Interviewed: Irina Ivanova
I don’t know whether the sports PR of the Russian prime minister contributes to this, or if international standards dictate their conditions, but the competitions we had previously enjoyed on whoever drinks the most have given way to other sports. People of the new generation prefer to be healthy and successful. And the stereotypes that in Russia there is no business without vodka, now there is someone to wash.
In order not to become one of those who always cuts for an extra glass, I decided to give the floor to the same representatives of the stronger sex, from whom I want to take an example. Several beautiful, athletic and successful young people answered my questions about the role of sport and alcohol in the life of a modern person.
Energy, Discretion and Discipline
Sport in my life takes up a lot of space - I have to visit the pool and gym three times a week, I practice with a gym wheel at home. After the gym, sauna and pool there are so many new ideas! My colleagues and I especially like to use this state of mind for conducting relaxed-pleasant brain storms. And in dealing with girls, sport is a source of strength and inspiration!
I don’t drink alcohol at all, from the very moment I found out about the mechanism of its effect on the brain. By the way, for fun, I once questioned about fifty of my friends, and only two of them had a rough idea of what is happening in the body under the influence of alcohol, and what is intoxication.
Although, of course, drinking in business, given the generally accepted specifics of doing business in Russia, as a whole, still helps. Joint libations, as a rule, especially bring together, but to a certain stage. To be honest, I personally, especially thinkers and strategists, would suggest not to use it. Without alcohol, a person has more energy and a clear view of the situation is formed. Therefore, I have my own ways of maintaining a “friendly atmosphere” in the drinking company. A glass in your hands, even with juice, is a great opportunity to meet with your eyes, smile, and even affectionately clink about your partner’s glass.
The gym in which I work out is next to work. In my free time I am happy to switch to strength exercises, a pool and a sauna. It personally refreshes me and gives me strength. As a rule, we visit the gym with my business partner Denis. It happens that fresh ideas come to mind at the time of bench press from a prone position. Why not? Ideally, I would like to see all my employees here. Joint sports activities are a great team building.
As for alcohol, it happens, I use it. I’m "general", I can! Just kidding.
In general, the number of entertainment events that we organize and carry out discourages any desire to get involved in alcohol, and leaves no room for it. We are funny and adequately crazy without any additional stimulants, and the question of maintaining the atmosphere of the holiday, to create which many need to drink, disappears by itself.
My life today is so interesting and eventful that for alcohol it somehow does not have enough space or time. So, if I drink two or three times a month, then only with very close friends and in the home circle.
Business meetings and negotiations, in my opinion, are not a reason to drink at all. My experience has shown me several times that a non-alcoholic mode of life allows you to do more and work more efficiently. For me, more important points are energy, composure and discipline, and they are not particularly adjacent to alcohol. 
I prefer to remember everything
I work out in the gym three times a week, be sure. Of my friends in it, almost none. I specifically chose a sports club where they do not know me, so as not to be distracted by communication, but to concentrate fully on sports. I do this, first of all, for myself - when you feel in great shape, and the mood is always “positive,” it is easy and pleasant to solve business issues. And for companionship or just relaxing, I prefer to play hockey and tennis. On the tennis court, by the way, you can always meet the right people.
I can afford a drink a maximum of once a week. I believe that everything should be in time and place. If I'm going to have fun, why not? Although, to say that it is alcohol that changes my mood for the better, I would not. I myself am the master of my mood. If I have any problems, I don’t allow myself to “look for the truth in guilt,” by the way, and I don’t advise others. Besides the headache the next day, nothing can be found in the fault. Alcohol can only achieve artificial fun and relaxation ... Problems will not go anywhere, but with a hangover it is even more difficult to solve them.
Meetings outside the office certainly lead to more laid-back communication and are quite capable of moving things off the ground. But there is a danger that after sitting and talking "heart to heart", tomorrow no one will remember anything. I don’t understand people who, having sorted through, later proudly tell everyone that they don’t remember anything. I personally prefer to remember everything.
