The passions of the Soluble team
How we spend our free time, what we dedicate ourselves to after work, every weekend or during vacation, shows the world an important part of who we are. And it's not just about passing the time—we know that hobbies have very positive effects on mental health, reduce stress, push us to grow, connect with others, and even give us purpose. Reason enough to seek out the one that best suits our preferences and get started. But what we didn't know is that for a large part of the Soluble team, hobbies are, in reality, genuine passions.
Some of their favorite activities are very common—as much as they are extraordinary—like reading, going for runs, or playing padel. But we also find surprises like María's classical dressage (dance, horses, nature, what more could you want?), Celia's aerial silks, Ismael's chip carving (keep reading to discover this marvel), or Núria's, a digital product designer in love with analog photography. And then there's Anna: "my hobby is trying hobbies".
The activity varies, but the intensity with which they enjoy it is the same and you can feel it in every word they speak. Hobbies that connect them with the world when they turn off their computers. Or quite the opposite. Activities to disconnect from the accelerated pace we've grown accustomed to, savoring the process of taking photos, finishing the roll, and waiting for development to discover if it was worth it. Others are happiest the moment they get on a bike, or in a car to head to the sea to dive. And many reach a state of mental peace, calm for an overstimulated brain, finding in their hobby a genuine escape valve. Passions that, moreover, inspire them in their work and fill them with energy. The secret ingredient, until now, in our recipe for a full life.
Today the Soluble team shares with the world that part of their essence, their passions to Be Able. Do you dare to discover them?
Celia Santos, Motion Grapher. Aerial silks and ceramics, inspiration in motion
"If I had all the time in the world, I would dedicate myself to my multiple hobbies, which for me are much more than just pastimes. In them I find a source of inspiration, they give me the confidence to face challenges in my personal and professional life. They are what fills me most when I close my computer and connect with the world. But since I don't have enough hours in the day, in recent years I've focused on two: aerial silks and ceramics. Aerial silks connect body and mind. When you're suspended in the air you lose your sense of up and down, you move in ways you can't even imagine when your feet are on the ground. So, little by little, this discipline helps you have total control over your physical abilities. You work strength, flexibility, and balance equally—kind of like yoga but in the air! On the other hand, there's wheel throwing ceramics, which connects me with the creative girl inside me. When you see someone who knows what they're doing it seems very easy, but controlling clay requires a lot of patience and perseverance. That said, when you find the rhythm it's a unique catalyst for creativity. The whole thing about creating or designing objects comes from my professional training: I'm a design engineer in industrial design and product development, though I haven't worked in that field, so I take this very seriously. In each piece I shape I try to find the perfect balance between form and function. Each piece is a new challenge and seeing the final result after such a long process is very satisfying. Both in the silks when I do drops where I spin on myself, and on the wheel, there's a direct reference to the motion I do professionally at Soluble. Everything in constant movement".
Cristian R. Marín, Brand Manager. Padel and literature, competition and existentialism
"I have two major hobbies: padel and literature. I've always practiced all kinds of racquet sports and the training-competition combo brings a lot to my life, in terms of routine, iterative improvement, and of course, health. Beyond that, I read a lot. Especially philosophy, with a clear interest in existentialism: Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Sartre... The constant search for answers to humanity's big questions helps me understand the concerns that people I work with day to day might have. And therefore, do my part so they can be.
Daniel Senior, Design team. Screen printing as a tribute
"My hobby is screen printing. It gives me the chance to do something away from the computer for a full day. Years ago I had in mind making t-shirts with designs of Latin groups. With the idea of reviving artists who were part of my adolescence and that of many Latinos. I want to make a tribute and create garments to wear with pride. It's very related to my work because I have to design first on the computer and then print. The project is called Bandida, I do it with a friend and a male friend. The first one was of Proyecto Uno, giving meaning to the name as well, and a few weeks ago I made one of Don Omar and Patricia Teherán, one of the few women who sing Vallenato".
