“It’s a way of life”

As a competitive, multi-award winning cheerleader, Esteban trains a minimum of 4 times per week after work, together with Tita, his girlfriend. Since he’s also studying a Master’s degree in Information Services Management at Universidad Nacional of Costa Rica, he additionally trains once per week with the University sports team. So, it’s safe to say that he’s definitely got his hands full, but he no doubt has the motivation to go with it. 

He inherited this passion for sport from his parents who, both now over 70, still train multiple times per week; his mother swims and his father runs up to 8 km (~5 miles) three times per week! Esteban admires this a lot and is adamant that sport should be accessible for everyone, not just for young people. 

“It’s like a way of life that continues with you throughout the years. Regardless of the injuries, of getting older, of not being able to train exactly like you used to, you continue. It’s important to see it not as a stage that will one day pass, but as a lifestyle.”

Since he was raised in such an active household, sport has always played an important role in Esteban’s life. He took up gymnastics when he was younger and at 17 he joined a cheerleading team, mainly out of curiosity to see what the atmosphere would be like. He made lots of friends through the sport and spent several years competing in different teams.

At 28 years old, he joined a university team and started to compete internationally. This led him to later join the National Team, where he won Silver in the 2010 World Championships. Esteban had finally found his passion, and he was good at it too. 

In 2013, when he turned 37, Esteban decided he wanted to share this passion with his girlfriend, so he left the team and specialized in couple’s competitions instead. They competed together all over the world, from Columbia to Korea, coming first place in Las Vegas, Germany and The Open Europe Competition – to name a few. 

Even when Esteban suffered a very serious shoulder injury in 2018 and had to stop training for a year, this didn’t faze the dynamic duo. His partner decided to compete with the National Team in the meantime and won Bronze in the World Cup. Talk about a power couple! 

The pair quickly got back to training together and are still going strong competing in competitions. When asked how they navigate both living and working together, Esteban explained it requires a lot of communication and perseverance. They try to avoid disputes and resolve their differences, which only makes them stronger. 

These skills are invaluable to Esteban as Senior Developer, as he always strives to keep his colleagues inspired. He encourages his team, especially the new interns, to carry on learning and often talks through interesting books and articles that he’s read to stimulate new and insightful conversations. He is convinced that continuous learning is essential, especially now that technological advancements are so fast-paced: 

“We can’t stagnate in any areas of our lives – be it professional, personal or sport. The learning process has to continue with you.” 

He’s a real force of motivation at Hellmann keeping everyone’s spirit’s high. And it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping anytime soon.