“I started my career in the events industry being part of the loading and unloading team, but with a lot of hard work and determination I have managed to become a commercial director in this sector.”
The first impression?
At first glance, Hugo conveys experience, serenity, seriousness (with its respective touch of mischief), elegance, diplomacy and reliability, characteristics that do not fade, but are accentuated during the interview.
His path in the event industry has not been easy. His working life began at the age of 17 at Tele 5, where he worked on weekends as loading and unloading personnel, as a set-up assistant and as a camera assistant.
He started working as young as He later realized that he had the wrong idea, since he was in TV 5 and knew more about the environment, the profession of “loading and unloading “, and that he had a better knowledge of the profession. photojournalist and steadycam, he decided that he wanted to study, but in a field that he was passionate about, “The audiovisual“
From loading and unloading at events to audiovisual producer for production companies
Determined to excel, he enrolled in the Higher Degree of Production and Production at the RTVE Institute to learn everything related to audiovisual production.
He began his career as a filmmaker in the Nostalgia Channel of Televisión Española, and two years later he decided to become a freelance and later set up a production company.
The production company did not work as he expected, there was a lot of supply of filmmakers and little work, so he decided to turn his career around and started working in the banking sector (in City Bank).
“It was hard work, I had to offer the cards on the street. The cold door is very hard, but you learn not to give up and it’s a very good school for a salesperson.”
After 6 months of hard work Hugo was promoted to “Team Leader” to manage more than 15 sales representatives nationwide.
“I was in a period of growth, I liked my job, but I was still looking for alternatives that would help me expand my knowledge and that were related to the event industry. I tried my luck in a company that kept financial accounts, in another that was dedicated to telemarketing, until I started working in a company that rented toilets for events“.
Hugo’s first contact with WORKOUT EVENTS was at the event restroom rental company…
Everything has a positive side…
Once again Hugo started a technical production business, but unfortunately after 3 years of operation, the crisis hit and collapsed the company.
“My business margins were reduced, it was no longer a business, so we had to close. I still remember well my last job, we set up a tent for an event in Equatorial Guinea.”
10 months was the time Hugo spent unemployed until he started working in the energy department for events at HUNE.
“The crisis has knocked my company down, but not my strength. I consider that everything has a positive side and this time I was lucky enough to be able to take care of my newborn son during those 10 months, which recharged my motivation.”
For two years he worked at Hune, in productions such as Game of Thrones, The Promise and Assassin’s Creed among others. In 2016 there was a personnel readjustment in the company, so he was again unemployed.
The dots are connected backwards
“This time I didn’t go home to send out resumes, I took my address book, my phone, a pack of cigarettes, a lighter and went to the coffee shop to call my contacts.”
He was soon offered opportunities, but they were all project-based jobs, which made him consider starting a company again.
“I didn’t get to start the company because I met the founders of WORKOUT EVENTS at an “Event Plus” event, and they offered me a job as a salesperson. I already knew the company and liked the way it worked, so I was delighted to take it on.”
Your Workout-Events story?
He started working at WORKOUT as a salesperson in 2016 and for two years he performed his duties outstandingly. It was clear to me that I had to do well in order to continue to grow professionally and personally.
“At that time there was no opportunity for growth at WORKOUT, as the business direction was covered and there was nowhere to grow to.”
Hugo decided to leave Workout events in the hope of finding growth in an agency.
“I was only with the agency for a month. Workout’s sales manager left the company and I was offered her position. I couldn’t turn it down, I’ve always been very comfortable at WORKOUT.”
The moral…
“The jobs I did as a loader and unloader, as a filmmaker, as a cold door salesman and as a salesperson gave me a firm foundation to successfully perform as a Sales Manager in the event industry. I have been through all kinds of moments in my life, sad, frustrating and happy, but all of them have brought me to the moment I am living now, a sweet and satisfying moment!”
Let’s find out more about Hugo V!
