About me

Hi, I'm Marius—a 33-year-old German living in Berlin. This blog serves primarily as my diary, documenting my journey across three significant aspects of my life: fitness, martial arts, and culture. My goal is compete in a martial arts fight, start a PhD in Economics, and learn a third language (B2) over the next 2.5 years until the end of 2026.

While these personal stories form the core of my blog and it should hold me accountable, I write with you, my fellow Office Potato, in mind. Let’s laugh, cry, and grow together!

Why 'Office Potato - Adventures Beyond the Desk'?

The idea for this blog was born a few years ago during the COVID-19 lockdown. In my eyes the days of the classic 'couch potato' are gone. Today, many of us in the Western world, especially within my circle, are no longer in traditional blue-collar roles. Instead of coming home to simply dine, drink a beer, and watch TV until sleep takes over, we find ourselves glued to a different set of screens—those of our office monitors and smartphones. At these screens, we work, learn, laugh, love, and play. Attached to our jobs and driven by a desire to advance and build fulfilling lives, we often overlook the world beyond our monitors and home office desks. Although we all know that If this resonates with you, then this blog is for you, my fellow Office Potato. :)

What is my 'Office Potato' origin story?

Throughout my childhood and teenage years, participating in sports was a priority for my parents. They enrolled me in various activities like gymnastics, swimming, football, and basketball. However, I never fully committed to any one sport or developed a consistent habit. The closest I came was playing basketball for a few years during my teens. But for me, sports were more about spending time with friends than training or improving in a specific discipline. I was never overweight but also not particularly athletic, likely due to this lack of commitment.

As I moved through my late teenage years and into university, the friendly sports meetups gradually decreased. They were replaced by social activities that involved drinking, going out, and eating—shifting from calorie-burning to calorie-gaining pastimes. Although my metabolism in my 20s could handle this lifestyle, I always maintained a slight belly, and my weight fluctuated around 75 kg (165 lbs) at a height of 175 cm (5'9"). This set the stage for my less-than-ideal habits to take root.

In 2019 I started with two personal trainers until Covid-19 hit Berlin in February / March 2020 and all gyms had to close. I was in a reasonable shape back then, not athletic but also only a few kilograms more than I should have been. In September I weighed around 76 kgs and I went to around 80 kgs in the early days of Covid. Then I pretty quickly ballooned from 79 kgs to 89 kgs in over a year, mainly due to lack of activity and social connection which cemented my habit of finding joy and using food as a coping mechanism. When starting this blog in May 2024 I was/am weighing 95 kgs (209 lbs) at a height of 175 cm (5'9"). My goal weight is 70 kgs (155 lbs).

How can we make this a shared journey?

Next to subscribing to this blog, I am posting regularly (hopefully daily ;)) on my instagram channel: office.potato_adventures and of course you can always send me an email to hi(--@--)office-potato.com. Of course delete the (– --), it is just to avoid spam bots.

Looking forward to hear from you!