Living in two worlds: top wrestler Noe van Messel between elite university and sawdust ring

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When a wrestler puts on a shirt, it is usually light blue, made of cotton and decorated with edelweiss. In the case of Noe van Messel (21) it looks a bit different. Most of the shirts hanging in his closet are the dressy type. Because Van Messel lives in two worlds that could not be more opposite.

On the one hand, there is the wrestler Noe van Messel. Driving an inconspicuous Suzuki. Who proudly posts photos of themselves next to a huge winning munition on social media. The only thing that stands out among the wrestlers are the bright orange shoelaces. A tribute to his Dutch grandparents.

And then there is Noe van Messel, who comes to the interview appointment in a black designer suit. Who studies at one of the most renowned business universities in Europe. At a lecture at the HSG, the university in St. Gallen, only his imposing stature stands out. 120 kilograms of body weight divided over 191 centimeters.

At home in two worlds

Admittedly – ​​Van Messel only put on the chic suit for the photo shoot. “There are students here who actually show up in suits every day. But I’m more of a T-shirt guy,” explains the student over a cup of coffee in the new university building, which costs 65 million francs. The building is fully financed by former students of the Elite University St. Gallen. Among them you will find well-known names. About Sergio Ermotti, CEO of large bank UBS. Or Monika Ribar, chairman of the board of directors of SBB. That the winner of this year’s Zug Cantonal will also belong to this circle in two years’ time and at the same time be successfully active is in what is probably Switzerland’s most down-to-earth sport seems a bit surprising at first glance.

But Van Messel feels at home in both worlds. «Here I get the tools for my future, my career. And it’s super exciting. But my passion is clearly wrestling.” It is also this world that Van Messel first got to know. “I grew up in the countryside and spent a lot of time outside.” The native of Zug attended his first swing training while still at the primary school sat.

Always keep your feet on the floor

Van Messel only came into contact with the subject of business and this completely different world when he switched to the Kanti in Zug. He is aware of the somewhat distant reputation of the HSG. “There are definitely a few people here who have lost their grip on reality,” he says with a grin. That doesn’t come easily to him. Swinging terrain the central Swiss. “The world’s problems are discussed on campus, climate change – or what leadership actually entails. And then you end up in the swinging basement after the lecture, where someone tells you that his welding machine broke today. You will naturally stay on the ground.”

His somewhat unusual professional career is hardly discussed in the wrestling world. “When I say that I study economics, I say at most that economics is a good thing, especially the hospitality industry,” says Noe van Messel with a wink. At the university, on the other hand, his passion could count on great interest. “We have many foreign students here. And they were really interested in the sport.” They even went to a wrestling festival with the Zuger and were enthusiastic about the atmosphere.

Twenty years ago, the economics student was probably something exotic, but trained wrestlers are no longer an absolute rarity these days. The backgrounds of athletes are becoming increasingly diverse. That is an enrichment for the sport, says Van Messel. “Different points of view are always good. That’s what business and wrestling have in common.”

Source : Blick