You have cemented your career in the events world on a consistent basis, as you have gone through all the positions; loading and unloading, fulfillment, sales, etc. Now that you have been Commercial Director of WORKOU EVENTS for 1 year, what do you consider to be the strengths that have brought you to where you are?
- I have achieved this through hard work
- Always be there, always available!
- To know the sector in which you operate.
- I am a business person, I have experience as an entrepreneur, employee and customer, which has given me a global vision and knowledge about the needs of each agent in the sector.
- Start from the bottom, know in depth each link in the chain and be aware of the importance of all the aspects necessary for the implementation of an event.
- To be a chameleon-like person, able to relate to people from any field.
- To be honest, I have never sold anything by cheating. I think honor is the most important thing a person can have!
As commercial director of WORKOUT, what is your next goal and how do you plan to achieve it?
- To continue positioning the company, I want to contribute to WORKOUT EVENTS to continue being a reference in the sector.
- To improve our service every day in order to increase customer loyalty.
- Continue working on our protocols and processes to be closer to excellence.
- I would like to remain part of Workout until the end, that is, to retire in this great company!
On a professional level, what characteristics do you value most in the people around you?
- Involvement with the project! I think we can all do things better or worse, but the important thing is to have the willingness to thrive and to know that everything can be improved.
- Learning attitude. What you don’t know you can always learn!
- Honesty
- Analytical skills
- They must be proactive people, who enrich the team with proposals
- That they value the work of each team member.
I believe that all these aspects are applicable at any level, both for loading and unloading personnel, sales people, managers, etc.
Doing something you love once a day gives you the energy you need to do those things you don’t like so much . What gives you that energy in your life?
When at the end of the day you feel that you have done things well, this fills you with satisfaction, the same satisfaction that turns into energy! That is why it is important to work every day towards your goals.
There are two things that I work and strive for every day, the same things that give me all the motivation to keep going.
On the personal side, I would say that my wife and my son are the driving force of my life.
But on the other hand I feel that WORKOUT also gives me that energy. For the first time in many years I am happy to go to work. In the office there is a very good atmosphere, I feel that I have evolved in my work and I consider myself a productive person.
I’m in a sweet moment in my life, both professionally and personally!
We want to know more about Hugo V. In a word, how would you define your past, present and future?
- Past – Uff… learning
- Present – hehe HAPPY!
- Future – Hopeful
I say What does …mean to you? and you answer me with the first phrase or word that comes to your mind.
- Commitment: It is fundamental in all aspects of life.
- Teamwork: I don’t know any other way of working… It is well said that: “A good leader surrounds himself with very capable people and lets them act”.
- Living: Wonderful
- Companionship: Just like teamwork – Fundamental!
- Success: Relative, everyone has their own goals. Right now I feel like a successful person, I enjoy everything I have around me.
- Punctuality: ah… point of improvement?
Which would you say is your … favorite?
- Film: A movie I turn to at special times is “The Quiet Man “although I also love musicals and movies that tell simple stories. Another movie that brings back fond memories for me is “The Teahouse on the August Moon”. Cinema is my passion, my moment of distraction, although I have to say that I don’t like social cinema or drama, there is enough drama in everyday life! Haha…
- Book: I like Arturo Pérez Reverte more than a specific book, since his books represent very well what Spain has been in history.
- Word: mmm…. Mmm … LINDIN! Haha
- Hobbies: My son and movies
- Music: Jazz, classical and opera.
- Artist or group: From jazz I like Billie Holiday and Ella Fritzgerald, while from classical Bach, from opera the “Barber of Seville”, from Rossini and Turandot with “Nessun Dorma”.
- Food: I love tomato, but I’m allergic… haha, well there are two other things that I like a lot.
- Mashed potato dumplings.
- Any rice my wife makes. They are delicious!
And to close with a flourish, what would be the slogan or phrase that most identifies you?
It’s Yoda from Star Wars:
“Don’t try, do or don’t try, but don’t try.”
I am a true believer that whatever you do, you have to be 100% involved to make things work well and for your own satisfaction.
Hugo, thank you very much for letting us know more about you!