Women choose the strong
In childhood
I was swimming, but at sixteen I quit. The craving for sports remained, therefore, soon I began to go to the gym. I also run cross-country, and in general, I try to do it regularly, at least three times a week.
If you do not set the goal of Olympic reserves, it is not at all necessary to submit to a tough sports regime, meticulously calculate proteins and calories, or refuse alcohol. It's just that a healthy and active lifestyle is programmed in us by nature, and habits like donuts with marmalade after lunch or beer at a hearty dinner are our own invention, which leads to unpleasant consequences in the form of a sagging stomach and bags under the eyes.
Of course, I do not refuse feasts, but they are not my lifestyle. During the so-called informal parts of business meetings, physically strong people are more impressed with partners. Remember Dolokhov from War and Peace, who drank a bottle of rum, balancing on the window, on a bet with the Englishman? If he only did what he drank all day, he could hardly have accomplished this and other feats. Apparently he was a physically strong man, because how much drill had to be his share in order to achieve the guards alignment. By the way, among the "feats" of this character and his friends was the seduction of a girl with her subsequent escape from her parents' house, which, of course, is wrong, but we know that lazy and fat ones would have no chance trying to win her love! Of course, a lot has changed since then, but I’m sure that now, women prefer slender and strong gentlemen ...
He who does not want - seeks a reason, who wants - seeks an opportunity
In my youth I was engaged in swimming, athletics. Now in my sports program: body fitness, lifting, bodybuilding. I want to note that there is a noticeable difference between the concepts of "physical education" and "sport". By sport, I think, it should be understood as a purely professional activity, the desire for new extraordinary achievements, which often in the future is not entirely favorable for the state of health and life expectancy in general. Physical education is the key to well-being and moral satisfaction.
I drink alcohol infrequently, and if it happens, I try to stick to moderate amounts. For me, it is indisputable that excessive drinking causes a significant blow to time management, and since we are talking about physical education, then the physical and mental state of a person.
Future of the nation
Recently, sports activities have become fashionable in Russia. I have a fairly wide circle of friends, my hangouts in which I have to "match," so I go to the gym three times a week. Since my work cannot be called mobile, I have to make efforts to keep fit.
In my opinion, playing sports has a positive impact on the business sphere of life, since at any negotiations or meetings a taut and outwardly attractive person always draws attention to itself and has partners and clients. People understand that if a person takes care of himself, then in business he is just as accurate.
In addition, in a good sports club you can make new acquaintances with those people who will later help outside. Here you can find potential customers or partners. A gym is the best place to relieve stress, because after mental activity a person works physically, thereby bringing the body into tone. After a workout and a sauna, you begin to feel completely different, and when your muscles hurt, you understand that you are “alive”. This, in my opinion, is a real rest!
If we talk about communication with the opposite sex, it is no secret that girls are pleased to be near a young man of a sports physique, not burdened with extraneous smells of cigarettes or alcohol. And, of course, now it’s worthwhile to think in advance about the time when you will become a father — each parent wants his child to be healthy. I haven’t been drinking alcohol for five years now. Previously, of course, I tried more than once, but then I just realized that it is better to take a sober look at life and set clear goals. Sometimes there are times in life when you give up and you want to drink or smoke to distract from bad thoughts, but I tell myself that such relaxation is a hoax. And I do not need illusions.
I think people use alcohol for self-deception. Well, they can’t, let’s say, with a large crowd of people dancing, meeting, complexing, and here they are stimulating themselves with additional means. In fact, you can have great fun, and not succumbing to the influence of the "green serpent". We can talk a lot about the dangers of alcohol and smoking, and the bulk of people understand all this, but cannot refuse addictions. There is only one way out - we must rethink everything in ourselves and choose our own path, constantly remembering that we are the future of the nation and our great country of Russia!
