Page 70 - Puissance Euro 1

68Michael ReddingIn order to play polo well you should form an entity with your horse.SCAPA SPORTS BEACH POLO is meant to introduce polo to a large public. It does attract thousands of spectators here as well, but it stays an elite sport.A polo horse is certainly not more expensive than a jumping or dressage horse, but a player needs at least two horses. It follows that polo is indeed no sport which anyone can afford. Our intention however is to make the sport better known in Belgium, to attract both more attention and spectators for it. We hope an upward spiral can be achieved. There are barely 35 polo players in Belgium. France on the other hand has 900 players, England 6,000 and The Netherlands 100, which is a figure we would like to reach in Belgium.In which way does the birth of the SCAPA SPORTS fashion line fit in with the polo story?People often think we have set up SCAPA SPORTS BEACH POLO as an event to promote our fashion line and collection. That is not true. The combination of sports and fashion started the other way around. We were playing polo and needed shirts for our polo team. I have a passion for sports. It has al- ways fascinated me. I have played hockey, tennis and soccer. On the other hand I have also always had a passion for fash- ion. I have grown up in the world of clothing, where my par- ents have always been active since 1967. By associating sports with fashion in a positive way, we have linked two items we enjoy very much. That is how we got to found SCAPA SPORTS in 1999. Our start was humble and small in a tent on a parking lot, but we have instantly gone for quality and adopted a high profile level. We have acquired a steady status of credibility by linking fashion to sports we were a fan of and by not only sponsoring sports events, but also organizing them. That was the starting point of our rise to success.Which are the scoring points of your SCAPA SPORTS line?We carefully see to it the Scapa feeling is kept up and we focus meticulously on details. We can realize this by our logos and offering a rich range of colours for each season.In closing, something completely different, Michael. Not many people will know your roots lie in Knokke. I was born in Knokke and went to the Sacred Heart school here up to the second year of nursery school. At the age of four I moved, but since then I have been spending my holi- days in Knokke every year.Any crazy youth memories you would like to share with us?Well, there was this crazy bet when I was sixteen. For a crate of beer I would remain under water up to my shoulders in the ice cold sea for five minutes. I turned blue though and was desperate for a cup of hot chocolate afterwards.Cheers Michael!