Jochen Schweizer

Jochen Schweizer (born June 23, 1957 in Ettlingen) is a German entrepreneur.[1] He founded the eponymous group of companies that offers, among other things, experience vouchers.[2][3] Schweizer is a pioneer of extreme sports and bungee jumping in Germany.[4][5][6] He has worked as a stuntman in films and advertising, set several world records and appears several times in the Guinness Book of World Records.[7][8] Schweizer also works as a motivational speaker.[9]

Jochen Schweizer
Born
Joachim Steffen Udo Schweizer

(1957-06-23) June 23, 1957
Ettlingen
NationalityGerman
Occupationstuntman, entrepreneur
Known forbungee jumping
Websitejochen-schweizer.de

Life
Jochen Schweizer (2014)

Education and world records

Schweizer was born in Ettlingen near Karlsruhe, he grew up in Heidelberg.[10] After the Abitur,[11] he traveled through Africa.[12][13] Working for an international freight forwarding company, he first led shipments for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit in West Africa and was subsequently appointed Managing Director of the new branch office in Munich.[14] In the 1980s, Schweizer had various engagements as a stuntman. He performed a bungee jump in Willy Bogner’s action film "Fire, Ice and Dynamite".[15] In the following years, Schweizer set several world records,[16] including in 1997 for the jump from a helicopter with the longest bungee rope and the highest fall distance of 1,050 meters.[17][18] The same year, Schweizer ended his career as a stuntman.

Entrepreneurial activities

In 1985, Schweizer founded the event and advertising agency Kajak Sports Productions, headquartered in Munich.[19] This company later became the foundation for the Jochen Schweizer Group.[20] Kajak Sports Productions produced several fun sports and action sports movies, such as "Mad Family", "Over the Edge", "Topolinaden" and "Verdon – Die Schlucht gestern und heute".[21] In 1989 the company opened the first stationary facility in Germany, located in Oberschleißheim.[22] It is the oldest still active jumping facility in Europe.[23] In subsequent years the company expanded its activities to include other activities and adventures,[24][25][26] such as the vertical catwalk show.[27][28][29]

Schweizer's companies faced a major crisis in 2003 due to a fatal accident at the Florianturm in Dortmund.[30][31] The company changed its business and focused on selling experiences from then on.[32] In 2004 the company started to sell experience vouchers over the Internet.[33] Later, they opened their own stores in Germany,[34] with experience vouchers also sold through trading partners.[35] Today, the Jochen Schweizer Group offers a total of 1,900 different experiences, employs 500 people and achieves an annual turnover of 70 million euros.[36] The company is the market leader for experience vouchers in Germany.[37][38][39]

In addition to his position as general manager of the Jochen Schweizer Group, Schweizer is an investor.[40] Jochen Schweizer Ventures is involved in numerous startups.[41][42] In 2014 and 2015 Schweizer was part of "Die Höhle der Löwen" on VOX.[43][44]

Literary works

In 2010, Schweizer published his biography entitled "Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen" ("Why People Have to Fly").[45] The book was reviewed positively and appeared in 2014 as an audio book.[46][47] In 2015 Schweizer published his second book "Der perfekte Moment" ("The Perfect Moment").[48] It became a bestseller.[49]

