Swiss Hockey: Dear Paul, everyone talks about slow living, slow food, etc.. – Only you pulled Fastplay out of your hat. Why?

Paul: Slow food means good food that is also available regionally … as we certainly can’t produce field hockey sticks in Switzerland, I wanted to achieve at least the following for the Swiss field hockey world: The top field hockey brands available in a Swiss store. Look, touch, try, try on …. And it works, and I’m always pleased to see how many customers have supported Fastplay from the very beginning!

Swiss Hockey: What made you decide to set up a sports store for an absolutely marginal sport (some people in the canton of St. Gallen even claim that goat racing is more popular than country field hockey …) here in Switzerland?

Paul: First of all, I don’t like the term “fringe sport” at all. We shouldn’t make our Olympic sport smaller than it is. After all, it is the second largest outdoor team sport in the world after football. It’s a shame that so few Swiss people know about it. I like to talk about lifetime sports or passion sports – in this day and age, in clear contrast to purely commercial sports, our sport is appreciative and very emotional! Once you’ve caught fire, you often stick with it and can feel part of a global community. And that for a lifetime. So keep working to make country field hockey such a great sport more popular in Switzerland too. And then the answer to your question: As national coach and later as head of competitive sport, I wanted to give all players and clubs the opportunity to acquire top field hockey equipment in Switzerland. I also always wanted to support our select players so that they could afford good field hockey equipment from the major field hockey brands as cheaply as possible. That’s why Fastplay has sponsored more than 20 national team players from the very beginning and continues to do so to this day, giving all players special discounts.

Swiss Hockey: I see, that’s great, of course. Fastplay has now been successful for over 20 years. Would you ever have thought back then that you would be celebrating 20 years with Fastplay today?

Paul: Of course, I never thought of anything like this when I founded Fastplay. At the time, the owner of the sports store Fähndrich Sport in Horw died very suddenly. As I was trained as a sports teacher and field hockey coach as well as having a commercial background, I found it exciting to be able to contribute my knowledge from both areas here. That’s why I took over the Fähndrich Sport estate and founded Fastplay.

Swiss Hockey: What do you think are the reasons for Fastplay’s success?

Paul: The success of Fastplay is certainly primarily due to the fact that we always have our finger on the pulse of the players. Thanks to our constant collaboration with coaches and national players, we know which material is particularly in focus at the moment. Of course, all players and clubs who work with us benefit from this. And our prices for top brands of field hockey sticks, field hockey shoes etc. are often cheaper than abroad. So it’s always worth taking a look at Fastplay before ordering from abroad and then being surprised by additional customs, VAT and transport costs.

Swiss Hockey: And what were your biggest challenges with Fastplay?

Paul: The biggest challenge was certainly finding the time to be able to serve all customers promptly alongside my other field hockey jobs.

Swiss Hockey: Did you ever think about giving it up?

Paul: Never in all 20 years. I’ve always had a lot of fun. The contact with my employees, players, customers and clubs has always given me positive energy! The fact that Fastplay was never in the red, even during the coronavirus crisis, was certainly an important factor in this.

Swiss Hockey: Now we all know that Fastplay wasn’t just your only baby. Keywords here: Swiss Hockey, family, golf, …. How did you manage to juggle everything? What drove you?

Paul: I really appreciated not having monotonous working days. And being able to use the many synergies with my different areas of work (and with my family). Yes, field hockey was always a unifying element. Golf came along almost automatically a few years ago. It’s a great hobby that I can enjoy with my wife Beate and all the other family members.

Swiss Hockey: Dominik Rutishauser and Ralph Heidemann will be taking over Fastplay from you in February this year. What is your vision for FP? What advice do you have for both of them so that FP can also celebrate its 50th anniversary?

Paul: I’m delighted to have found two buyers in Dominik and Ralph, who firstly live in the canton of Lucerne and secondly are deeply rooted in the Swiss field hockey world. My vision would be for Swiss Hockey’s membership numbers to increase steadily over the next few years, and for Fastplay to automatically benefit from many new satisfied customers as a result. They should certainly build on what they already have, but also incorporate new creative ideas. Then I can certainly see further development in a positive light.

Swiss Hockey: We’ve heard from various sources (who wish to remain anonymous …) that you’re now completely absorbed in two things: as a “Grosi” and on the golf course. What can we most likely expect from you in the near future: a golf store for field hockey players or the establishment of an association for Grosis?

Paul: Our living room has been perfectly converted into a field hockey pitch. At the moment there’s enough for 3 grandchildren … We’ll have to see about the future. I’m curious about that myself. And what I want is to keep my network and contacts with former players and officials active so that I can continue to indulge in the many wonderful memories of my fulfilled field hockey life in the future.

Swiss Hockey: Thank you very much Paul and we wish you much satisfaction in everything else you do or don’t do … 🙂