Project manager and sports journalist
It was no coincidence that Nicholas Fanselow ended up in the construction industry. "My grandfather was a reinforced concrete worker and my dad was a foreman," says the Berlin native. "When I was the first in my family to go to university, I decided to study industrial engineering with a specialization in construction."
Nicholas was recommended to Implenia by a fellow student. "I've been working at Implenia Civil Engineering in Erfurt as a project manager for a good year now and I think it's great here. Challenging construction projects require a lot of communication. This keeps the work exciting, even beyond the purely technical aspects. I'm happy here."
"Men who tear each other to the ground"
Happy in his job, happy as a dad, happy with his circle of friends – Nicholas can't complain. Especially as things are also going extremely well for him in another area. The avowed American football fan has made a name for himself as a sports journalist in recent years and is actively living his dream in his free time: to bring "his" sport closer to an even wider audience.
Nicholas has had a passion for American football for a long time: "When I was nine years old, I saw a sports broadcast, something about football, but with helmets and armor and men tearing each other to the ground. It was the Super Bowl, the biggest annual American football event ever. I've had American football fever ever since, even though I've never actually played myself." Nicholas could hardly believe his luck when he ended up in Arlington, Texas, for his exchange semester in the USA – right next to the Dallas Cowboys' stadium. "It was amazing to see how people cheered for their team – that has an impact on society as a whole."
Overcoming dyslexia by writing about American football
As a die-hard fan, Nicholas follows the American Football League games meticulously. In 2020, he began working as an amateur journalist for the German language American football magazine Huddle to report. He would never have thought it possible that he would dedicate himself to writing of all things. "I had a dyslexia when I was younger. With it came the fear of writing texts. I overcame that by writing every day."
More than that: Nicholas' texts and comments are well received. "Over time, I had more and more requests and was invited to be a guest on various podcasts. I also started shooting and editing videos and taught myself how to structure and formulate articles for search engine optimization – a whole new area for me."
From fan to sought-after commentator and journalist
Nicholas is now an accredited journalist, for example at the 2024 Superbowl in Las Vegas – in a way, the Olympics for an American football fan. What comes after such a high point? "In 2025, the National Football League staged four games in Europe. I attended all of them and compared them using multimedia. The Berlin video became a real pilot documentary, published by the NFL. Further projects are to follow in 2026."
Huge commitment, lots of new know-how: time for a career change? Nicholas laughs. "No. For me, it's a way of living my hobby and constantly developing myself further. I deliberately don't want to turn it into a career – for fear of losing some of the magic." One thing is certain for him: American football will continue to accompany him in the future – he already has plenty of ideas. Should his children play American football one day? "I can imagine that. Although I don't know how I would feel as a parent watching my own child get knocked out."
