At 25GRAMS, we are more than just passionate about coffee - we are committed to quality, sustainability, innovation and empowerment. These values ​​drive us to connect with dreamers and doers who share our vision. That's why we are excited to share our partnership with Carina Wenninger , a groundbreaking professional women’s football player who embodies resilience, teamwork and inspiration both on and off the pitch.

In this exclusive interview, Carina reflects on her incredible football journey. Her story is a testament to the transformative power of hard work and persistence, believing in your dreams and enjoying the process. Together we explore our shared passion for pushing boundaries and To achieve extraordinary things.

You've had an incredible journey and football career. Looking back, can you summarise some of the highlights that you see as key moments and what was the most defining moment that shaped you into the player and person you are today?

I originally played football just for fun and that enjoyment of what I do has always been the most important part for me. As a young child, my dad would play ball with me and I would play with some friends from school. Even at that early age, the world of football captivated me and I never really stopped playing because I just loved it so much.

It grew from there and one of the things that has made me the person and player I am now is that I had to leave home at 16 to pursue my dream of playing for Bayern Munich. In Austria, there were no opportunities for me in women's football. If I wanted the chance to turn professional and make a living playing football, the only option I had was to leave Austria, finish school in Germany and play there. My family and friends are very important to me, they always have been, and it helped me a lot to still have the support of my inner circle when I moved to another country to pursue my passion.

During my time in Germany, I learned to work hard to constantly improve and achieve the best version of myself, which led to some of the most unforgettable moments in my career. Playing at Old Trafford in the opening match of Euro 2022 against England is an experience I will never forget and one that really shaped me. In the end, it still comes down to what my parents taught me: to believe in my dreams and that anything is possible, but without the pressure to have to succeed. They came to so many stadiums to see me play and it was really nice to share this journey with them.

Are there any of those moments that you look back on fondly and can really connect to your current lifestyle? Is there still a strong connection to them?

I think my motivation never came from outside. Inside, I really wanted to become the best version of myself. Another common thread in my life is not doing something alone, but being part of a team. I still enjoy that because I'm not an individualistic person. I'm generally quite sociable and it's great to share and carry both the good and the more difficult times together; to celebrate together, to lead a moment together and to create memories together. I never remember the moments when I reflected on an achievement alone, I always remember the people I spent those ups and downs with.

Football requires a lot of mental strength and resilience. How do you manage to keep going in challenging times?

I think it's always nice to test your limits as an individual but also as a team and find out what's really possible. I like to think of it like there's always the opportunity to grow. Especially in a team, it's nice to see lots of little interconnected parts that are constantly improving and then to see it as a whole get better and eventually end up at a higher level, that's something really beautiful.

Of course, when you win something and lift a trophy over your head, it feels nice, but I've learned that it doesn't last long. It's more about the many years of ups and downs, the hard work, which is really special, and the people you share that journey with. That's what I try to tell young players too: enjoy the way there, enjoy the journey. Lifting a trophy won't last forever, and the fun, learning and skills you gain through your training and time together will stay with you.

You are a team captain and role model for many young athletes, and this value of enjoying the journey is a principle you pass on to them. Is there anything else you really want to inspire young athletes to do or think about?

For me, the joy you have at the beginning when you're a little kid should really be the focus. If you want to achieve something over the years, you should never lose that aspect of fun and enjoyment. Maybe at some point in your life there's ten times the pressure to do well, results matter more than when you were a kid, and you have to make money from it - but enjoying what you do is so important to maintaining that.

A second part of it is consistency. I never felt like I was the most talented person in football or on the pitch. Of course there was a bit of talent involved, otherwise it's hard to get to this level, but my consistency in training, hard work and motivation to constantly improve was greater than any natural talent I have.

Because of my motivation, I was able to maintain a long-term career, unlike others who may have a better feel for football but lost the motivation to train, learn and grow along the way. And it all comes down to what my parents taught me: to believe in myself and to dedicate myself fully to my dream.

Our philosophy at 25GRAMS is to motivate, inspire and find communities to be part of, build dreams with and help people achieve their dreams and goals. That's why we're so excited to partner with you, because that's what you've always done for your team and your community. What would be your main goals with 25GRAMS that we could achieve together? What would you like to see?

I try to stand for the same values ​​as 25GRAMS, both as a football player and as a human being: inspiring people, giving back to the communities we are part of and showing them that joy and passion are essential parts of what we do. We have similar values ​​when it comes to dreaming big, seeing things as possibilities and working towards them together, which is something I really love.

As passionate people, we can really identify because we understand what it's like to do something where the chances of 'making it' or succeeding may not be that realistic. But we do it anyway because we are driven by that inner passion and can't imagine doing anything else. Moreover, not only are we committed to doing what sometimes seems impossible, but we also deliver quality - I believe that in coffee and in sports there are many similarities here.

What do you think are the most important parallels between coffee, especially cold brew, and sports?

I always used coffee in sports, for example before a game. Especially when I played in Italy for AS Roma. Cold brew wasn't that common in Italy, but they always brought us a small espresso in the locker room, and that made us feel more energized and fully focused before the game. There are also some studies that show that this can really help with endurance, but for me it was more of a nice ritual that gets me ready for a game. Now I do the same in Vienna; I have my cold brew in my locker and drink a bit of it before warm-up and the game, sometimes during the break too. Maybe it's also partly in my head, like a psychological placebo effect, and I wouldn't say that I absolutely can't play a game without it, of course, but it's just a nice ritual that gets me energized, focused and ready.