Piotr Lisek about Optimism, Distance to the World and the Faith in Success

Your beginnings with athletics are related to cross-country running and high jump. So why did you choose the pole in the end?

I've always been a busy child. This story does not change and it is probably the same for all athletes. I was running on the rails because my trainer, a family friend, a sort of uncle, was teaching physical education. So, I went to him for extra classes and he introduced me to the world of athletics. I was quite fast, agile, and I was always comfortable with the gears, but they were too stressful for me. It wasn't that, I was missing the adrenaline. Then came the high jump. I even had some achievements in it as a child, I was a forward-looking boy, but my coach uncle said I was a bit short. I thought to myself: well, it's a shame. I've always dreamed of a pole vault competition and the coach said he had a friend who was training in this field and he introduced me to this world of pole vaulting. Nobody thought I was going to grow this way, so if there was a high jump it would be okay too. I like to eat well so I don't pay much attention to weight balance and high jump competition is absolutely not for me when it comes to the dimensions of these competitors. So, I fit perfectly into the pole vault competition, and whenever I watched athletics on TV, this pole was so unachievable. I never expected that I would be able to train it, but with the help of my trainer and my family, I did it.

How do you recall your first steps in this sport? Looking back, did you expect the results you are achieving today?

No, I was absolutely not expecting it. As a kid, I said that if I jump 5.80 m, I would be satisfied because I don't have to go any further. I jumped to this height once, twice, and I wanted more. I was climbing an inch up, my appetite grew with eating, and I am still very hungry.

Did you encounter any problems at the beginning, e.g. with the equipment or the sports club?

There is always a problem with poles, because they are selected individually for the player. It is known that at the beginning kids jump on similar poles, but with time it becomes a problem. There were a lot of logistic and equipment difficulties at the very beginning. However, we were gradually dealing with them with the help of PZLA, a club or a family, which helped in the purchase or acquisition of a pole. At the beginning of the pole vault I didn't realize that this could be my way of life, that I could earn money and support my family. It was just fun at first. I came to the training smiling and maybe unknowingly I was doing this semi-professional training in the beginning because I liked it, especially jumping. I still like it, so I'm lucky not to go to work as punishment. Jumping does not always bring joy to young students. It is often stressful, but you have to turn your head down and working with the equipment is not entirely safe. My wife, who was a pole vaulter, had a stage where she preferred to jog or exercise in the gym because she was stressed about what she had to do. She knew how to get to jumping higher, but the stress was something that overwhelmed her. I didn't have it at the beginning. It only came later with bigger heights and harder poles which are unforgiving so the stress has come but for me it's something of a driving force.

Pole vault is quite an extreme branch of athletics. There is a lot of risk involved in both competition and training. Are you often scared?

I haven't grown up yet :) I'm still a big kid and people who know me know it. Although with age I am aware of the body and what is happening around me. However, you have to overcome it, because it is one of the few extremes in athletics. It is also harder to protect yourself because a lot is happening. When comparing a pole to motorsport or ski jumping, we all face stress and I'm no exception. Compared to other athletes, I have to do crazier things. You have to be a bit crazy, and I can call myself that.

In terms of the stress and fear you face, do you think it is necessary to work with a sports psychologist? Do you use such help?

I do not use it and I am on the other side of the barricade. I absolutely do not go into what and who should. I speak only for myself. I assumed that when I was already an adult, if I did not deal with the problems that I carry on my shoulders and the psychologist will help me at some point, these problems will only accumulate. I try to be under a training, psychological regime, and I also have to deal with some things myself. So far it is going well, although I must admit that it is getting harder and harder. Who knows, maybe I will change my mind and use the help of a psychologist. I like talking to Jan Blecharz or a friend from Szczecin who studies psychology, and I exchange my views. I am a typical layman, I cannot use professional vocabulary, but I am always eager to learn new things thanks to these conversations. It may not be therapy or some planned activities, but it helps me to raise awareness of certain phenomena. I am not always able to translate theoretical knowledge into practice, but I try to be aware of all methods and tricks. 

Is there anyone who was your role model when you were a young adept in athletics?

I won't be original if I say it, was Sergei Bubka. Then Steve Hooker came along, an Australian who technically jumped a lot like me. He was a massive fighter too, like me. Now we have the Duplantis era, which is short and very slim. Our posture cannibalizes a bit. I often get messages that I should lose weight and be like Duplantis. Nobody realizes that there was once an era of much bigger guys who jumped with a pole very high. You have to make the fans aware that the pole vault competition is so fun that everyone can do it, because there are quite a lot of jumping styles. Maybe for a fan, they do not differ much, but for us, who see thousands of jumps, there are many techniques to jump high. But as I said: everyone can jump and this is beautiful in this discipline.

