Need to let off steam?
And while it's usually the young and fearless that partake in the latter activity, the trend seems to be changing.
No longer are extreme sports reserved solely for audacious teens with a death wish, for as of late, Polish businessmen have been trading in relaxed, hammock ridden vacations for a new-found love of adrenaline, and Paweł Szczeczyk is no exception.
During office hours, Szczeczyk owns and runs Rower Plus, a firm that specializes in the retail and distribution of bicycles and accessories. But his love for extreme sports is by no means limited to haring around on a bike at breakneck speeds over unmanageable terrain, for Szczeczyk likes to shoot people - albeit as part of a group of around fifteen other businessmen that partake in air soft gun scenarios. Not exactly the type of activity a worrisome mother would advocate, this pastime sees participants involved in real gun fights with weapons that shoot plastic bullets at speeds somewhere between that of a real firearm and a BB gun.
The question that only seems natural is why. Why would a class of financially stable, mentally sound people put their lives on the line for a couple of high-adrenaline kicks? Is it yet another facet of the ever-present mid-life crisis? Has office-related stress made the business community snap?
Not quite, according to business psychologist Shelly Rubinstein, though she does cite work-related stress as a factor. Rubinstein explains that the stress one finds in the office causes a build-up of adrenaline and that "one of the things people use to assist the dissipation of their adrenaline is sport." And nothing dissipates that adrenaline better than extreme sports, it seems.
But why are businessmen willing to go so far to deal with their stress? Wouldn't safer activities such as soccer or swimming suffice? Rubinstein makes the suggestion that the risk-taking nature of businesspeople could be a reason.
"In business there is a constant thrust of risktaking," she says, and this is unsurprisingly a commonplace quality in the world of extreme sports, be it jumping out of a plane, climbing a cliff face or trying to shoot your colleagues in a rerun of the OK Coral.
Finally, what makes businesspeople more likely extreme sports candidates is the simple fact that they can afford it. Jacek Jawor, sales manager at Kärcher Polska, who drives off-road jeeps, describes his hobby as "expensive fun." Likewise, Paweł Szczeczyk reveals that air soft guns and the suitable attire can cost anywhere between zł.2-3,000, and that's without forking out for ammunition and the maintenance of equipment.
With these factors in mind it should also be noted that Poland is no stranger to the extreme sports scene. A few of the extreme sports that the country's diverse geography can offer include white water rafting/kayaking, mountain climbing and spelunking (or 'potholing' in the Queen's English), bungee jumping by the Baltic, and skydiving and paragliding throughout the countryside. For more information, daredevil executives should visit such websites as www.ultimate.pl or www.poland-tourism.pl. However, don't expect your boss to be too pleased if you phone in on Monday with a fractured skull.
No longer are extreme sports reserved solely for audacious teens with a death wish, for as of late, Polish businessmen have been trading in relaxed, hammock ridden vacations for a new-found love of adrenaline, and Paweł Szczeczyk is no exception.
During office hours, Szczeczyk owns and runs Rower Plus, a firm that specializes in the retail and distribution of bicycles and accessories. But his love for extreme sports is by no means limited to haring around on a bike at breakneck speeds over unmanageable terrain, for Szczeczyk likes to shoot people - albeit as part of a group of around fifteen other businessmen that partake in air soft gun scenarios. Not exactly the type of activity a worrisome mother would advocate, this pastime sees participants involved in real gun fights with weapons that shoot plastic bullets at speeds somewhere between that of a real firearm and a BB gun.
The question that only seems natural is why. Why would a class of financially stable, mentally sound people put their lives on the line for a couple of high-adrenaline kicks? Is it yet another facet of the ever-present mid-life crisis? Has office-related stress made the business community snap?
Not quite, according to business psychologist Shelly Rubinstein, though she does cite work-related stress as a factor. Rubinstein explains that the stress one finds in the office causes a build-up of adrenaline and that "one of the things people use to assist the dissipation of their adrenaline is sport." And nothing dissipates that adrenaline better than extreme sports, it seems.
But why are businessmen willing to go so far to deal with their stress? Wouldn't safer activities such as soccer or swimming suffice? Rubinstein makes the suggestion that the risk-taking nature of businesspeople could be a reason.
"In business there is a constant thrust of risktaking," she says, and this is unsurprisingly a commonplace quality in the world of extreme sports, be it jumping out of a plane, climbing a cliff face or trying to shoot your colleagues in a rerun of the OK Coral.
Finally, what makes businesspeople more likely extreme sports candidates is the simple fact that they can afford it. Jacek Jawor, sales manager at Kärcher Polska, who drives off-road jeeps, describes his hobby as "expensive fun." Likewise, Paweł Szczeczyk reveals that air soft guns and the suitable attire can cost anywhere between zł.2-3,000, and that's without forking out for ammunition and the maintenance of equipment.
With these factors in mind it should also be noted that Poland is no stranger to the extreme sports scene. A few of the extreme sports that the country's diverse geography can offer include white water rafting/kayaking, mountain climbing and spelunking (or 'potholing' in the Queen's English), bungee jumping by the Baltic, and skydiving and paragliding throughout the countryside. For more information, daredevil executives should visit such websites as www.ultimate.pl or www.poland-tourism.pl. However, don't expect your boss to be too pleased if you phone in on Monday with a fractured skull.