María Losada, Design team. Classical dressage, working in harmony
"My hobbies help me disconnect from the accelerated pace we've gotten used to in day-to-day life and connect with my inner self, so to speak. I've always had various hobbies or ways of living, it's good for me to be very active and it helps me achieve a full and happy life. I don't stop and I like to try things but they've always been hobbies that revolve around music or dance (my way of expressing love for music), sport and animals. Lately I'm fully into classical dressage, which encompasses all of the above. It's nothing more than dancing with your horse, at certain tempos. It requires a lot of technique and discipline to achieve an artistic figure, and since you're working with an animal you have to transmit a lot of security and peace to it, give it confidence. All of this within a natural environment, in the heart of Madrid's mountains, so disconnection is guaranteed. In a way, classical dressage also has a relationship with my work, we form a team to achieve an end and it's important to transmit support and confidence, as I try to do with my teammates. Plus, we also aim to achieve a harmonious, aesthetic and useful product thanks to daily dedication and effort".
Marta Factor, Activation lead. Writing and reading, infinite letters
"Since I was very small I read, at first through stories my mother and sister read to me. My readings have evolved with me, now what interests me most is autofiction with the aim of representing the reality we live in and questioning it. Also essays about the writing process, about philosophy and about art. Reading gives me the opportunity to ask myself many questions and find new spaces from which to explore. I'm a mentally very curious person, not physically, and it allows me to connect with other worlds without moving from where I am. When I'm working through an Activation strategy or campaign, reading is fantastic because it helps me get inspired and take elements from other realities and other worlds and place them in the situation of the brand I'm working with. I can be reading about a samurai and that reading gives me inspiration to work on the brand of a company that deals with data management. Besides reading, I'm passionate about writing. I started when I was 6 or 7 years old and it's been with me ever since. It's a pressure valve and a tool to put in order all the ideas that are bubbling in my head and, as we say in strategy work, encapsulate them in words and give them meaning for me. Writing is making everything in my head turn into something actionable, useful, accessible and, above all, that I can share with the world".
Núria Monmany, Design team. Piano and photography, digital disconnection
"As a kid I played piano for about four years. Adolescence came and I quit. In my head I thought I had better things to dedicate my time to... A couple of years ago I thought about picking it back up, I missed having a closer relationship with music. Now I go to classes every week. It's been really good for me, I needed some activity outside my work as a product designer that had nothing to do with digital, something analog. My level still isn't very good but I'm already playing simple things and I have a list of special songs for me that I can't wait to learn, like for example "Baby can I hold you", by Tracy Chapman. My other hobby is analog photography. When I started art high school I had a photography class. I'd always been interested but hadn't gotten into taking photos until that moment. One day talking with my mother I told her I was really enjoying the class and that I wanted to try analog photography. She got very happy and rescued her analog camera from the back of a closet. She'd bought it in the late 80s and traveled the world with it. Now I give it new life with my photos. I've had to keep fixing it, which costs me more than buying a new one, but it has a lot of value. I love the whole photography process, the moment you take it and don't know how it will turn out, if it will have enough light… Today we're so used to immediacy that waiting to finish the whole roll and then take it to the shop, have it developed and receive the photos by email a couple of days later is quite a process that requires patience, it keeps me in anticipation and I love that feeling. Most of them I keep in digital, because they take up less space and, especially, it's more ecological, but I'm printing the most special ones".
Estela Pedrero, Brand Manager. Painting, in all formats
"I started painting at seven years old: charcoal, pastel, oil, acrylic… I like it, it relaxes me, I have a great time. Over the years, when I moved to Madrid, I put aside big-format painting especially (you can't fit an easel in a dorm room). I'm thinking about picking it back up again, and let this reflection serve as a push. I replaced all that with digital drawing: now I draw on iPad, but also by hand in travel notebooks, napkins, margins of notebooks. With digital drawing I have phases—sometimes I draw a lot, other times I drop it. Sometimes I've done paintings or mugs on commission. In digital I started doing portraits and people saw themselves in them and asked me for a drawing. The idea is that with minimal strokes you recognize yourself… my portraits have no eyes".
Ismael Barros, CEO and cofounder. Working wood, gaining peace of mind
"My relationship with hobbies is very particular. I've always liked doing everything and trying to do it as well as possible. I'm lucky to be very curious and have many interests since childhood: I studied music, I drew, I played basketball, handball, I swam, I cycled a lot… But what I liked most of all was design. It was my hobby for many years and, little by little, it became my profession. Although on one hand that's wonderful, on the other you find yourself without a hobby overnight, dedicating all your time to what you love to do, and that means dedicating all your time to working. After years of trying to put the pieces in place, though I've never let go of sports or mental self-care (training in psychology we could consider another pastime), I recently gave hobbies back the importance they have for me to feel attended to, and in my case, not have the feeling that I only work. I started looking for what to do. I started with ceramics and then discovered wood. I do everything from finer things, like chip carving, to carpentry work or carving useful objects (spoons, bowls…). Chip carving is a type of wood carving where you draw geometric patterns with a knife. Working with noble materials, with my hands, without screens, drawing geometries and creating pieces that are pure ornament, gives me a peace of mind I'm still discovering. It isolates me while connecting me with things that are basic and important to me. It oxygenates my head so I can return to the real world with more energy and focus".