You are still missing the Olympic medal in your collection. You came closest to that goal in Rio when you finished fourth. How do you remember this competition in retrospect?

Dramatic. The level has risen very high and the Olympics in Tokyo cannot be compared to those in Brazil. Then I was after the change of coach, it was a difficult period for me, and still I achieved the maximum of what I could jump at that moment. I was fourth. Now it was not an easy time in Tokyo either, but I jumped higher and I was sixth. This shows what the difference could be over a five-year period.

You mentioned the Tokyo Olympics. Did moving them one year affect your preparation or mental approach?

Not. Many people from other industries, not only athletes, often complained that they could not do something because of a pandemic. I am not demanding. I try to find solutions to problems than feel sorry. I immediately built a runway at my family home and tried to work with what I had. I don't think I missed a lot because of this pandemic. I'm not blaming anything for this period. Anyone could find a solution. Anita Włodarczyk was also throwing under the bridge at the beginning of her career, so to speak. Those who achieved success, often at the beginning or during their careers, had some hard time. Nobody gave them poles, jumps and everything they need to practice this discipline. We often face many problems and the one who can deal with them wins.

Athletics is referred to as the queen of sport, but in Poland it is not the number 1 sport. How does this translate into training conditions? Have you noticed any changes compared to previous years?

I think it has improved, but not as much as we would like to. It improves gradually, year by year. First, the awareness of athletes, coaches and PZLA is increasing. We know what we must work on to gain new achievements. Maybe the infrastructure has not gone so far, but the facilities are being renovated, they are nicer and more functional. There aren't many of them. We are a country that is mainly focused on football and it cannot be denied that the rest of the sports are in the background, but I am not whining. I was able to create the conditions to prepare myself as well as possible. It doesn't always work out for me, because it's a sport, we deal with injuries. Nevertheless, we are slowly moving forward.

You brought up the soccer theme. Once, Marcin Lewandowski expressed his dissatisfaction with the fans' lack of interest in athletics by posting a provocative post on Facebook. I understand that you don't have a problem with the fans being more interested in football?

We cannot force a fan to love athletics if he loves football. Everyone chooses what interests him. This is gently hurting us athletes, and we work hard too. Let's not belittle the players, because the fact that they drive fancy cars and have a luxurious life does not mean that they did not put any effort into their sport. We often forget it, and they work hard, so thank them for that. We are simply a little less appreciated by the general public, but we cannot exert pressure on the fan and his preferences.

What was the most difficult moment in your career and how did you try to find a way out of the crisis?

I had the biggest crisis when I changed the coach. Then coming to training simply stopped giving me joy. Just because I'm smiling and look energetic every day it doesn't mean that I really am all the time. It is also a bit of a media look. I have teeth that cannot be kept in my mouth, I have a large mouth and a smile automatically appears :) I try to look positively at the world, but I am an ordinary person. Everyone has moments of doubt or nostalgia.

What do you think is important to succeed in this discipline?

Don't think too much. Sometimes you have to trust your abilities and let go of fear, anxiety and what may happen. And to be a little crazy and not be afraid to take a risk. If you want to win, you have to take a risk. This is especially important in my discipline, because you have to put together a few elements until the very end to make the jump. You are not sure if you will succeed, if you will land on the mattress, if the pole will break, or if you will not land from six meters outside the mattress, which is very dangerous. Perseverance is the key, because training a pole vaulter does not take a year or two. Nobody is born with such skill that they come to the stadium, pick up a pole and jump six meters. Everything has to be slow, step by step. Often my colleagues from other disciplines are more successful quickly, and the pole vault competition takes 6-8 years to develop a pole vaulter who is able to jump at a very high level. So, it is a long but enjoyable process and I think we also have many advantages compared to other disciplines. One of them is jumping in market squares where, for example, runs cannot be held. So, we have more competitions, we travel around the world more. We make a nice community because pole vaulters have that way, I guess they're all so crazy and that's why we stick together.

Do you have good contacts also outside of the competition? Do you help each other?

When it comes to contact outside the competition, not necessarily, although I have good relations with some players, but they are not permanent. Of course, we help each other during the competition, because we are all aware that the lack of help may result in hurting ourselves, instead of putting obstacles under our feet so that the other one jumps lower. This is cool. We all like each other, but our environment is quite hermetic. When we are in a hotel, where there are representatives of all athletics disciplines, you can often see pole vaulters in one group playing ping-pong and spending time together. I guess that's because we travel together a lot. Transporting the poles is problematic, most often we have a limited choice of aircraft, and someone also has to help us bring them to the airport. It is not easy, so we help each other and build this bond.

