Austin Carter is a 21 year old triathlete from New Zealand that we at BENEO, are proud to sponsor, as we see him grow every year. So when we heard that he would be training in Spain for several months, we knew we had to grab this chance to meet him in person.

And that’s where I came in and jumped on a plane to Bilbao, never a dull moment when you work at BENEO.  We had sent some messages back and forth to make this happen, and agreed that I would take the bus to Vitoria-Gasteiz, on the very last day of him being in Spain. And so I did. When I arrived, an enthusiastic Austin was waiting for me by the bus. First things first, we went to get a coffee to have a chat. He immediately confessed he had just learned to drink coffee the week before.

Getting to know Austin.

Austin was very excited about his training time in Spain, where he got to participate in races almost every weekend. A real steep learning curve, as Austin has only been in the triathlon game for 2 years. Before that, he was a rower. His trainer pushed him in taking up this challenge to go to Spain and it paid off. Next on his agenda? Hopefully making it to the Olympic team of 2024!

Once we got our coffees, Austin started telling me everything about how he got into triathlon and that he really believes in the power of nutrition. During his training periods this means: eating a whole bunch of food and making sure he gets the right nutrients. As his training period can mean 5 hours of training each day, it’s important he has the right fuel to keep going, and to recover as good as possible. Because the next day, he has to do it all over again. This is how Austin became a real Palatinose™ ambassador. By trying various products with this functional carb, he quickly noticed the positive effect on his performance. And he’s not shy to tell his fellow athletes about it!

This clever triathlete studies marketing and therefor has an interest for branding and marketing opportunities. He was very keen on learning how we at BENEO handle our promotions and where exactly he fits in.

An athlete’s strict diet.

Something that was new to me personally is learning about how strict an athlete’s diet is when it comes to doping tests. He told me about the very strict drug testing that athletes need to pass. If they are caught with forbidden substances in their body, they are banned from competing for four years! That’s why they are incredibly careful about supplements and even protein shakes and bars. In short; Austin never eats something when he doesn’t know for sure what’s in it. So he loves that Palatinose™ is a natural sugar, there’s absolutely no problem in using it. I was also a bit curious about the person behind the athlete, so I asked about his life in New Zealand and what he likes to do for fun. Being a real Kiwi boy, when he has a spare moment, Austin likes to go for a surf. Or of course, hang out with his girlfriend. She has no interest in sports, which is a great balance, she pushes him to make time to relax and do other things.

The interview.

I’m sure we could have kept chatting, but the plan was to do an interview on camera. So we headed to the park and got to it. Have a look at the result!