Jonathan Martínez, Tech team. Gym and running to start the day right
"I started about six years ago. Before that I was a fairly sedentary person, but at a medical checkup they found I had fat in my liver and at my age it wasn't very normal. So I put myself in the hands of a nutritionist and started exercising. Obstacle races, Spartan Race type with mud and water, running and going to the gym. With the pandemic I let it slide a bit, although at the beginning I even managed to run 10 kilometers in an 8-meter hallway, but the motivation went away quick. A few months ago I set myself to get back into it and now I'm preparing a half marathon for next year (the Rock'nRoll in Madrid, in April), so it's come back as one of my almost daily habits, though the body needs rest. It gives me a lot of personal satisfaction to challenge myself with each goal I set. Many times I train at six in the morning to start the day fresh, but other times, after a stressful day, I go to the gym and it helps me disconnect".
Julia Vallina, Tech Lead. From professional soccer to padel, kicking away stress
"Since I was little I've been kicking a ball around. Every summer, every recess of my life, I dedicated to that. I played for 13 years on a women's team, at Oviedo Moderno. Five of those years in the First Division (from 2008 to 2013 approximately) and just as many in Second. I gave it up because of lack of funding and incompatibility with work. Later, I came back for a couple of years, this time to futsal in Second Division, and the same thing, I quit again because of the sacrifice of hours and travel. During my time in the First Division, every two weeks we'd get on a bus Friday at midnight, we'd spend the night traveling to reach our destination: Huelva, Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid. All very demanding. I've kept reducing the size of the court and now I'm into padel, a hybrid sport mixing soccer, padel, some volleyball and tennis. For me it's a moment of disconnection and relief from stress".
Julio García, Business Developer. Diving, happiness beneath the sea
"Water activities are my thing. My relationship with water goes back to childhood—my summers were hours and hours on the beach, watching and following fish. I once got lost on a crowded beach because I was just following fish. The sea is my element. I've done diving, freediving, snorkeling… but mainly what I love is being in the water. Specifically underwater, because water sports on the surface make me feel terrible, I get very dizzy. I can't dedicate as much time to it as I'd like, and now with a baby at home there are other priorities, but I always do it on vacation. When I'm diving I disconnect completely, even before getting in the water—the moment I get in the car I switch into dive mode. That sensation of weightlessness relaxes me so much. I only think about my breathing, controlling my timing, what's around me in that world. I hope someday it becomes more than a hobby. I think one day I'll live somewhere I can make a living from diving year-round".
Laurent Dietrich, CTO and cofounder. Cycling, a sustainable ambition
"I was a real bike geek as a kid. From 14 to 18 I spent entire afternoons on a bike up and down hills. When I started, I was totally out of shape and it was hard, but over time I built more endurance and I think that continuous improvement hooked me, plus I was losing the extra weight I had. I loved skidding, climbing impossible hills… I'd think about walking or running and I'd get bored. But on a bike I was—and am—happy. I've always been a road cyclist but now in Lanzarote I do more mountain biking; you burn through the roads too fast. It lets me disconnect from the daily grind, get some exercise—which never hurts—and set challenges for myself. I sign up for some crazy races; the next one is in Fuerteventura in October and it's crazy given how little I've trained since becoming a dad. But I like preparing myself to get there and beat that challenge. Not with any pretense of posting the world's best time, but there's always healthy competition. What we call at Soluble sustainable ambition".
Ada Fàbregas, Design team. Theater and musicals, freedom of expression
"My hobby is a family legacy—my grandparents, aunts, and cousins do it too, and besides, my town, Centelles, has a strong theater culture. Getting on stage is like opening a door to freedom of expression without judgment, because ultimately it's not you up there, it's a character. It's like a roller coaster. Plus, we occasionally do musicals, which require more rehearsals, are much more spectacular, and we have to combine rehearsals for acting, dancing, and singing. This hobby has some connection to my work because ultimately I'm driven by everything art, in all its forms".