What does your everyday life look like? How many hours a day do you train?

There are two periods of the year. There is a time of immediate preparation for the competition. During the competition we train less, we have the work behind us, the most important task is to stay in shape, improve the technique, focus on the aspects that need to be improved. We train 6-7 times a week, so it happens that we train twice a day. I am not exercising on Sunday. Sunday is a day of rest for me. However, in the period of hard work, when we have to build form, strength and speed, we train 10 times a week. We then do workouts twice a day more often. Such a training session lasts at least two hours, and due to the fact that Lisek is a workaholic and an ox, he trains a bit more than other pole vaulters. Not athletes, because it happens that our "Matusiński's angels" train even more, the same goes for shot putters. In the pole vault competition, I am one of the people who train very hard. Because I am slightly larger, I make up for my strength, I have to devote this training to my individual jumping style. The trainer sometimes thinks I'm a machine. The last time I had a two-week break, and when I resumed my training, I was suddenly supposed to do it for two and a half hours. It was quite hard, because after the break, the body is lazy, and I say to the coach: "Marcin, I am Lisek, not a robot", but you have to do it anyway.

What is your training based on? Is it just jumping, or are you using elements of some other discipline?

Probably many people think that I am focused only on jumping. This is not true. Jumping is the main focus and I do it 2-3 times a week, but I also do other activities. There is a gym, and I know that by looking at my body you can tell that I spend there every day, but it doesn't look like that. I do more specialized stuff at the gym. I don't want to grow any more, I don't need weight. The power I use in pole vault is more important to me. In addition, we do gymnastics, because the pole vault competition is actually gymnastics. As if the gymnast was moving on a movable stick. There is speed and jumping ability. Moreover, there are also a lot of these trainings, they are varied, so we do not get bored during pole vault training. I would like to invite all the youngsters to trainings :) There are competitions where you still run long distances and it is quite tedious training, and with us it is varied on every level.

Are you able to say what basic lesson you learnt in training your discipline? What has this sport taught you?

I think I have learnt to be self-confident. Although I believe that it is not really needed. This is a good trait in general, but you have to be aware that anything can happen. Going to the stadium feeling very confident does not work well for the head or the jump itself. You have to be humble and know that it is a sport. Besides, my discipline teaches me perseverance and regime in life. In fact, it is impossible to come home from training and cut off completely from sports life. Such a dentist, for example, after returning home, does not tell which eights he has extracted or what he has done to someone's teeth today. And here? The whole family lives on it and I think it is a fun adventure and should be nurtured.

When did your adventure with social media start and what were the beginnings of your activity on Instagram?

At the very beginning, I noticed that someone had set up a fanpage for me. I was mad that he had even come up with such an idea. Now, they call me an internet junkie. This is not entirely true, because at first I did not think to have my own account or a website promoting my image, and it made me laugh. As my career grew, people wanted to know more about me, so I started my Facebook with the name "Piotr Lisek". In a moment it was the turn of Instagram, because people started running away from Facebook. I didn't really feel into it too much, but I put in funny posts, authentic, mine. Often older people did not like this content, but somehow it worked and I created a community that is with me and we communicate. It is not a great pleasure for me and I like to do it, but it is necessary nevertheless. The world is heading towards the Metaversum, so I try to take care of my image on the web. I have profiles on all social media, including TikTok. It's a mess :) and the most is happening there. Each platform has different content for different age groups. Keeping these accounts is now another responsibility of an athlete. At first I was very tired with it, now I'm used to it.

How are your posts prepared? Do you create spontaneous publications or do you act according to a planned pattern?

It depends. I don't like taking pictures of myself, I don't like walking around with the phone all the time. Often, when I go out with my wife for dinner or I'm in a cool place, I don't take my phone out right away and I don't take pictures, I don't record a video, I just enjoy the moment. Only after returning home, do I realise that I could have taken this photo after all. Many times, the posts are a bit edited, but what I'm posting aligns with me. I know how social media works, so there are also scheduled posts.

You are active in social media. Over 56,000 followers on Instagram is an impressive result. How do you interact with your fans? Do you reply to all messages?

I try to write back and try to appreciate my fans. I admit that there is some strange, even indecent content that I receive. Maybe there is a little less hate, but there are marriage proposals or other things that I do not identify with. Well, this is the Internet, everything is happening behind the screen and I think people are not aware that now it is very much open and that we can reach the person who wrote it.

Looking at how positive a person you are, does the hate you face affect you in any way?

I don't care at all, it doesn't bother me. There isn't much of it, so maybe if I got more negative comments, maybe I'd feel differently. So far, these are single messages or conversations. More often people come up to me in real life and talk to me.

