December 13, 2023, 8:17 am | Read time: 3 minutes
In basketball, you can earn really well–provided you’re a man. The new documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes offers exclusive insights into the life of Alba Berlin player Wiebke Schwartau, who can’t make a living from her sport and is constantly juggling basketball, studies, and modeling jobs. Watch the documentary now!
She is a powerhouse–without a doubt! Wiebke Schwartau is a basketball player for Alba Berlin. With her team, she is among the favorites for the German championship. Yet, despite playing in the top German league, the 24-year-old cannot make a living from her sport. Financial uncertainty forces the 6-foot-5 woman into a tightly scheduled routine between basketball, studies, modeling jobs, and the fashion business. We followed her for the documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes–watch part 1 of the documentary in the video above.
WATCH PART 2 OF THE DOCUMENTARY HERE!
Overview
Balancing Act Between Sport, Studies, and Job
Without basketball, she wouldn’t be the person she is today, says Wiebke Schwartau. In the gripping documentary, the center player offers a glimpse into the life of an athlete who pursues her passion with full commitment–training four hours daily and playing games across Germany on weekends–while relying on financial support from her parents and income from modeling jobs. Additionally, the former GNTM contestant is working on her own fashion collection and completing a teaching degree to ensure future prospects. “I’m basically permanently overwhelmed,” Wiebke Schwartau admits in the documentary.
She criticizes the significant differences in salaries between women’s and men’s basketball. Many professional female athletes face a second or even third burden to achieve financial security. “It’s an incredibly frustrating feeling that sets us back as a community, as women–in our talent and potential,” says Schwartau.
Exclusive Insights into the Life of Basketball Player Wiebke Schwartau–Watch Part 2 of the Documentary Now!
Alba Player: “An NBA Mascot Earns Three Times as Much as the Highest-Paid Female Basketball Player!”
Documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes with Wiebke Schwartau from December 13
Still, she can’t imagine a life without basketball: “Basketball was the anchor point for all the self-confidence I’ve developed in my adult life.” Wiebke Schwartau takes documentary viewers on an emotional journey through her childhood as a tall girl, marked by insecurities–being in a body that wasn’t considered desirable and was supposed to be stunted by hormones. She also talks about discriminatory comments she still receives daily as a 6-foot-5 woman, such as on public transport, and fetish enthusiasts who contact her on social media.
Wiebke Schwartau uses her passion for basketball and her height, which benefits her here, not only for herself but also to advocate for others. You can see all this in the documentary FITBOOK Everyday Athletes.
Also Online: FITBOOK Everyday Athletes with Footballer Giancarlo Boone
Those who don’t want to wait can watch the Everyday Athletes documentary about Berlin footballer Giancarlo Boone in the meantime. FITBOOK followed the then 39-year-old. He invests six to eight hours daily in his passion, football. He can’t make a living from it, so he has a full-time job and still manages to fulfill his role as a husband and father of two daughters.