This week, Badminton Europe has released another BEC Podcast episode, which is available to view on Facebook and YouTube, and also available to listen to on SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes and Deezer.
This episode features a different perspective of badminton, as Viktor Axelsen’s father and manager, Henrik Axelsen, took his time to visit the studio.
Axelsen gives a real insight into what being a manager for one of the best players in the world is like and even more, so balancing it with being a father figure to the star.
Big offers, left, right and centre
Henrik Axelsen is dealing with Viktor Axelsen’s communication and commercial content and it is quite surprising and eye-opening as to what decisions he has made.
The father who has a background in marketing and media also controls the media requests which fly in for the Danish star and turned down extortionate amounts of money but explained why.
- I actually said no to about seven or eight million Danish Kroner (1 million euros) for the past three and a half years, Henrik Axelsen said in the BEC Podcast.
- I still feel that it is more important for Viktor to come out of the other side of this, being a normal person and not being a person that everyone drags in because of a little bit of money, he said.
- Because I can still feel that if you are not their mindset wise, then you will have a problem, Axelsen added.
Something to look out for:
The current manager of Viktor Axelsen also spoke about what he hopes his son will delve into for the future.
- I think that Viktor likes the sport so much. So, he would like to be around it and he would like to be around, doing good stuff for the kids because he has a big heart for kids, Henrik Axelsen commented.
- That is why we are at the moment working at a new centre for Viktor, being about charity and centre for kids, he added.
Be sure to check the podcast out for more ‘smashing’ exclusives!