About Us
We’re in it for the Person, not the Percentage
Since 2017, we’ve worked with athletes at the highest levels of international sport. Not many of them — deliberately. Because the kind of support we offer takes time, trust, and a genuine relationship. You can’t build that at scale.
Most athlete management is transactional. Sign the deal, take the cut, move on. We’re not built that way. We Are Privateers exists to put the person first — not the federation, not the contract, not the career highlights.
That belief wasn’t born in a boardroom. It was shaped by years working in Sports for Social Development across Southern Africa, alongside organizations connected to movements like the Homeless World Cup. That work made something clear: sport is one of the most powerful forces for human change that exists. And the people who play it — who dedicate their lives to it — deserve support that reflects that power, not systems that exploit it.
So when we stepped into athlete management, we did it differently. We start with the relationship. Understanding who you are, what drives you, where you want to go, and what you’re carrying that nobody else sees. Your goals and your dreams, but also your doubts, your blind spots, and the places you want to grow. That takes time. It requires honesty from both sides. And it means we can’t work with everyone — nor would we want to.
The work that matters most rarely happens in front of a crowd. It happens in the quiet, complicated moments. The injury that reshapes everything. The burnout nobody warned you about. The transition out of sport that nobody prepares you for. That’s when most management goes quiet. That’s when we show up.
We’re here to be your backup. Your ace in the back pocket. The person already across your situation, already in your corner before you know you need someone there. And for many of the athletes we work with, that also means helping them find ways to use their platform — to give back to their communities, their countries, the places sport has taken them. Because athletes carry influence that extends far beyond results. Part of our job is helping you see that and use it.
This isn’t for everyone. But if you want someone who will actually know you — who will advocate for you as a whole person, support you through the hard seasons, and help you build a life that matters beyond the final whistle — then we should talk.
My Story
I figured most of it out myself. That’s kind of the point.
I grew up in sport the way many athletes do — learning by doing, finding my own way. Track and field from Grade 3 through university. Sprints, mid-distance, jumps. But I was never just training. I was studying — coaching methods, training philosophies, anything I could get my hands on. I didn’t have a roadmap, so I built one.
That instinct followed me through everything that came next. A construction company. Immigration law alongside my wife. Years living and working across Europe, Africa, and Asia. But some of the most formative experiences came through sport itself — just not in the way you might expect.
Working with organizations connected to movements like the Homeless World Cup, and running my own Sports for Social Development organization across Southern Africa, I saw firsthand what sport could actually do. Not just compete. Not just perform. Change lives. Build dignity. Strengthen communities. That experience shaped everything about how I see athletes and what I believe they’re capable of — on and off the field.
When I stepped into athlete management in 2017, I saw the system clearly. And I didn’t like what I saw.
Athletes pushed to their limits, then quietly set aside when results dipped. Treated as assets, not people. I’d seen enough of that approach to know I wanted no part of it — and to know there was a better way.
So I built one. An approach rooted in the belief that an athlete’s worth isn’t measured in medals. It’s in who they are as people, and who they’re becoming. Real support means investing in the whole person — their career, yes, but also their life, their identity, and their future beyond sport. And for many of the athletes I work with, that includes finding ways to use their platform to make their communities and countries better places. Sport has that power. Athletes have that power. Part of my job is helping them see it and use it.
This work matters to me because I know what it feels like to navigate systems that weren’t built for you. To need someone genuinely in your corner. I didn’t always have that. The athletes I work with do.
Athlete-Centric Model
They Manage. We Support
Most systems are built around what athletes can do for sport. Ours is built around what sport should be doing for athletes.
The athlete-centric model starts with the person — not the rankings, the medals, or the sponsorship potential. It means looking at the full picture. How you train and recover. How you’re doing mentally and emotionally. How you’re building a life that still means something long after the last whistle.
Every athlete is different. So every partnership looks different. We don’t push a single path — we help build the right one, together.
That means support and strategy not just for what happens on the field, but for everything around it and everything that comes after. Your career is more than a season. We’re here to make sure the life you build around it reflects who you actually are.
Athlete-Centric Model
This starts with a simple belief: you can’t truly support someone you don’t truly know.
Most management is built around outcomes. Results, rankings, contracts, percentages. The relationship is a means to an end. We built this model on the opposite premise — that the relationship is the work. Everything else flows from that.
