Webinar

The Basics of Building a Wrestler’s Personal Brand
Build Your Image On & Off the Mat

On Friday, July 25, 2025, the first of four webinars took place on the topic of personal branding for athletes. The webinars are organized by JANDASPORT^® as part of the project "Capacity Building of Sports Organizations Through European Values" , under the Erasmus+ International Cooperation Programme of the European Union.

The project is supported by five partner organizations from Ukraine, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These include the Hungarian Wrestling Federation (HWF, Magyar Birkózók Szövetsége), the Czech Wrestling Federation (CRWF), the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the National Olympic Committee and Olympic Team of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Wrestling Association. The Ukrainian Wrestling Association is also the main project coordinator — and notably the first sports organization in Ukraine to initiate and lead such a project.

The main goals of the project include strengthening the capacity of Ukrainian sports organizations, developing the professional skills of sports experts, and promoting sport and European values among young people.

A webinar straight from the wrestling gym

While our webinars are usually broadcast from a studio, this time we decided to surprise the audience and bring the topic closer to the real wrestling environment. Thanks to a great collaboration with Sokol Vyšehrad Gym, we were able to host the webinar directly from the wrestling mat — and create a unique and authentic atmosphere.

Two large wrestling mats were set up in the background, and we adjusted the camera, lighting, and equipment to place the speaker — Vít Janda, founder of JANDASPORT® — in the foreground with the gym behind him. This is where wrestlers, judokas, and other athletes regularly train, making it a fitting and inspiring location.

Two hours packed with insights

Since most participants were from Ukraine and Hungary, the webinar was conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation into Ukrainian for Ukrainian attendees. Czech representatives also joined the session.

The main theme of the webinar was „Co je to osobní značka a proč ji zápasník potřebuje?“. During the two-hour session, we covered essential areas of personal branding:

The 4 pillars of a personal brand: identity, image, voice, and story
How to create a nickname, develop a visual style, and design a logo that makes you recognizable
Why it's no longer enough to excel only on the mat, but also in online and media spaces
Inspiration from both Czech and international wrestlers who actively work on their personal branding

Key takeaways from the webinar

People won’t remember every match you’ve won — but they will remember how you made them feel, what you represented, and why they followed your journey.

Your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.

You’re not just building a highlight reel. You’re building a story, an identity — a brand that people remember.

Feedback from participants

We express our gratitude to our Czech partners for the webinar, which was very informative and useful. Additionally, we thank everyone present for their participation!

We sincerely thank our speaker Vit Janda and our partners, the Czech Wrestling Association, for their excellent organization and professionalism.

What’s next?

Over the course of August, September, and October 2025, three more webinars will follow:

Personal brand development strategy
The basics of self presentation, the athlete’s personality in the media space
Digital skills to promote the athlete’s personal brand in the media space

If you're interested in joining, we recommend following the UWA Erasmus+ Project Facebook page, where upcoming webinar dates and Zoom links will be published.