Julen Pereira became known to the general public thanks to his participation in Survivientes 2022. There he also met Anabel Pantoja, with whom he lived an intense love story that did not reach the age of a year. This relationship caused him to be harassed by the press, but it also brought him notoriety, which helped him earn an income and attract more people than fencing could previously achieve.
In an interview with Relevo, the athlete does not have reproaches against television, on the contrary:I’m grateful for the opportunity that television has given me to reveal myself a little more.to be a more public figure and to get people to know Yulen and fencing better. And I think it’s something positive for both parties, both for me and for my sport.” He admits that there were those who told him that he would remain a TV presenter and that he was not going to return to fencing, but he was clear that this would never happen again. Despite suggestions: “There are a lot of programs and calls from many places. Economically, it would be much easier than playing sports., in my case. But no, it was very clear to me from day one.”
Was money the reason for the competition? Julen Pereira says no: “The economic reason was not the main. If it was just an economic reason, I wouldn’t go. It is clear that if it were not for the economic part, I would not have gone either, but this was not the main reason. It’s time to change. I am very fired up by everyone and the train passes once. I was very scared, but it was not only an economic problem.”
And how much money did he make? “A top ten fencer in the world can earn between 1,400 and 2,000 euros per month. Can you add to TV, I don’t know, one more zero? That is 15,000-20,000 euros. These are completely different numbers. And I’m talking about the best in the world, and if I tell you that he is the champion of Spain, he can earn zero euros. It’s not all money. I had many opportunities to earn a lot of money outside of fencing, but I didn’t.. Because it doesn’t make me happy, it doesn’t fill me up. It’s not me, I don’t think it’s me. Yulen is fond of fencing. I am fighting for my dreams and now I have no motivation to do anything other than fencing.
What don’t you want to do
“I could gossip a lot, do weird things and talk about my personal life on TV every day, but it’s not mine, not really. Thanks to fencing, I got on television. I was engaged in fencing, at that time I was one of the best in the world and they called me for it. Now I have to give fencing everything that it has given me. I am a very grateful person. I think it’s not all about the money and I am indebted to fencing which makes me happy.“Added Julen Pereira, who made it clear that she was not going to use her relationship and breakup with Anabel Pantoia to earn money.
Source: Bekia