His experience in professional sports, as a former captain of the Spanish rugby team, has shaped his career as an entrepreneur and actor. Jaime Nava reflects with Capital on the importance of perseverance, humility and ego control, and how the values of this game are effectively transferred to the business world. In addition, he tells us about his work in social projects, his commitment to the audiovisual world and his new challenges.
HYou have had a very diverse career, what aspects of your training in sports management do you think have been key to your success as an entrepreneur?
I like to think that I have different facets or faces. Regarding success, it remains to be seen… I’ve been at this for ‘two days’, as they say; but I do believe that the world of sports is capable of providing a series of tools or codes that perhaps we cannot find in regulated training, the so-called soft skillswhich are beginning to be valued so much today in organizations and private companies.
The world of sports management has many aspects, just like consulting. I would almost tell you that, having been in contact during this time with the world of management for sports and athletes from more minority sports, patience becomes a great virtue. Basically, because projects in this area have to be worked on and sweated for twice as much as in other environments. This, taken to the field of entrepreneurship and startups that want to have their place in the world of communication and marketing, can even provide some advantage.
After almost 20 years in professional rugby, what values or lessons have you taken with you into the business world?
The first of all is, without a doubt, perseverance and discipline; even when the dark clouds arrive, which, when you are self-employed and entrepreneurial, happens quite often, and there are days when you wonder why you got out of bed. The other great lesson is the value of humility; and I say this fully aware that I am not exactly a humble person.
It is very difficult to be one in these times of enormous competitiveness, but rugby has taught me something very important, which is not to feed too much to that ‘animal’ that is the ego. The ego in rugby is very punished, and this sport has left me unforgettable lessons at times when you believe you have all the answers for this world.
“Every organization needs a well-defined project and values shared by the team”
How was the transition from being captain of the Spanish rugby team to becoming an actor and participating in television shows?
Any transition that has to do with the retirement of a professional athlete is hard and involves many ups and downs. You have to be prepared for everything and be aware that you have to make some mistakes before finding those places where the athlete feels safe and comfortable again. That place where the athlete once again has a purpose in his life that replaces what he has been giving meaning to his life for so many years.
I started working in the audiovisual world (entertainment and fiction) in the most fortuitous way. I was simply offered to participate in different spaces and I accepted. I have always liked the world of audiovisual communication, and my role as an actor has existed and been latent since my childhood. So, in the last two years of my career as a professional athlete, I began to train in the field of acting, and opportunities would soon arrive.
It has been seven years in the audiovisual world, and today I continue to advance and train. The truth is that I am very happy with the option of working and being in contact with the audiovisual field.
In his book ‘Team!’ talks about the relationship between rugby and business management. How do you think this sport can be an effective tool for corporate leaders?
It is effective from the moment you realize that rugby is a scenario in which you have to manage and navigate with very diverse situations and moments. Like those we can find in the day-to-day life of any organization. In rugby you have to know how to manage yourself in an environment with other people, and even manage them or make them work. And, above all, rugby helps with the management of emotions, something that is essential today in the changing and uncertain environments we live in. I am very annoying, but I love to say and repeat ad nauseum that rugby is the ‘other university of life’.
“It is very difficult to be humble in these times of high competitiveness”
He has worked with brands such as Generali and Repsol. How do you adapt the values of sport to the needs and culture of these large organizations?
In reality, it is not about adapting, but about reinforcing the culture project of that particular organization that you are trying to work on. In the end, I do not propose to be an agent of change, but simply a facilitator. Nothing else. I do not see myself as having enough ease, nor with the appropriate knowledge to determine what needs to change or what is not working in an organization with years of experience and success stories behind it in this or that sector.
What I do like to do is understand the idiosyncrasies of the brand or company, know their culture project and what they look for from the people who are part of those work teams. Know what your objectives are and if there really is a purpose; and that is when those tools or codes come into play that form the work ethic of that company, which is given in the form of values.
Today, every organization needs that well-defined project, including values that the team shares. If not, it is very difficult for things to work out. Above all, when the wind is not blowing in favor… Solid projects do not find sufficient support in the boards of directors; They find it in people who know where they are going and know the savoir faire in the form of those corporate values.
What did it mean to you to be named ambassador of the Royal Spanish Rugby Federation and the city of Alcobendas?
For me it was a privilege and an honor to have been an ambassador of Spanish rugby during this time. It perhaps meant continuing to have that recognition of rugby and of the people who for so many years had been supporting me and my teammates. Support to continue working for rugby from a place other than the playing field. About All in all, I would say that it was a beacon for me at a time when the shine of that light that was my sporting career went out.
His commitment to social projects is evident, especially with the ‘Colossus con Pies de Barro’ association. What motivated you to get involved in the fight against abuse in sport?
I was motivated to learn the story of Sebastien Buehil, founder of the association and former professional rugby player with whom I met during my time in France. Sebastien was a victim of abuse as a child around his rugby club. ‘Colossus with Feet of Clay’ is a very beautiful project that I feel very proud of. I collaborate with them whenever I can, as an ambassador, offering testimony and to inform and raise awareness about certain dangers that may arise for the youngest, to try to protect them as much as possible while protecting the sport from the entry of intruders and predators.
Unfortunately, sport is still a very unprotected environment in this sense; in which relationships of trust are generated in a very natural way and with a high degree of trust between all the actors involved, and at Coloso we believe that it is necessary to inform and train in both senses. As my dear friend Jero García, former professional boxer, trainer and mediator, says: “Children don’t touch each other.”
“We must protect the sport from the entry of intruders and predators”
Finally, what future projects do you have in mind, both in the sports field and in the world of acting and communication?
My intention is to continue making firm progress in the audiovisual world. In the last year, I have been working a little less in this area, but this business also works like that. It’s like a roller coaster. In any case, I am working on my own projects that I am very excited about and that have to do with audiovisual communication. I also cannot forget what we already have in place and that continues to work with our agencies All&Go and Arena Sports & Events.
I am also passionate about and enjoy my role as a communicator and lecturer very much, and, in the world of sports consulting, my partners and I are also advancing steadily. One thing is clear to me, and that is that it doesn’t look like I’m going to get bored during the rest of the year, and 2025 is just around the corner.
