Liviu Baciu, Senior Account Manager Saatchi & Saatchi, did not have a happy first encounter with the bike. On the contrary. His first lesson, at age 5, ended with injuries and sequelae. After a 20-year break, Liviu discovered indoor cycling and liked it so much that he got his instructor’s license.
“At 25, I subscribed to a gym that also had indoor cycling classes. I said I’d try it and I really liked it – everything was super safe, I couldn’t fall, it perfectly simulated an outdoor route and it was exciting. It stimulated me on all levels”, says Liviu.
How he divides his time between advertising and cycling, where the two jobs and passions intersect, Liviu tells as follows:
In advertising
I’ve really wanted to get into the industry since college. My sister worked at D’Arcy at the time and always came home with the most interesting stories about the industry. I was young, I listened to her and saw what cool campaigns she does, but I still didn’t see what role would suit me. She was a copywriter and I clearly knew that this was not for me. In 2014, I had this professional twist in which I decided to try to enter this field as well.
Thus, I started as a project manager for digital projects at a small but powerful agency, which helped me learn a lot and develop. I started to love advertising more and more. From there, I continued to grow professionally. The communication industry offers you many possibilities if you leave it and take it with enthusiasm.
How did your passion start outside of work?
My first interaction with cycling was when I was 5 years old and my father wanted to teach me to ride a bike. I went to the park and he tricked me into holding me, but obviously at some point he let me go alone. I cycled into a park bench, breaking both of my legs – a compromised summer with obvious after-effects. I didn’t get on a bike until I was 25.
At 25, I signed up for a gym that also had indoor cycling classes. I said to try it and I really liked it – everything was mega safe, I couldn’t fall, it perfectly simulated an outdoor route and it was exciting. It stimulated me in every way. Being an overachiever, cycling takes you to a zone where you have to push your limits, and the red button that gives intensity becomes the button that propels you to “I want more and more.”
What followed
I went to cycling classes 2-3 times a week and I became friends with an instructor who trusted me and told me her way. He was similar to mine, he worked full time and did it after work, out of passion. Thus, I got my cycling instructor license, aerobics instructor course and many other courses – stretching, HTZ, music. Suddenly, my weekends were full of training and my house became a cycling studio.
How did you learn
I went to the first cycling instructor course right after the pandemic – it was great. It seemed so hard to master all the knowledge! It was as if, suddenly, a new world was opening up and I wanted to be a part of it more and more.
This passion changed me enormously. I hardly started teaching in a hall; I knocked on the doors of all the halls in Bucharest and they ignored me. It’s a saturated market, where it’s hard to enter and where only the best survive.
In the end, it came to fruition: I ended up teaching at multiple gyms, I have a stable schedule, and I inspire other people to push their limits and live healthy.
How much time do you dedicate to this passion?
The best part is when you see people coming back to your classes every week. The hardest part is that you get older and obviously the body is not that young anymore. I dedicate quite a lot of my little free time, because when I don’t have classes, I train, choreograph and dream about what other cool things I can do for my students.
It takes a lot of discipline, will, dreaming daily that you want to do it and obviously having a plan. I always think that it helps me a lot to stay stable in all aspects and it is very similar to the job I do, where I need endurance, focus, focus and a lot of passion.
Moments when you wanted to give up
Working in an agency is not the easiest thing, with deadlines, stress and pressure. Many times I wanted to pause, to stop doing it, to let go. I kept thinking that after the day was over, I would go do this wonderful activity and get rid of all the accumulated stress. For me, it’s a mega relaxation, it’s the time of day when I discharge other people’s batteries and charge my own.
Discoveries
At my first lesson, unfortunately, there was a room full of students – 24 bikes occupied out of 24 and my legs were shaking, even though I had rehearsed the choreography many times. I realized how many things I need to recover and improve. I was very disappointed in myself after the class was over, being a super perfectionist. So, I made a plan and started building little by little. I am happy now to see that people come back every week to my classes, that I can do performance sports and that my story inspires people.
Cycling & Communicating
They meet in many aspects – from the communication strategies in each lesson they teach, to the organization of the choreographies. They also meet in endurance, in pushing limits, in creation, and that somehow makes me a better person at the job I do. I am happy to find time for both activities in my daily schedule.
Source: www.iqads.ro