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References
  1. "Schenken ist völlig krisenunabhängig". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 25 February 2013. p. 25.
  2. Philipp Elsbrock (29 October 2010). "Fürchte dich nicht!". Financial Times Deutschland (in German). p. 27.
  3. Jo Wüllner (2013). German für Deutsche: Die 666 wichtigsten Wörter zum Überleben (in German). Munich: Knaus. ISBN 978-3-8135-0514-6.
  4. "Bis zum nächsten Festival müssen wir Jahre warten". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 14 May 2001.
  5. Kathrin Melliwa (21 January 2011). "Kein Prozess um tödlichen Bungee-Sprung in Dortmund gegen Jochen Schweizer". derwesten.de (in German). Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  6. "Die zehn extremsten Extremsportler der Welt". welt.de (in German). 15 October 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  7. Lars Kreye (10 October 2007). "Immer an der Wand lang – aber senkrecht". welt.de (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. "Menschen der Wirtschaft". WirtschaftsWoche (in German). 17 November 2008. p. 22.
  9. "Erlebnisportal". Format (in German) (48). 2014. p. 91.
  10. Jochen Schweizer (2010). Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen (in German). Munich: Riva. pp. 11–12. ISBN 978-3-86883-082-8.
  11. Jochen Schweizer (2010). Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen (in German). Munich: Riva. p. 24. ISBN 978-3-86883-082-8.
  12. Jochen Schweizer (2010). Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen (in German). Munich: Riva. pp. 24–86. ISBN 978-3-86883-082-8.
  13. Clemens Schömann-Finck (25 December 2012). "Ich musste mich erstmal komplett ausleben". focus.de (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  14. Jochen Schweizer (2010). Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen (in German). München: Riva. pp. 74, 109–112. ISBN 978-3-86883-082-8.
  15. Karin Janker (14 January 2015). "Vom Dressman zum Personaler". sueddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  16. Diana Fröhlich (9 October 2010). "Das Kind im Mann". handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  17. "3000 Meter tief ins Buch der Rekorde gesprungen". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 19 September 1997. p. 1.
  18. "Kleine Punkte am Himmel und 36 Sekunden freier Fall". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 20 September 1997. p. 18.
  19. Elisabeth Neuhaus (15 October 2014). "Ich sehe keinen Grund, mein Geld aus dem Fenster zu schmeißen". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  20. Christian Scherl (4 September 2013). "Ablenkung vom stressgeplagten Alltag". wirtschaftsblatt.at (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  21. "Trento Film Festival". trentofestival.it (in Italian). Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  22. Dominik Knobloch (2 June 2014). "Wenn das Leben an einem Seil aus Gummi hängt". Heilbronner Stimme (in German). p. 5.
  23. Andreas Burkert (7 June 2015). "Seit 25 Jahren springen die da runter". drive-and-style.de (in German). Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  24. "Adrenalinschub in der Vertikale". nzz.ch (in German). 17 September 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  25. "Mit der Seilrutsche gegen den Besucherschwund". welt.de (in German). 24 August 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  26. "Der Adrenalin-Händler". zeit.de (in German). 28 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  27. "Einzigartige Wunderwelt mit Vertical Catwalk". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). 8 September 2004. p. 23.
  28. "Vertikaler Catwalk: Models tanzen an Fassade". Berner Zeitung (in German). 16 September 2004. p. 44.
  29. Orla Healy (27 July 2005). "Catwalk on the wild side – Scary stroll down the heights of fashion". nypost.com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  30. "Denken ist eine große Belastung". welt.de (in German). 16 August 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  31. "Mit Biss aus tiefsten Tälern befreit". Schwarzwälder Bote (in German). 20 June 2015. p. 9.
  32. "Erlebnis-Unternehmer Schweizer: Herr des Vollkasko-Kicks". spiegel.de (in German). 14 August 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  33. "Der Erlebnisgesellschafter". brandeins.de (in German). 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  34. Dominic Multerer (2015). Klartext: Sagen, was Sache ist. Machen, was weiterbringt (in German). Offenbach: Gabal. p. 111. ISBN 978-3-95623-234-3.
  35. "Erlebnis-Anbieter Jochen Schweizer setzt auf den Buchhandel als Vertriebsweg". boersenblatt.net (in German). 15 July 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  36. "Die Unternehmensgruppe". jochen-schweizer.de (in German). Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  37. "Jochen Schweizer: Vom Film-Stuntman zum Unternehmer". Kurier. 16 October 2011. p. 19.
  38. Rebecca Eisert (25 February 2015). "Das Geschäft mit dem Kick". wiwo.de (in German). Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  39. Carina Kontio (5 September 2015). "Manager reden Klartext". handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  40. Elisabeth Neuhaus (15 October 2014). "Ich sehe keinen Grund, mein Geld aus dem Fenster zu schmeißen". gruenderszene.de (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  41. "Portfolio". jochen-schweizer-ventures.de (in German). Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  42. Alexander Hüsing (19 September 2014). "Ich will jungen Entrepreneuren Mut machen". deutsche-startups.de (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  43. Jennifer Garic (19 August 2015). "Von großen Geschäften und kleinen Deals". handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  44. Jonas Leppin (19 August 2015). "Höhle, Höhle, Höhle". spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  45. "Stuntman griff zur Feder". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 18 August 2010.
  46. "Höher, schneller, tiefer". Abendzeitung (in German). 5 November 2010. p. 18.
  47. "Ein Leben am Limit". Börsen-Zeitung (in German). 4 December 2010. p. 19.
  48. Martin Becker (21 October 2015). "Perfekter Augenblick in genau 474 Tagen". merkur.de (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  49. "Der perfekte Augenblick". buchreport.de (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2015.

Further reading
  • Jochen Schweizer (2010). Warum Menschen fliegen können müssen. Munich: Riva. ISBN 978-3-86883-082-8.
  • Jochen Schweizer (2014). Der perfekte Augenblick. Munich: Gräfe und Unzer. ISBN 978-3-8338-4539-0.
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