Andrea Martínez, Activation team. Puzzles and gardening, in the calm of home
"I do puzzles. All of them that come my way, though anything over 2,000 pieces is tough because they don't fit on my table. For me, doing a puzzle is like meditating: it directs my attention to the present moment and, if I really immerse myself, I enter a state of clarity and calm. Plus, after a whole day in front of a computer or phone, any activity that requires attention and touch helps calm an overstimulated brain. The puzzle thing is relatively new for me: I did them as a kid, but as an adult I picked them back up during the pandemic because I needed something I could do at home, that didn't take up much space, and that would help me manage anxiety. My other big hobby, besides reading, is gardening, but on a mini scale. I live in a small apartment with great light but no balcony or terrace. I'd love to have a garden or vegetable patch and let loose the gardener in me, but I make do with my houseplants. Touching soil and getting dirty is fun, and for some reason we stop doing it when we grow up. I like getting completely dirty with earth whenever I can. My three hobbies are calming, peaceful activities I can do at home, where I like to be most".
Anna Bohigas, Design team. Sewing or climbing, hands on
"My hobby is starting hobbies, and if they're a bit grandma-ish, all the better. Sewing, crochet, tapestry, drawing, playing guitar and piano, singing, cooking... whatever my body asks for and YouTube suggests to me. I really love starting projects and learning new things, getting away from the computer and using my hands to create stuff. Getting one to actually finish is another story altogether... The latest sewing project I have going is making a little hat for my niece for summer. And lately I've also been really enjoying climbing... and pétanque".
Javier López, Tech team. Hiking to clear your head
"I'm trying to change my habits, with the idea of disconnecting from so much screen time and having a clearer head. I've already done some hikes around Duruelo, Segovia, about 8 kilometers. It's great when you share it with friends. They influenced me and now that I've tried it, I'd love to hit the trails every weekend. What hooks me is the different atmosphere and the satisfaction of completing it, plus the landscapes you find along the way. Now, as soon as we can, we'll do a new route, quite a bit longer and with more elevation".
Andrea Alonso, Tech team. Singing and playing guitar as refuge
"One of my main passions is music, and dedicating time to singing and playing guitar has become a refuge against storms of harmful thoughts. It's one of the best remedies I've found to shift my focus and distance myself from problems (not to forget them, but to see them from another perspective). I suppose what led me to start was the desire to be able to perform songs by my favorite artists. I play quite a bit of folk pop and I've composed a few songs. But what truly hooked me was the learning process itself, slow and frustrating, but precisely because of that, one in which small achievements become very evident and bring great satisfaction. I find, in that sense, a certain similarity with the world of programming, where minimal progress can come with that wonderful feeling of being capable of solving anything".
Emil Iosipescu, Design Lead. Rowing, in connection with the sea
"For the past year and a half I've been rowing. I've always had the desire to do a water sport but hadn't had the opportunity until now. What I enjoy most about this activity is the connection you have with the sea, plus its high degree of technique, which requires intense concentration while you're doing it. In particular, I love when the oar enters the water and produces a 'clap' sound repeatedly, becoming a very therapeutic moment".
Almudena Mestre, People Operations Manager. Theater, a source of wellbeing
"I love theater, both as a spectator and practicing it. Everything that involves activating and raising awareness of the body to express was a profession for a time, but it will be a passion for life and a source of wellbeing. I need to walk through fields and mountains; for me it's meditation in motion and it completely regenerates me. I like reading fiction, although I do it less and less, or worse, between motherhood and the attention deficit stemming from the total information overload we live in. I recently read Alana S. Portero's book 'La mala costumbre' and rediscovered the sensation of entering a book and forgetting everything else".
Carmen Fraga, Activation team. Walking is also a hobby
"I always say I don't have hobbies, I like the typical things. However, a friend made me see that if I walk my baby every day and, moreover, I enjoy it and find it therapeutic, then it's my hobby. It may seem boring—although every walk is unique—but that's precisely the key to managing to disconnect from everything while listening to a true crime podcast, for example. Or the opposite, connect with what surrounds me during the walk: the sun, the rain, a friendly little dog, people in a hurry passing me, walkers in proper hiking gear… And in the background and as a soundtrack, the sea. It never fails: I finish each walk feeling very fortunate".
Thank you for sharing your passions, Solubles. You're pure inspiration for continuing to conquer freedoms, hobby by hobby.
