In memory of

I didn’t plan on writing posts during my vacation, but after the ceremony for Michael Jackson, I just hope that people remember him in the right way…

He was the greatest and most professional artist we ever had.

4 very busy days

I know it’s been a few days since my last post, I finally just got back home after 4 days travelling. I  started out friday morning going to MISA for a meeting with the R&D Board. Then I stayed over at my very good friend Sosso’s place in Uppsala. We had a great time, talking, relaxing, eating and watching old YouTube clips all night. Sosso also works as a lecturer, and she is a really really good one, look into her website.

She even manufactured a “pall”, almost like the one I got at home for me, so it would be easier to be comfortable there How cute is that?

Then I continued to Stockholm for the 15 year anniversary of MISA that I wrote about in my previous post. I stayed over in Stockholm, had a quick lunch with Therese Albrechtson, who also was there working. She’s got a great blog, we even took pics of each other at the same time for our blogs!

We continued to Kolmården, to meet parents and families where children are suffering from MPS. I was there together with Olof Röhlander and Lasse Gustafsson, 2 amazing speakers and coaches.

Then, straight back to Goteborg for the opening ceremony of UEFA UNDER21 European Championships and the game between Spain and Germany. I actually got to sit close to Mr. Platini during the dinner before the game. I was such a huge fan of him!

The game was good, unfortunately it ended 0-0, but I enjoyed it!

15 year anniversary

Right now, I am attending the 15 year anniversary of MISA in Stockholm and it’s a wonderful evening. Hosted by Sofia Wistam we see everything from anecdotes to rock bands. The picture is the owner of MISA, dressed up in the crown for the evening.

TEDx Stockholm

Yesterday, I did a talk at the newly launched TEDx Stockholm. If you don’t know TED, check it out www.ted.com.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. This site makes the best talks and performances from TED and partners available to the world, for free. More than 400 TEDTalks are now available, with more added each week. You can check out TEDx Stockholm as well, it will be updated with all of our talks in the next week, hopefully.

It was a great experience for me, doing a short and energetic talk of only 18 minutes maximum, trying to get out a purpose and a conclusion without being boring in such short time. Thank you to Teo from interesting.org for a wonderful and professional event!

…and here’s a better pic of me and the Queen of Sweden from wednesday!

Los Angeles and the Queen

It’s been a fascinating weekend with Fashion Shows in Los Angeles followed by the 20-year old celebration of Ågrenska in presence of HRH The Queen of Sweden.

We flew to Los Angeles Thursday to take part of the second of the four shows in the U.S this year. The Abilities Expo was held in Anaheim next to Disneyland, and it was a great Expo! All the clothes made to the models fit perfectly and the shows were a sure success.

Here are some pics:

The amazing Madonna Long, one of Chloe Magazine’s owners

David Korse, owner of the Expo tries his suit we made for him. Notice the crocs

Andreas tries to become the new King on Disneyland

We landed yesterday afternoon, then it was straight to Ågrenska this morning for the 20-year celebration. A good conference followed by festivities with the queen as well. We had the time for a quick talk outside after the speeches. Check Ågrenska out at www.agrenska.se

Meeting with the Minister for Public Health

Today was a really interesting day. I was contacted by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, and asked to meet Maria Larsson, Sweden’s Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health. She wanted to know more about my experiences and knowledge about the situation for people with different types of disabilities, so I invited her to a meeting at my office and we sat down for almost 2 hours.

It was a very interesting meeting with good discussions about everything from personal assistance to health care and elite sports. Maria Larsson is a warm person with many good values and ideas, and I look forward to our next meeting. We also had time for some laughs!

Goteborg Basket Festival

Today, I went down to see Rebecca (Andreas’ daughter) play the final of Goteborg Basket Festival. It is a huge event in Goteborg, over 500 teams attending for a weekend of basket played all over the city. They played a great game, and won it over Stockholm!

It is important to remember that this kind of sporting event is usually where it starts for all of us. And the happy faces I saw today, equals those at a national championship

New LegaWear Commercial

We finally completed our new film from the Chloe Magazine Fashion Showcase in NYC a few weeks ago! A big thank you to:

Lt. Ian James Brown, Kimberley Barreda, Scott Chesney, AJ Brown and Santina Muha for being our models and participating at the show. Also, thank you so much to the three Chloe Musketeers: Kimberley, Madonna and Amy!!! You girls are the best!

To actually see LegaWear go to the U.S and to see that everything works out for the people buying our clothes makes me and Andreas extremely happy and proud. Next week, we will go to L.A. for the next show! Look at the video here, or head over to legawear.com

Elected into the board of Swedish Sport!

I had an amazing time this weekend, when Swedish Sport came together for its bi-annual meeting, this year in Visby. Representatives from all Swedish Sport Federation came to discuss how to govern and move Swedish Sport forward during the years to come, including every federation from Swedish Soccer and Riding, to Swimming and Paralympic Sport. It was a very interesting and positive debate, visited by Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth minister of sport and culture.

Lars-Åke Lagrell speaking from chair during the debate about the future for the Swedish Olympic Committee.

This morning, I was elected into the board (Riksidrottsstyrelsen) for the Swedish Sports Federation for the next 4 years to come. I am proud and honored, as I was selected unanimously. Naturally, this also makes me aware of the expectations that the sports have.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Beyoncé, Princess Birgitta and Kevin Borg

That’s a weird combination for one day, I know. But it’s been a hectic day, starting with business meetings for LegaWear early this morning. We looked into the possibilities and future for the company together with Connect West and it is looking brighter than ever

Then, a quick trip to Hill’s Golf Club, where there was a celebrity golf tournament for the children’s hospital in Goteborg. I was there together with Princess Birgitta of Denmark, Kevin Borg from Swedish Idol, