Former handball professional Jan left Germany to fulfill his dream of living in Stockholm
Covid-19 made Jan realise that working online was not only smart during the pandemic, but also a way for him to be able to move to Sweden, something he’d been wanting to do for a long time. In 2020 he packed his bags, left for Stockholm and is now loving life in the big city.
Tell us a bit more about yourself — where are you from and where are you right now?
I’m from Germany where I’ve lived for a very long time in the cities of Dresden, Leipzig, Potsdam and Hamburg. I used to be a professional handball player up until I was 33 years old and after my career ended, I retrained to become a health coach and personal trainer. I worked for a Swedish company called Eleiko a few years back and that’s when I discovered my love for Sweden and its culture. 2020 was the year I finally decided to make the move and now I live in Stockholm — the most beautiful city in the world!
What do you do for a living?
I’m currently building two companies — one Handball Performance Hub and one sustainable fashion brand.
The Handball Performance Hub is a digital platform which aims to enable handball players to become better at building strength, better nutrition and learning more about the psychological aspect of the sport. We hope to become a support network for coaches by taking over the teaching of these subjects, so that the coaches themselves can be fully focused on technique and game tactics. The launch is planned for the end of 2021/start of 2022.
The sustainable fashion brand is called FYRA after earth’s four elements. FYRA offers durable and organic fashion with a reduced impact on the environment. We also aim to be as transparent as possible when it comes to how our products are being produced. From the raw material supplier to the product development — sustainability must be the center aspect of our society. If we all buy less but better lasting clothes we’ve all won.
Tell us a bit about your journey towards becoming a digital nomad?
When Covid-19 first struck more than a year ago, it suddenly became clear to me that it’s high time to build companies that can live, thrive and survive digitally. Since then I’ve been working fully online and this decision has made it possible for me to finally follow my heart and go to Sweden.
What made you want to visit Sweden as a remote worker?
As I mentioned earlier, I used to work for Eleiko in Halmstad and it was during this time that I was introduced to the country. What fascinates me most is the incredible nature, the friendliness of the people and the beautiful language (which I‘m currently trying to learn “offline” and not just through an app). Sweden really just fascinates me in so many different ways and I’m keen to learn everything about it. So far I’m loving everything here.
What pros and cons are there being a digital nomad in Sweden?
To start off it’s really easy to work from Sweden as there’s wifi access pretty much everywhere you go, whether you work from cafes or a coworking space. The people are very friendly here and I’ve gotten to know many great entrepreneurs here in Stockholm. Finally, I feel like the digitalization of society has come further along and is more accepted here than in Germany, which obviously is really helpful when you’re running an online business.
Your best tip for someone wanting to go live in Sweden as a digital nomad?
If you’re interested in the country and think you’d enjoy the climate and the culture — just go for it! Being a digital nomad here is simple and you can find plenty of great people to connect with (you just have to be a bit extra outgoing yourself). I’d be more than happy to talk to anyone who’s thinking about moving to Sweden. Just shoot me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Wanna share your nomad experience? Get in touch!
👉 ronja@svenskanomader.se