When we start working together, the first thing we do isn’t strategy. It’s listening. Understanding who you are, where you’ve come from, what drives you, and what keeps you up at night. Your goals and your dreams, yes — but also your doubts, your blind spots, the areas where you want to grow and the ones where you need honest pushback. Your strengths matter. So do the places you haven’t fully developed yet. We want to know all of it, because that’s the only way to build something real.
That understanding doesn’t happen in a meeting or two. It builds over time, through honest conversations, through showing up in the hard moments, through being the kind of presence that doesn’t disappear when things get complicated. That’s the human side of this — not transactional, not clinical, not managed at arm’s length. A real relationship between real people.
And from that foundation, here’s what we become: your backup. Your ace in the back pocket. The person who is already across your situation, already thinking three steps ahead, already in your corner before you even know you need someone there. Whatever the challenge — on the field, off it, inside the system or outside it — you don’t face it alone.
That extends beyond sport too. Many of the athletes we work with carry influence that reaches into their communities and their countries. Part of our role is helping you see that, and helping you use it — whether that means finding ways to give back, building something meaningful with your platform, or simply understanding that who you are beyond the results matters just as much as what you achieve. Sport has the power to change lives. So do you.
This model isn’t for everyone. It asks for openness, honesty, and time. But for the athletes who are ready for it, it means you’ll never have to navigate the hard parts alone. Not during your career. Not through the transition out of it. Not after.
We’re not just in your corner for the good seasons. We’re in it for all of it.
Services
This isn’t traditional agency work. No deal-chasing, no stacked endorsements, no clipped percentages. Just long-term, relationship-based support — and it requires something from both of us.
Time, because real partnership isn’t built in six months. Honesty, about what’s working, what isn’t, and what you actually need. Mutual investment, because we show up for you and we need you to show up for the work. And a willingness to be seen as a whole person — not just an athlete, not just a result.
If that doesn’t sound like what you’re looking for, we’re probably not the right fit. But if it does, here’s what working together actually looks like.
The support doesn’t stop when the lights go off. We’re here for the in-between — the career decisions, the quiet moments when the system goes silent and you need someone who won’t disappear. We work with a small number of athletes because that’s the only way this works. You’re not a roster spot. You’re a person. We treat you that way.
If you’re ready for something real, let’s talk.
ATHLETE SUPPORT & CAREER PLANNING
This is the foundation. We map out a plan with you—balancing performance and mental health, opportunity and protection, ambition and wellbeing. We focus on the full picture: competition planning, long-term strategy, transitions between levels or countries, and life after sport. This isn’t a program you purchase. It’s an ongoing partnership that evolves as you do.
ADVOCACY & ATHLETE PROTECTION
When federation relationships get complicated, when you’re overlooked or mistreated, when the system fails you—we step in. We help you navigate the politics, the bureaucracy, the moments when you feel like you’ve run out of options. This is the work most management won’t touch. It’s messy. It’s hard. But it matters.
PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT
Whether you’re pushing toward Olympic qualification, breaking into professional football, or charting a new goal entirely, we help you build a sustainable route. We identify opportunities, create structure, and walk the path with you—through setbacks, pivots, and the unglamorous grind no one sees.
LIFE AFTER SPORT
The transition no one prepares you for. We don’t wait until your career ends to think about what’s next. From day one, we’re helping you build an identity, purpose, and opportunities beyond the game. Because you’re more than your sport. And your value doesn’t end when the final whistle blows.
Who We’ve Helped
Sara Mihalik – Sprint Kayak (FIN, HUN)
World Champion. European medalist. Olympic-level athlete.
Sara and I started working together when she had no major achievements yet. That’s important. Because this work isn’t about attaching to already-successful athletes. It’s about believing in someone’s potential and investing in the relationship long before the medals come.
Here’s what she wrote:
“I started working with Adam Favel at a time when I had no significant sporting achievements to my name. That alone says a lot about who he is as a manager and as a person: he doesn’t seek success by attaching himself to already successful athletes — instead, he helps humble, hard-working ones reach success through his genuine dedication and belief in their potential.
Despite living on the other side of the world (I was based in Hungary at the time, while he was in Canada), and despite the difficulty of finding sponsors in the sport of canoe sprint, Adam still managed to help me alleviate my financial challenges. Through his management, I was able to access equipment and nutritional supplements at discounted or no cost, and he also helped establish partnerships with organizations willing to provide financial support. But perhaps most importantly, he didn’t just “give me the fish” — he taught me how to “use the net.” He showed me how to manage and represent myself as an athlete, a skill that I continue to use even after retiring from professional sport. In that sense, he guided me through one of the hardest transitions any athlete faces: life after sport.
