Football, Studying Law & Modeling.
Galoppo Sport™ - Editorial
February 2024 - Vienna, Austria
We visited Footballer, Law Student and Model Valentina Kumer in Vienna to talk life, work, sports and everything in between.
"So, I am 25 years old, moved to Vienna 2 years ago, study law, and play soccer, actually for my whole life. That's me."
"How did your soccer career begin?"
"Interestingly, there was no one in the family who played soccer. Not my parents - they never watched soccer either."
"In school, it all began with playing soccer. The boys were always allowed to play soccer, and the girls' gymnastics involved a lot of athleticism and running. Soooo, then I asked if I could swap."
"The first time I went to practice, I attended the boys' training. And there were one or two other girls, which made me very happy. There wasn't a proper girls' team back then."
"Does soccer shape your character? Is it something you define yourself by?"
"Yes, I would definitely say so. I never had siblings, I am an only child, and accordingly, I always found it pleasant to have so many kids my age around me.
"How did you come to study law?"
"I've always been passionate about justice and enjoyed mediating disputes. I've always had a knack for it and enjoyed debating."
"And my grandmother eventually told me that with my way of communicating, I should either become a presenter or study law."
"But I don't actually want to become a lawyer. I used to want to be a judge because I liked the idea of being in this objective role. But the longer I'm in school, the less certain I am about where exactly I want to go with it. However, I'm sure I want to do something related to law. For example, I could see myself working in NGOs."
"Interestingly, soccer has also given me a lot of peace, especially in my teenage years when you can really go down many paths, and soccer certainly helped me avoid certain wrong turns in life."
"How did you get into modeling?"
"The whole modeling thing happened very spontaneously. I was 18 and used to post photos on Instagram, mostly of everything, not just myself."
"At some point, a photographer approached me and asked if I wanted to take photos with her. I was really excited and flattered but also super nervous. It was my first time, after all.
I kinda fell in love with it and I am doing it since then.""What I like is that the modeling world is becoming more diverse, which is a great development.
Personally, I was really taken under someone's wing and introduced to this industry, for which I am very grateful. I just love working together with many people on something, it gives me a lot!"
Talent: Valentina Kumer
Photographer: Timo Wagner
Styling & Design: Amena Zara
Podcast: Aslican Mete
Creative Director: Mo Wagner