TOMASZ
BARAN.

I was born in Lubin, in Lower Silesia, south-west Poland. My family moved to England when I was around seven. None of us spoke English, so we had a lot to work out together.

When I joined primary school here, one of the only things I knew how to ask was, “Can I go to the toilet?” Even that was difficult. I gradually picked up English by spending time with friends, listening and trying to join in.

Being able to hold a conversation didn’t mean everything suddenly became easy. For a long time, getting the thoughts in my head into the right English words was a struggle. Polish is my first language, and my parents have always made sure I kept it. I’m grateful for that.

There were other difficulties too. I was bullied for being Polish and faced racist comments from other pupils and, on some occasions, adults, including teachers. Secondary school was a particularly difficult time for me. I want that to be part of my story because it was part of growing up here.

My parents came here without knowing the language and still worked their way into supervisor roles. They also experienced racism at work and eventually moved on from that workplace. I saw how hard they worked while dealing with things they should never have had to put up with.

We didn’t grow up with much money, and financial pressure has been part of our family life. I now work alongside college to cover my own expenses and help at home when I can, whether that means contributing towards shopping, bills or the costs of getting through college.

Being able to take some of that pressure off my family matters a lot to me.

I’m studying software development at college. Building websites gave me a way to put what I was learning into practice, including through Baran Digital. Now I’m developing Baran Performance and its first app, Bench.

Bench brings football and software together. I’m working on a tool built around daily check-ins, training readiness, personalised drills and keeping track of the work a player completes. It’s still in development.

I enjoy working independently. I like understanding a problem, making the decisions and being responsible for getting it working. I also know that growing a business will mean learning to work well with other people. Independence suits me, but there’s plenty I still need to learn.

Most of my football experience has been as a goalkeeper. I started by learning the basics, played for different teams and currently play for Cromer’s reserves. I’ve also attended goalkeeper sessions connected with Norwich City, with professional goalkeeping coaching.

I’ve always wanted to spend more time playing on the left wing or up front. After this season, I’m considering a move that would give me the chance to learn those positions properly, even if that means playing at a lower level to get the experience.

Football is also a big part of why I wanted to build Baran Performance. It gives me a reason to care about what I’m making and whether it could be useful to another player.

Rocket League gets a fair amount of my time. I’ve put around 1,000 hours into it and have been playing with my mate Brad since around Year 7. I watch RLCS too, so apparently playing the game isn’t enough.

My peak rank has been nearly Grand Champion. I’ve always wanted to compete in Rocket League esports and work towards playing in RLCS. I’d love the chance to play for a team at any level, whether that’s getting started in the lower tiers or seeing how far I could go.

I’ve kept some of my favourite moments in the clips section. Rocket League is a hobby I enjoy and something I’d like to take further.

I want to be successful, and money is a big part of that. I want to earn well, pay off family debts and reach a point where my parents and the people closest to me can stop working if they want to. I’m scared of spending my life worrying about money, and that’s part of what pushes me to build something of my own.

I have personal goals too. Owning a Lamborghini has been one of them for a long time.

I’m not consistent every day. I put things off, and sometimes I struggle to get started. Then there are nights when I’m lying awake with music playing, thinking about what I want for myself and my family. I’m still working on turning those thoughts into regular action.

That’s where I am now: at college, working, playing football and trying to build a business that can become something worthwhile.