This week we welcomed a very special visitor to the company: the World and Paralympics Champion David Casinos. The international athlete and record holder wanted to see the company’s facilities at first hand and get to know its employees. He was very impressed with the direct connection between sport and work at ITV-Ice Makers: “Having a gym, trainer and triathlon team is something I have never seen before in Spain. You are real pioneers”, he told us during an interview that was so entertaining, it seemed more like one of his famous motivational talks. This is what he told us about his impression of ITV, his personal history and his future in sport.
-Hello David, we’re very pleased to welcome you to our company. Especially since at ITV we are big fans of values like perseverance and continuous improvement, and we believe you are a perfect example of these. What do you think of your tour?
I’d especially like to thank you for having welcomed me with open arms. That’s what I felt right from the start. When you feel that, you know what type of company it is. You know its values, the camaraderie of people who are, quite literally, part of the company. They are the cornerstone of the company, not just employees. That is obvious.
-As we’ve already told you, here at ITV we’re fanatical about sport. Did you know we have a fitness coach, posture exercises, etc.? Have you ever seen this before?
I’ve never seen it here in Spain, but in the US I think it’s increasingly common. Doing this in Spain is pioneering and that says a lot about how ITV takes care of the vitality of its employees. One does sport for health reasons but also to carry out your job well and be active. If you have in-house sports facilities, within the company, I think this helps to improve mental health and also company production. I think it’s really innovative. It’s the first company I’ve visited which has a gym and offers these options to its employees.
-Incidentally, the company has a triathlon team. What advice can you give us, so we can be as successful as you?
Undoubtedly the best advice is to enjoy what you do. It sounds a cliché but, if you enjoy sport, the passion will stay with you. If you enjoy working for the company because you do sport, that is something very few have. Continuing your passion at work is really fantastic.
-Thank you. Anyway, today you’re a star. Tell us how your relationship with sport started and a little about your history…
My personal story began 20 years ago at a difficult time when I lost my sight due to diabetic retinopathy. Insulin-dependent diabetes is one of the problems you never want to have. After numerous operations I did not regain my sight, so I joined ONCE. I had lost my job and the will to live. They were my lifeline and gradually I started to want to be independent, as I had been when I could see. This determination meant sport came into my life simply by going to and from my house with a cane: going round obstacles in the street such as badly parked cars, awkward pavements etc. This made me feel better and helped me to realise that sport was a way to feel independent, have more self-esteem and to increase the self-confidence I had lost. Little by little I developed a competitive streak. But for me the most important thing was to cope with using a cane in the street. The first day 100 metres, a corner, a pedestrian crossing. The second, taking the subway. Two months later, taking a train, using the escalators. After a year and a half, going to places on my own. This gave me encouragement, and I started to feel alive.
-We know last year you won the Doha World Championships, but prior to that there were endless achievements and international records. Looking back, what is your best memory?
Without doubt Peking 2008, for two really important reasons. The first was the call from the top to tell me I would be in the Spanish Paralympic team. The second was when I won the gold medal in Peking. I have been to many Games but nothing like that.
-We suppose that you are now focused on the Olympic Games in Rio. How is your training going and what do you hope to achieve there?
The best encouragement and motivation comes from my family. I get up at 7am, prepare breakfast for my daughter, Cayetana, and then prepare all the gear I need in my rucksack. Being diabetic, I need to take a lot of food because I burn off a lot during training. After dropping my daughter off at nursery, I start my training, finishing around 2pm. Usually at the Petxina Sports Complex and I come out like a shot to go home. I relax for a while although I never have a siesta, which is a mistake because I never switch off. I also take English classes, read a little, and then I go to collect my daughter and try to spend the rest of the day with the family. The life has definitely changed things for me. Some afternoons I do interviews, talks or take a plane to a conference. Around 10.30pm I’m usually shattered and that’s when I have my siesta.
-Incidentally, do you use ice after your daily shot put training or when you have over trained?
Yes, of course I do. Many people don’t realise that it’s the most effective, natural anti-inflammatory in the world. Luckily I’m fine at the moment and am doing less but when I have a hard training session, ice is very important. Even if you don’t have an injury, it can be used to prevent them. Inicidentally, as a diabetic, over the years there were many times when I was in a hotel and there wasn’t a fridge in the room to put my insulin in, so I used ice to keep it cool.
-Another admirable aspect of your work is your motivational talks in schools and other places. Hopefully we can do one here, soon… You feel you have a responsibility to talk about how to turn yourself around and motivate yourself to face life’s obstacles again?
Sometimes it’s all too easy to lose motivation. It’s certainly easier to lose it than to find it. Very often a few inspirational words from someone you know serves to give you a push. To see that you are like other people who have had problems and have managed to overcome them. Sometimes these talks help to make you realise how good it is to see, listen and touch everything around us. To appreciate everything more. We have to stop being so selfish and think more about others. Sometimes we rush through the day so quickly we forget this.
-In this respect, what talks do you have lined up? Is there a project to do this internationally?
We start on 12 April, with a talk at AVIALCO. There will be important businessmen there to launch the message: Sources of inspiration. We’re also giving another at the Google Campus and, internationally, we’re going to Monterey, Mexico on 1st October. We intend to stay there a while, to contact companies, stage a few talks and then afterwards go to Miami to continue these. Before this, there are the Games in Rio which we hope will go well.