Business Athletes: Alex Ayin

Hello and welcome to Business Athletes everyone 👋 

Each week, we’ll explore the athlete-like habits behind a different business leader. In less than 5-minutes, we aim to provide you with practical tactics that you can quickly apply in your day-to-day.⚡️

In this edition of Business Athletes, we had the privilege of speaking with Alex Ayin, a high-performance entrepreneur whose athletic roots run deep. 

Alex is the founder of Elite Team Tactics, a media company that is equipping leaders with the knowledge to craft high-performing teams, and Marketing Director of Wiser, one of the UK’s leading employer branding agencies. 

Alex also went from a founding team member to Global Commercial Director at Social Chain, Steven Bartlett’s marketing giant, which became one of the fastest-growing agencies ever! From growing up in a rugby-centric family to excelling at water polo, Alex’s journey through sports shaped the way he approaches business today. 

Here are some of my favourite takeaways from our conversation:

• Push through difficult but essential tasks first: Like Alex’s water polo training, embrace foundational work that may not be glamorous but is crucial to long-term success. This could be daily routines or backend tasks that drive growth.

• Align team members’ personal goals with company objectives: As a leader, shift from molding people into your expectations to understanding their intrinsic motivations. Help them align their goals with the business mission to build stronger, more motivated teams.

• Challenge limiting beliefs: Limits are largely self-imposed. Identify and overcome mental barriers by setting small, achievable goals that prove your capabilities, both in business and personal fitness.

• Balance ambition with presence: While setting long-term goals is crucial, stay grounded by focusing on what you can achieve today to avoid overwhelm and maintain steady progress.

Pre-Game Preparation

The Night Before: Crafting a Solid Foundation for Success

I’m a huge believer in routines because they help anchor me in my day-to-day life. With two young kids, my time is limited, so I’ve optimized my routines to make sure I can perform at my best, even with the demands of both family and business.

One key part of my routine is my “shutdown ritual,” which I do every night at 9pm. I have it scheduled in my calendar as a meeting, and during that time, I ask myself three important questions:

1. What’s one thing I’m proud of or that I consider a big win today?

2. What’s a difficult thing I faced today, and what can I do tomorrow to address it?

3. What am I grateful for? This could be anything—my kids, health, the support of my wife, anything.

I put all of this in my phone’s notes app because I always have my phone with me, whereas carrying around a gratitude journal doesn’t fit my lifestyle. 

Then, I dive into my to-do list, which I color-code by tasks and time estimates. I select three to five high-impact tasks for the next day and schedule them in my calendar. These tasks are typically things that are important but not urgent. I don’t go over five tasks because I hate not completing my list, so it’s about finding that balance.

A Morning of Precision: Tackling the Hard Work Head-On

I start my mornings early—5am sharp. The night before sets the tone, so as soon as I wake up, I review my answers from last night and my to-dos for the day, grab the protein shake, and head to the gym by 5:30am.

I work out from 6am to 6:50 am and make sure I’m back home by 7am to help get my kids ready for the day. After breakfast and dropping them at the nursery, I head into London for work.

This routine isn’t just about discipline; it’s about setting myself up for success before the day’s distractions hit. By getting the most valuable tasks done early, I’m able to stay ahead, even if the rest of the day throws unexpected challenges my way.

Gameplay

From Rugby to Water Polo: Resilience in Action

Sports have been in my blood from an early age. My dad was the vice chairman of the local rugby club, so I grew up surrounded by that culture. But it was water polo that ended up shaping me the most.

I actually stumbled into water polo after suffering a serious injury. I had been playing rugby, then when I got hurt, and for rehab, the only thing I could do was swim. I wasn’t particularly passionate about swimming, but our coach was incredible—he had us training every day at 5am. Eventually, our school team became national champions in multiple age groups, and several of the team went on to play for Great Britain.

Water polo and rugby both taught me how to perform under pressure as part of the team, how to fuel my body for peak performance, and also, about the importance of doing the hard, non-glamorous foundational work to achieve excellence. 

