Six amateur fights, three fights in the professional league and one fight for the German championship - this is Patrick Franz's impressive record to date. Boxing has become his great passion, even if he came to the sport in a roundabout way. His heart actually beat for the round leather. But after serious injuries such as a broken jaw and a torn cruciate ligament, the businessman, who was just starting his own second store at the time, decided to turn his back on football. The risk of being out of action for a longer period of time due to injury was too high for him. Three sport-free years followed - until the day three-time kickboxing world champion Sergej Braun stood in front of him. "Sergej went shopping in my local shop and said: 'You're getting fatter and fatter too'. Of course I wasn't going to take that lying down and went to boxing training at his martial arts school. I was immediately fascinated and impressed by the training and the sport," recalls Patrick Franz. And the risk of injury, as absurd as it may sound, is less with boxing, according to Patrick Franz: "While your opponent unpredictably stomps into your movements in football, you expect resistance in boxing. So far, I've only suffered a few injuries or the odd headache," he explains.

The 41-year-old has regularly swapped his market coat for boxing gloves for six years. He pushes himself to the limit in the sport, but also sees parallels with his job: "Courage, discipline and stamina are what you need both in the boxing ring and in self-employment. Mutual respect and good partners at your side are also important, as is setting goals and working towards them," says Patrick Franz. On the other hand, his job accompanies him to every competition: the nahkauf logo is emblazoned on his sports trousers, and his customers keep their fingers crossed for him - because the businessman has long been known in the region for his hobby.

The epitome of toughening up: Patrick Franz taking an ice bath As hot as it gets in the boxing ring, Patrick Franz's second passion is ice-cold: ice swimming. For the past five years, the businessman has been diving into the Guckaisee, a mountain lake in the Rhön, with a small group of like-minded people in winter. On Sundays from November to March, they use an axe to cut a hole in the ice and then plunge into the icy water for around two minutes. How do you come up with the idea and how do you overcome it? "When I showered in the morning, I always set the last 20 to 30 seconds to ice cold and realised that it gave me more energy. I also had fewer colds," explains the businessman. "And then I built on that."

What's the parallel with your job? Patrick Franz: "Ice bathing teaches you to stay calm even in stressful situations. When I get into the ice-cold water, I'm completely focussed on myself and everything else is far away. It gives me an incredible amount of energy." Even in spring and summer, Patrick Franz doesn't have to give up his "cool" hobby: He simply visits the local ice sauna with cold cabins down to -110 degrees.