Being a tall teenager, she got bullied for her height. But when she entered the basketball court for the first time, “all the girls ran up to me and were like, 'Oh my God, you're so tall'. And I realized they were actually excited, which I’ve never felt before. I think that's why I ultimately got stuck with basketball.”

Today, at 6’5”, Marie Gülich holds the center position at the WNBA team Los Angeles Sparks, one of very few Germans at the highest level of female basketball worldwide.

Marie Gülich is a leader both in the WNBA and for the German national team and shares her time between the US and Europe. A fate she shares with most female basketball players, who spend their summers playing for extra income while their male counterparts in the NBA earn a ten- or hundredfold.

On episode 18 the Wunderbar Together Podcast, Marie not only shares her journey from a tall girl to a pro athlete and the humbling experience of entering US sports – "I was a good player in Germany and I came to America and I was no one" – she also shares insights from the “Wubble”, a sprawling complex in Florida where the WNBA plays their current season shut off from the outside world to minimize the risk of being exposed to COVID-19. "I think 2020 has been a really good representation of not being able to control anything."

Follow Marie on Instagram @mariegulitsch and Twitter @marygulitsch.

Find Marie's music recommendation – Beyoncé`s "Halo" – here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig

Special thanks to German basketball hero Paul Gudde @paulgudde for being our surprise guest!

This episode of the Wunderbar Together Podcast is hosted by Felix Zeltner and Oliver Nermerich and produced by Heiner D'Alquen. Many thanks to the Wunderbar Together Initiative for inspiring and supporting this project.