This is interesting, because the vast majority of people do not have the courage to say directly if there is something they don't like.

Maybe because of these teeth of mine, I don't know :) It seems to me that I make such an impression and I am an open person. Therefore, the first ice is quickly broken, whether in business talks or in behind-the-scenes conversations with people I meet on the street. Maybe it makes people talk to me more willingly. Live contact suits me better. I also don't like talking to someone "sir / madam". I prefer to address a person by name right away and maybe it encourages fans.

Not every athlete has such reach as you do! Do you undertake any promotional and advertising activities? Do you cooperate commercially with companies or are you a brand ambassador?

Yes of course. My main sponsors are the brands Bank Spółdzielczy SGB Duszniki, Puma, Olimp and KIA PROMOTOR. Social media is a tool for me to promote these brands. I'm trying to keep it from being a classic ad. I try to present it in such a form that everyone can take something out of it, smile or come to some life conclusion. These are brands that I really identify with and which I can recommend with a clear conscience.

How do you select cooperation offers?

I am the kind of person who waits for bigger sponsors and I get involved in barter or some small brands. I try to limit my sponsorship proposals only to those with whom I identify. I am lucky that the brands I work with are also Lisek. I often talk to people from these companies and these conversations are friendly. Relationships are an important element of cooperation for me.

You run interesting profiles on TikTok and Instagram. Do you create them yourself or do you have support in these activities?

I do everything myself. There have been talks about putting these accounts in the hands of the people who handle it, but I don't have much time for it. I try to devote it to training and family, and then I would have to look after this person, send photos. I figured this account would be truer if I did it myself, and it stayed that way.

Do you think social media is more helpful in gaining sponsors and financing, or in building a personal brand?

It seems to me that when a sponsor comes to you, you have already built a personal brand. With the sponsor's help, you take actions to promote the product rather than your image. Although we work both ways with the KIA brand. We live in a time when sport has no right to exist without sponsors. This process of athlete's earning from the 1980s or 1990s is quite different than it is now. We need sponsors to live with dignity, pay bills and start a family. Financing has changed a lot over these several decades. It is part of our job. A person who wants to make a living from practicing sports can't do it without it.

Would you call yourself an influencer?

I would not call myself an influencer. However, after the reactions to TikTok and the feedback from people, a different conclusion can be drawn. Recently I was at lunch at a mall. As it is in a shopping center, a lot of young people - I am also young people, so I fit into this atmosphere :) I hear behind my back: "Lisek!". I didn't react, but my wife is still not used to being recognized on the street. Maybe it's a matter of being home so little and not going out. She pokes me and says, "Look, they recognized you!" We listen to what they say and one says to the other: "This is Lisek, a TikToker!". And the other one says: "No, no, this is Lisek, who is an athlete!" They argue anyway. I don't believe it, I don't say anything and I laugh inwardly. One shows TikTok, the other shows Wikipedia, and I wonder who I am. I would say that I am an athlete who does not shy away from being an influencer.

You are very active on social media, you train, take part in competitions and have a family - how do you combine all these activities?

When I spend time with my family, I try not to answer the phone or use social media. Then I celebrate these moments. I learnt the hierarchy of values ​​from home. I know what is most important, I know what is less important. I think it helps me keep my balance in all the areas of my life.

Do you already have plans for what to do after your athlete career ends, or do you want to continue growing as an influencer?

Here's the problem. For a long time I have been wondering who Piotr Lisek could be after the end of his career. There are a lot of these ideas, but I do not have higher education. I was in college but finished at my third year. I have no profession, because I have always jumped with a pole vault. I have no background and I could not go into the profession that someone in my family does. This is a difficult topic for me. I don't know what will happen. I like woodwork, so I could be a carpenter, but I don't have any specific profession. We'll see. I still think a lot. For example, I would like to open a restaurant. I know the market is not easy and everyone advises me against it, but this is something I like to do. Apart from working with wood, I like to eat well, I like cooking, so time will tell. Maybe I'll stay in sports, and maybe I'll go in a completely different direction.

How much time do you give yourself to do sports professionally?

It is difficult for me to say exactly how many years I could still spend in sports. When you look at this plan B, this plan A goes into the background, and yet I would like to focus on what I am doing now. I think the minimum time I would like to spend in sports is time until Paris. Everything I do, I will subordinate to jumping as high as possible. It is known that the foundation must be made. I invested my money in real estate, and I did not spend it on cars and pleasure. Since I earned my first money, I tried to think about the future.

The last question. What advice would you have for a beginner pole vault?

Have fun!

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