What’s in India?

Our family would go there every year…around the holidays. Growing up, I spent a lot of my time in India at the ashrams. In spite of the numerous trips I’ve made, my first memory of visiting Tiruvannamalai is still fresh and has shaped who I am as a person. It’s where I first found myself, and I’d be lying if I said if I didn’t sometimes visit if I ever feel like I need to find myself again. Despite the memories and what-ifs, I truly feel happy and at home there, amongst the people and doing what I can to ease hardships and pain for them. However, I’m…not too keen on the breakfasts.

What would you say you liked about breakfasts, then?

Definitely just the chai [laughs]

So is that how a forensics specialist also becomes a spiritual coach of a football team?

Ha, I figure you would mention that. Much like a lot of my life, India had a hand in shaping that part of me. Finding inner peace has become a huge part of who I am, and that’s something you manage to learn to do pretty well at the ashrams. My own struggles with finding that inner peace should be used to help others trying to overcome their own challenges. And…this time, it just so happened to be the Bayern Munchen. With that recent World Cup win under their belt, the whole planet’s eyes were on them. Sometimes, a hot-headed athlete needs a good spiritual grounding to reach their full potential.

It’s safe to assume that there are things you can detect and focus on that the other coaches can’t.

Aha, definitely. Everything in my life feels…connected, and this really is no different. Football, believe it or not, helps hone my forensic skills. There’s a sort of premonition I have within me that gives me a taste of what will happen in the future. I think you could say my mind’s always two steps ahead. I’m not one to brag, but people always say I’m like a character in an action movie, viewing the future in slow motion. This is real life though, so that’s not true. [laughs] I just let myself look harder than most others.

Who gave you the passion for football then?

Well, it doesn’t hurt to have a grandfather-like figure such as Beckenbauer. One of the things I did a lot growing up was spending time at stadiums and watching these games unfold. I didn’t know it at the time, but Beckenbauer fostered an appreciation for the sport in me that followed me into adulthood.

Is that why you wear so much white?

I don’t think I’d say that. It’s kind of like my signature at this point, what you’d see me clad in from head to toe on any kind of day. There’s something very…clean and brutally honest about it, you know? You can’t hide anything on, if it’s not clean, something’s wrong. And you have to get to the bottom of it.

OCD much?

Maybe a little.

Is this something your parents would take you to?

Well, specifically my grandfather would, who was a close friend of Beckenbauer's. My mother introduced me to a whole new kind of social interaction, and that was the glamourous parties the upper-class get to enjoy. I was the youngest guest at these parties by a long shot, but even then, the kind of glamour there felt rather old in a way that’s hard to describe. I guess you could say it was the kind of old glamour one would associate with Dietrich, and a kind of glamour I sometimes try to understand in my free time.

You’re like a modern Sherlock Holmes.

It’s actually interesting you mention that…Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of rumors about the blood of famous actors, writers, and other creatives flowing through my veins. As for what we know now, that’s all they are…rumors, and I don’t know if I’d say I want it to be anything more than that. But just to clear the air, I’m not actually too huge on Arthur Conan Doyle.

Read any other mysteries to inspire your daily life?

Guess I could safely say with my life as it is now, I read too much of mystery’s real-life equivalent. When it comes to my free time, there’s other things I’d rather do. I’m actually pretty big on mountain climbing, skiing, basically staying active in my spare time. My childhood left me really prepared for that.

Have you made it to the top of any impressive summits yet?

Proud to say that I actually have. One of my proudest moments, I’d have to say, was climbing up Makalu with some schnapps on me, and I’m always looking for new and exciting mountains to climb. Asia has been really good for that too - you wouldn’t believe the ranges that call Pakistan home.

Any advice for people afraid of heights?

Believe it or not, the advice I’d give for people in that situation is true of almost any kind of obstacle you want to overcome: you need to allow yourself to feel you can do it by embracing your inner chi, as…cliché as that might sound. It’s really true though, believing in yourself is the hardest part, and once you believe in yourself, most of the challenge is already behind you. All kinds of doors open once you take that first step.

I wanna close this out with your apprenticeship at Europol. Are you satisfied with the work you are contributing to?

The amount of data I have at Groningen is incredible, but one of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that you need an incredibly trained, almost gifted, mind to connect the pieces in front of you together. Sometimes, Europol honestly feels like it does not have what I need in order to temper my mind, both in terms of environment and resources.

Well here at Jespionne, we may have those resources you’re looking for.

I guess that’s what I’m here to find out.

You can do just about anything if you learn how to hone in on your inner chi.