The world champion who left basketball to become a multimillionaire: “You learn to make money, it’s like riding a bicycle”

In one of those June weeks when the days stretched out and the Football World Cup stole the attention of fans, Forbes magazine, seemingly oblivious to elite sport, published the so-called 30 under 30, the list with which it annually seeks to highlight the business talent and projection of some thirty names who have not yet entered their thirties. In this list, an unquestionable seal of validation in the business world, a most ordinary name appeared which, however, hid a unique story. Carlos Martínez (A Coruña, 30 years old) had been one of those selected by the magazine for having founded, together with his partner Miguel Ortín, Wellbeinn, a Spanish company dedicated to sports recovery. The striking thing, however, is that just one summer before the issue hit the newsstands, Martínez, a basketball player, had been crowned world champion with the Spanish national team in Mongolia.

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“It was like a dream, something that really took us a while to assimilate,” one of the four members —along with Guim Expósito, Diego de Blas, and Iván Aurrecoecheadel— of the 3×3 basketball national team that defeated Switzerland in the final and won the first and only national gold in a discipline that, played on a single hoop and half-court, is increasingly consolidated, as demonstrated by its presence in the last two Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, acknowledges to this newspaper. “It’s a different game from what people are used to, faster and more dynamic if you ask me, but in the end, it’s still basketball. What’s more, any player who has a very good level in traditional five-on-five basketball will surely play very well in 3×3.”

The man from A Coruña knows this well; before reaching the sky with Spain’s jersey in Ulan Bator, he stood out as one of the most brilliant promises of European basketball in his hometown. That’s when Baskonia came knocking. And he didn’t hesitate. At 18, and under the guidance of Sergio Scariolo, Martínez debuted in the EuroLeague in a match played at the Buesa Arena against the reigning continental champion, Vassilis Spanoulis’s Olympiacos. It was the first days of 2014. “Everything was going smoothly,” the Galician recalls. “I looked around the locker room and saw Andrés Nocioni, who had come from eight years in the NBA, from being an Olympic champion with Argentina; Fernando San Emeterio, ACB MVP, Eurobasket champion… I even met Lamar Odom! Yes, he wasn’t at the Lakers’ level anymore, but hey, he was still Lamar Odom.”

But expectations, both his own and others’, shook the stability of the young debutant in a squad prone to script changes. “It was difficult because it came at a time when I wasn’t emotionally mature enough,” he says with the perspective that time has given him. “I really admire athletes who can deal with it at 17 or 18 without losing their composure, I think it’s amazing, but in the end, it’s still part of the journey.”

Unsuccessful in Vitoria, his journey included stops in Alicante, Oviedo, and Logroño before returning home and signing with Básquet Coruña. “Two seasons later, already at 24, I wasn’t meeting expectations and the coach decided to remove me from the team, with all that implied, being the club of my city, being the boy who had left years ago with a whole future ahead of him,” he notes. “And suddenly, COVID arrived.”

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That’s when his head clicked. “I remember it as the great turning point of my life. I thought, either I do something, or what I thought I had as a sure thing will vanish before my eyes,” he asserts. “I saw an opportunity in 3×3 basketball and tried to reinvent myself athletically. I was still in time. Although people were surprised, of course. They would say, ‘But what are you doing? You’re only 24, why are you retiring?’ It wasn’t a retirement, of course, but a change in my perspectives, not just competitive, but economic. It was at that moment that I said, ‘Well, how do I change this? How do I achieve my financial goals without relying solely on sports?’”

Thus, Martínez, who has never hidden his ambition to become a multimillionaire, as he has acknowledged at various points in his career, had an idea. “I went into several forums and said, ‘Let’s see, who makes money nowadays?’” he explains. “I saw investors, entrepreneurs… Of course, investing was impossible because I had no money, so all that was left was to start a business. And I went for it.”

“I have always been a person with a voracious desire to learn,” he adds. “And that’s when I started to experience that with more force than ever. I felt that every day was a learning experience, another grain of sand for my development. And I threw myself into it, believe me, I threw myself into it.” Meanwhile, success in 3×3 arrived, but Martínez’s mind, always focused, always working, was already looking more towards his life project than the court. “Ultimately, making money is just another skill, and like any skill, it’s learned. It’s like riding a bicycle. It’s not something you can say, ‘Okay, I’ll do it overnight.’ No. There’s a process. Replicable techniques. And above all, a path.”

Martínez ended his career with the Spanish national team days before this newspaper’s call. “I leave with the feeling of duty fulfilled and with the absolute peace of mind of someone who has given their all in every tournament, every training session, and every corner of the world, on and off the court,” he summarized on his social media, where his business presence is increasingly noticeable. This is reflected in Wellbeinn, the company he founded just two years ago and which already has 26 employees in Spain. “It all started with a knee rehabilitation product I saw presented in Asia,” he states. “I found it quite innovative, so I studied its essence, took over the distribution, and with the vision of being able to draw from that technology, I did everything to bring it to Spain at an affordable price so that anyone could have it at home to recover or treat themselves in the same way as in a high-performance center.”

Thus Wellbeinn was born, the project in which Martínez applies everything he learned on the court. “The analogy between sport and business is very clear. Even if you work very hard and improve every day, you don’t necessarily see immediate results. The same happens in sport. You work for a greater good, in the medium or long term, but you spend days, weeks, or months without seeing results. It’s the same here. It all comes down to being a little better every day,” he concludes. “Ultimately, I would love to leave as a legacy the example that yes, one can divide oneself and compete, study, work, or undertake at the same time. Why not be an entrepreneur as an athlete? Why not play the violin at the conservatory while playing basketball? It’s all about discipline and passion for what you do.”

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