Bryan Sanchez, Creative Director and AArrow Sign Spinner in San Diego, California sat down for an exciting interview with Mario Knežević, owner of the AArrow Ads Croatian market. Knežević talks about how he got started working with AArrow Ads and his experience as a sign spinner in the small country of Croatia.
Bryan Sanchez: Tell me how you got involve with AArrow?
Mario Knežević: I saw AArrow on TV and as soon as I saw it, I said ” DAMN THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO!” For me it’s hard because I am b-boy break-dancer, so I have a problem with jobs. I’m hyper active and in Croatia nobody pays, so this was my chance and I decide to grab it.
BS: What’s it like to be a sign spinner in Croatia?
MK: First of all, it’s hard to get a job here because it doesn’t matter how good you are. A company will get somebody that knows somebody; that’s why my country has problems. There are no smart people and if you want to do something, they cut yours hands. If you somehow get a job, you work for such low pay that the only way to live is in an apartment or a car. If you get the money from that job, it’s good. So far, people owe me around 30,000 euros, but I will probably never get that money. Over here it is eat or be eaten.
So thanks to Max, I really get the opportunity or should I say the privilege to do something right and to really give jobs to people. This makes people happier and it makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger. This is my life and I love this job. There is a HUGE interest in this, but the only problem is that Croatia is too small.
BS: How is the interaction? What do people say when you spin?
MK: When Max was here, we trained and I started to really like this. Not as much as I do now, but that’s because when I didn’t spin, I didn’t know 100% of what I do now. This is best thing that has happened in my life after breakdancing.
BS: Awesome. Team bonding events with the spinners is always fun.
MK: People are so happy with our spinners! We did some adjustments on tricks and had them not only wave and smile and point, but also some balkan stuff.
BS: How many hours do you think you have spun since you started?
MK: I don’t know! I spin almost every day, at least 4 hours a day. Even when we don’t have much work, we really get hyped up with sign spinning. Every month we make a small battle: Everybody vs. everybody and by the end of the year, we will make the Croatian national Championship!
BS: How many people spin signs down there now? Who are the top 3 spinners besides you?
MK: I’m definitely on top, but that’s because I know that I have more training than others. The other two guys are my brothers. Daniel is younger and technically even better than I am and Dalibor is a great innovator that brings in some new stuff! They are our first Spinnstructors. So far we have 25 spinners + 2 Spinnstructors + me and we have 60 more on education training. In June, we will have free training for spinners in Rijeka city on the coast and we have 20 people applying for that.
BS:Oh wow. That’s a lot of people!
MK: Yeah. My number one mission is to never give up on clients. We need time make this an extreme sport. Max told me that I’d done a great job with education and I think that we are better than the French guys. After summer is over, my plan is to go to Paris with my two brothers or maybe somebody else. We will go to hang out and do a free training for them and make a friends battle!
BS: Anything else you want to add to the interview?
MK:Yeah definitely. I owe a HUGE THANK YOU to you guys! All of you gave me this chance to fight to help more people and to make a change, even if it is only a small one. Thank you all and I hope Max or anybody that comes here will be impressed with my work.
Mario Knežević has had so much success in a place where success is hard to find, according to Knežević. His dedication to his job and this company has helped him reach his goals and have given him opportunities he never thought would come his way. It is people like Knežević that make AArrow Ads the flourishing company that it is today.