I didn’t love swimming endless laps, but I knew it was essential for success in the pool. That lesson carries over into my business life today. There are tasks—like accounting, finance, and daily content creation—that don’t always give me the most energy, but I know they’re crucial. So I push through, knowing they are necessary for me to perform at my best, just like those early morning swims.

Navigating Adversity: Physically & Mentally

Anyone who’s suffered a serious injury knows how difficult it is, not just physically but mentally. It becomes a form of trauma. 

You’re suddenly taken out of something you love, and there’s a huge psychological impact—frustration, anxiety, even depression. On top of that, you start to lose the fitness base you’ve worked so hard to build, and after a few weeks, it can feel like you’re back at square one.

But I learned to attack it head-on. One quote that always stuck with me comes from Tom Hanks: “This too shall pass.” Whether you're experiencing the best day of your life or the worst, it’s temporary. I thought about this often during my injuries, especially when I looked up to athletes like Kobe Bryant, who tore his achilles heel at the tailend of his career, and still came back to the game so he could leave on his own terms. Kobe’s mindset was something I deeply admired, and it often motivates me to push through my own setbacks.

Player & Coach

Finding A Balance: Shifting From Individual Contribution To Leader

In my career, I’ve often found myself balancing the roles of player and coach. Early in my career, especially during my time at Social Chain, I expected everyone to be as invested as I was - putting 100% into the work. But I’ve since learned that not everyone is wired the same way…and that’s okay.

The biggest shift in my leadership style has been moving away from trying to shape people into what I want them to be and instead focusing on where they want to go and being the coach to help them get there.

Lessons In Managing: Look At It Through Their Eyes

Nowadays, I try to figure out what intrinsically drives each person on my team. Understanding their personal goals and helping them align those goals with the company’s mission has been a game-changer for me. Once I have conviction around what matters to them, I frame their role in a way that helps them achieve their personal goals while also contributing to the company’s success.

What Talent Wants: A Sense of Evolving

I’ve also learned that giving people autonomy and creating an environment where they feel like they’re progressing is key. It sounds obvious but it’s so clear that so many companies fail to follow-through on this. People don’t always want promotions or titles—they want to feel like they’re moving forward, learning, and growing. By focusing on that, I’ve been able to build stronger, more motivated teams.

Post-Match Rest

Balancing Hustle with Recovery: Recharging on My Own Terms

For me, rest and recovery aren’t just about switching off—they’re about balance. As much as I push myself to perform at my best, both physically and mentally, I’ve learned the importance of knowing when to step back and recharge.

I’m constantly setting new goals, both personally and professionally, but I also make sure to stay grounded in the present. I find that thinking too far ahead can be overwhelming, so I focus on what tangible actions I can do today to move closer to my goals. It’s about finding that balance between ambition and staying present, which has been a game-changer for me over the past couple of years.

The Business Athlete Mindset

What Winning Means To Alex: Breaking Limiting Beliefs & Challenging Yourself Daily

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve taken from my athletic career is the need to constantly challenge limiting beliefs. 

After my injury, I started to believe that I was “injury-prone” and that my best fitness days were behind me. But this year, I decided to challenge that mindset. I began training for Hyrox, focusing on my nutrition, sleep, and training, and now, at 33, I’m fitter than I was at 19. Challenging those limiting beliefs is essential in both sports and business. I’ve learned that you can either let them hold you back or use them as fuel to push yourself further. 

It’s all about setting small, incremental goals that prove to yourself you’re capable of more.

I believe that as business athletes, it’s critical to push beyond the stories we tell ourselves. Whether it’s in the pool, in the gym, or in the boardroom, we all have limiting beliefs that hold us back. The key is to take small, consistent steps to break through those barriers. Every time I achieve a new goal—whether it’s running a faster 10K or completing a difficult business task—I’m proving to myself that I can push beyond my limits.

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