Sport. Becoming a sport trainer, got me out.
How did SportIn begin? What drives you?
SportIn began with a simple idea: what if movement became part of our professional identity, not something we squeezed into weekends? What if sport wasnāt a hobby, but a daily signal that weāre showing up for ourselves?
Weāre a small team, but what keeps us going is this belief, that when people move together with purpose, real change happens. Itās not about elite athletes; itās about busy founders, creatives, parents, real people with full calendars, making time to walk 10,000 steps because it matters.
Why 45 million steps and why CEOs?
We launched the āSteps of an Entrepreneurā mission to highlight the importance of movement for mental health and personal performance. The 45 million steps are symbolic, but the goal is real to show the world what leadership looks like when it includes sport.
Why CEOs and founders? Because we know what burnout feels like. The late nights. The pressure. The isolation. If we, the ones usually ātoo busyā make sport visible and consistent, we set a new example. We make health part of leadership.
Whatās it like being a co-founder and CEO?
Itās chaos and clarity, sometimes in the same hour. The highs are incredible when we see entrepreneurs changing habits, leading by example, or when a message from someone we never met says: āThis helped me.ā Thatās fuel.
The lows? When things move slower than Iād like. When weāre building something new and people donāt see the vision yet. But thatās part of it. Leading something you believe in means being okay with people not getting it until they do.
Whatās your hope for this 45 million step mission?
I hope it becomes more than a challenge. I hope it starts a movement (literally). I want people to show up, not for a prize or exposure, but because this effort reflects who they are.
My real goal? That someone, somewhere maybe a founder on the edge of burnout sees this leaderboard, sees your name, and decides to go outside and move. That would mean weāve already won.
And the future? What do you see next?
I imagine a future where we donāt just talk about work-life balance on panels, we actually live it. Where CEOs and founders donāt just promote health, they normalize it. I want their kids to grow up seeing movement not as punishment, but as a natural part of daily life. I want schools to gamify movement the same way we gamify clicks and views.
In a world thatās becoming increasingly digital and automated, we risk losing real human connection. Obesity rates are rising, mental health is declining, and weāre more sedentary than ever.
At SportIn, weāre trying to change that. Not just with a digital platform but with a mindset shift. Less talk, more walk.
Weāre building a movement. One that starts with entrepreneurs and leaders the people others look up to. Next year, we aim to bring 1,000 CEOs and founders into the mission, and through them, inspire the next generation. Kids who admire their business success will now be able to follow their lead, one step at a time.