The Visma Ski Classics Orsa2Levi podcast series, hosted by Teemu Virtanen, continues tomorrow, and the guest will be the director and Pro Team athlete Mart Kevin Polluste from Team Nordic Jobs Worldwide. On the podcast episode, this Estonian skier will tell you about his team, his background, his future plans and the importance of Tartu Maraton, which has now returned to Visma Ski Classics.
“Last year, we put this team together in August, and we had a really short time to prepare for the season. So, Season XI was a trial run for us, but we managed well and got some good results. We were able to create great brand awareness for our sponsor company and ourselves. For this year, we decided to widen our horizon and look for athletes all around the world. We posted an ad saying that we’re seeking new members, and we got about 50 applications from different countries such as the US, Russia, Scandinavia, Switzerland, France and many more. At the end, we went with the ones we have now, three skiers from Sweden, two from Finland and the rest from Estonia.”
Mart Kevin admits that it’s not always easy to be an athlete and a Pro Team director at the same time. This 27-year-old skier performed well last winter as he won Tartu Maraton and his best Pro Tour race was La Diagonela where he finished 33rd.
“I have some people helping me with marketing, but all the other work rests on my shoulders. I don’t necessarily see it as work because I enjoy it so much. It’s my passion, and I want to help build a team that can really be professional. Of course, there are some stressful moments here and there, but being a team director is the most interesting challenge for me.”
Now, Mart Kevin has a full plate since the new season is just around the corner, and he has high hopes for this winter. When he thinks about the future, he sees skiing being a pivotal part of it for years to come, and his team is now his number one priority.
“At one point, I was thinking about quitting, but Visma Ski Classics and long distance skiing has given me a new boost. As an athlete, I have a dream to win Vasaloppet, but now my goals have intertwined with the ones for my team. I have been letting go my own personal goals a little and do everything for the sake of the team. As a person, I tend not to think too much ahead, and I’m not a dreamer in nature.”
Tomorrow’s Orsa2Levi will take you to a journey to Tartu and Estonia as you will learn more about Mart Kevin and his life and skiing, how he met his girlfriend, how he describes himself as a person and who he really is. The episode can be heard on all possible podcast platforms and on the Visma Ski Classics site.