Even more valuable than his professional support was Adam’s unwavering human presence. From the very beginning of our cooperation to the end of my sporting career — and even beyond — he was always there. During the difficult seasons when even some of my coaches gave up on me, Adam stood by my side, helping me climb back to the top. He supported me quite literally around the clock, often during his own late-night or early-morning hours due to the time difference.
When I eventually decided to transfer from representing Hungary to competing for Finland, Adam once again played a key role. The process was complex and emotionally demanding, but he made it much easier — both by handling the administrative side of the transfer and by providing the emotional support I needed at that time. Thanks to his help, I was able to rise from one of the lowest points in my career and return to the World Championship podium.
In summary, Adam is not only an exceptional manager — organized, proactive, and resourceful — but also an extraordinary human being whose empathy and commitment make all the difference.”
— Sára Anna Mihalik
World Champion, Canoe Sprint and Marathon
Now Sara coaches at WAT Kanuzentrum in Vienna, mentoring the next generation of paddlers. The relationship didn’t end when her competitive career did. That’s the point.
Who We’ve Helped
Anthony Watson – Skeleton (PUR, JAM)
2018 Olympian. Actor. Dancer. Musician. Speaker.
Anthony made history as the first male skeleton athlete to represent Jamaica at the Winter Olympics. But the part of his story that matters most to us didn’t happen on the ice.
After his 2018 Games, Anthony found himself in an environment that no longer served his growth. He made the difficult decision to transition and represent Puerto Rico — a process that meant navigating international eligibility rules, licensing, and sport politics largely without institutional backing. It wasn’t simple. But he kept moving.
He was building toward one final Olympic run at Cortina 2026, funding it himself through a speaking tour built around his story of perseverance, identity, and chasing a dream the system never handed him. Then a long-term injury ended that chapter.
That’s the part of sport nobody prepares you for. The abrupt stop. The shift from “what’s next in my career” to “what’s next in my life.” And that’s usually when support disappears.
Ours didn’t.
Because this was never just about getting Anthony to another Olympics. It was about the whole person — the athlete and the man. Off the ice, Anthony is an actor, dancer, musician, and speaker. Our work together continues as he moves into this next chapter, with the same commitment we had when the Games were still on the horizon.
Athletes like Anthony don’t wait for the system to hand them a path. They build one. They deserve support that stays when the outcome changes.
CLAIM
The Stories Athletes Tell Themselves
Behind every headline, every medal, every contract—there’s a person. The creative work. The side projects. The causes worth fighting for. The life that exists beyond the competition. The parts that don’t fit in post-game interviews but define who you really are.
CLAIM is a zine built by athletes, for athletes. It’s where you control the narrative—unfiltered, unedited, and entirely yours. Rooted in the same DIY, punk rock ethos that made Thrasher the bible of skate culture, CLAIM is raw, real, and unapologetically authentic.
Every edition features personal essays, photo work, creative projects, and stories that go deeper than the highlight reel. From current and retired athletes to coaches and the people who make sport happen behind the scenes—this is the space to show all of it.
Because every athlete is more than their sport. Every story deserves to be told. And no one should tell it but you.
CLAIM your story. CLAIM your space. CLAIM what’s yours.
Get in Touch
Before You Reach Out: We work with a small number of athletes because this work is personal. It’s not about your ranking or your results — it’s about fit.
The right partnership takes time, honesty, and mutual investment from both sides. If you’re looking for someone to handle contracts and move on, we’re not that. But if you’re ready for something longer, deeper, and more real — keep reading.
This tends to work well for athletes who are looking for genuine long-term partnership, who understand that trust takes time to build, and who want to be supported as a whole person, not just managed as an athlete. If you’re not quite ready for honest conversations and a relationship that asks something of you too, that’s okay — it just means the timing isn’t right.
If you’re still reading and this resonates, we’d love to hear from you.
That includes athletes seeking real support, parents looking for guidance, and anyone navigating challenges inside a system that isn’t working for them. Every message is reviewed personally and kept private.
If you’re reaching out about athlete mistreatment, abuse, or unsafe conditions — that matters here. We’re not a legal service, but we take these situations seriously and can offer support, strategy, and help connecting you with the right people or organizations.
If you’re in immediate danger or experiencing a crisis, please reach out to emergency services or a trusted mental health professional in your area.