Fast Confession - Zuzana Fryaufová: She exchanged the Opera Ball for MMA
Zuzana Fryaufová, the director of the most prestigious event in Prague, the Opera Ball, disappeared from public life due to the reconstruction of the State Opera. Now that the building has been reopened, LP-life.cz wondered if the influential blonde would emerge from the shadows again. In the following interview, you will learn what she has been up to over the two years since we last spoke to her. And you'll be surprised, because this fragile woman has wrapped the toughest sportsmen around her little finger.
We did an interview together two years ago. Back then, the State Opera was under reconstruction, now it's been reopened. What does that mean for you as the director of the Opera Ball?
For us, it means that we can enter the stage of negotiations with the opera about a specific date for the ball. Completing the renovation is one thing, but organizing such a large event, with external contractors, is still going to be a long road.
The building has yet to be tested after reconstruction, so as to find out how it works in full operation. In addition, it is necessary to deal with very specific things around the Opera Ball, such as a custom dance floor. However, the reconstructed opera is great news not only for fans of the Opera Ball, but for the whole nation. It's beautifully done and the building has long deserved it.
What have you been doing during those two years when you weren't involved in organizing the Ball?
I focus primarily on my family now, I don't want to pretend I'm some kind of supermom who can manage both work and family on full-time. The older the children get, the more time they require, and it's also more and more enjoyable for me. It fullfills me very much, because now that they're growing up, the feedback is much more tangible than when they were babies.
This is why, when it comes to work, I choose more short-term projects with clear deadlines, mainly from the field of events – I've been doing Christmas parties, corporate events, but also a private luxury ball. Last year I also became part of the Oktagon team, where I returned, so to speak, to my roots – that is to PR.
Why do I feel like I'm going to see you in a "cage" soon?
It's been almost a year since I got together with the Oktagon, I was approached by Ondra Novotný and Palo Neruda. In the beginning, it sounded totally insane to me that I should be doing PR for some kind of sport, because it's widely known that if there is something I'm not good at, it's sports. But ever since the first tournament I saw in Ostrava, I got completely immersed in the atmosphere of the MMA world. It was then that I knew I wanted to do it. And that there were great emotions and stories to be discovered. But the only chance you‘ll see me inside the cage is during the final team photoshoot, all dolled up in a dress and high heels. Nothing has changed in that respect.
What did you have to learn? I know that you had to do a lot for the Opera Ball, like taking dancing lessons. What does this give you? It's a completely different type of people…
From the PR point of view, of course, you need to learn as much as possible about each product you are promoting - terminology, rules, practises, the mentality of both fans and partners, so as to understand who you‘re actually talking to. I also had to expand my network of contacts a bit, because sports journalists hadn‘t been in my portfolio before. On the other hand, MMA is such a social phenomenon nowadays that it resonates not only in sport columns. And thanks to the huge show and professionalism, the Oktagon gala evenings belong also to society columns and national media.
Communication with MMA fighters must be more challenging and they might not always be easy to get along with. How did they accept you as a tiny blonde who doesn't do sports?
Oktagon is a very professional, well-oiled machine, so I don‘t come directly into contact with the fighters. It probably wouldn‘t be beneficial for them either, given how hard they have to train, having to communicate with a larger number of people on the team. I receive the information that I deal with and communicate to the media at the management level.
Who I was in direct contact with were the girls who participated in the reality show Project Y. For the first time in the history of Oktagon, there is a show where girls are the main role - street girls who have no experience with MMA , they‘ve never been in a combat, and suddenly they had half a year to become fighters, stand before crowded Štvanice and fight for themselves.
It was fascinating to see their motivation, determination, different approaches. Within a few months they changed not only physically, but mainly mentally. I have seen a lot of sweat, but also tears and great will and determination. No matter who wins in the end, they emerge as better and stronger personalities at the end of the process than they were upon entering it. I can't imagine what's going on in their heads in the minutes before they step into the cage, knowing what will follow. I mean when was the last time you slapped someone, right?
I don't slap people.
That‘s my point, most of us don't slap people. That‘s another interesting fact about the sport, the level of physical contact at a time when we are brought up to resolve conflicts verbally.
But to get back to your question – I don‘t think that either the girls fighter or the guys ever had a problem with me. Overall, we have a lot of girls within the staff in the Oktagon team.
Haven‘t you ever wanted to try out, what it‘s like? For example grappling, that‘s the discipline I personally call "rolling over a sweaty stranger."
I like my personal space too much and the only occasion when I‘am willing to tolerate sweaty strangers is in the sauna. So no. (laughs)
It may not seem that way, but the money is rolling in MMA. Did you find it surprising?
Not at all. If you look at how many people have been attending these matches in recent years and how much it has become a family sport, with whole families attending the gala evenings, it is perfectly logical. I don't know how many sports can sell out the entire O2 arena.
How did it happen? Five years ago, no one knew about MMA here.
It arrived to the Czech Republic a little late, but I‘m convinced that we have Ondra and Palo to thank for the popularity of MMA in our country and Slovakia. Both of them have been doing this for many years, at a time when there were only a few devoted fans interested in UFC here. They do it with enthusiasm, they found their own way and they‘re doing it well - thanks to that, Oktagon is a lovebrand and in the Czechoslovak MMA environment equal Oktagon. Thanks to them, many people have lost their prejudices that it‘s just mindless violence and lots of blood.
At this level, MMA requires discipline, time, will and a clear head. It has strict rules. And in order to earn money and be able to devote yourself to training without going to work to support yourself, you have to do something extra – be visible on social networks, be interesting for sponsors, communicate with the media. The best fighters aren‘t some witless threshers. They are complex personalities that represent certain values. And they are obviously interesting and likeable to an increasingly large group of fans.
You have always been very active when it comes commenting on current affairs. What about your blog Zuzeta? Are you so invested in MMA that you don't have enough time for it anymore?
My family was the main reason why I didn‘t have time, but maybe it's a bit of an excuse, too. If I‘d really wanted to write and felt the need, I would have definitely found the time. So it‘s more like I didn't see the point and purpose at the moment. I never wanted to make money on it and be an influencer, so nobody can tell me what to write about. At the same time, it seems to me lately that the public space is so overflowing with everyone's opinions and all of it is so desperately superficial that I didn't really want to be part of. Unless I really feel that I want to communicate something essential to the world. (laughs)
Do you think it's cool to be offline these days?
I think so more and more. Even when it comes to social networks, they are a good servant but a bad master. Few people have a clear picture of what it gives them and what it takes from them. We can‘t completely distiguish between reality and personal promotion, illusion. We feel that what we see online is a complete picture, and we rarely call someone to ask how they‘re doing. Why, when we know from Instagram that they‘re doing great? Because everyone's doing great there.
I love social networks and I definitely don't want to demonize them, but it's better not to take them too seriously. They are an integral part of our lives, but it is a perfectly legitimate choice not to be on them - either because the fake perfection is a stress factor for you, or because you don‘t want to participate in it and feel that you wouldn‘t succeed there. There are enough such situations in real life, I understand that someone doesn‘t want to consciously expose themselves to others.
Have you really noticed it to be working? Are your friends calling you more?
They even call me sometimes, asking if I‘m still alive. (laughs)
Are you happier today than you were two years ago?
I think I am. And I'm working on making myself and my family happier and happier.
What are you looking forward to in 2020?
To all the journeys ahead of us. The books I‘m going to read. That I‘ll finally buy a piano for home practise. To watching our children learn new things. To be a little happier again at the end of the year.
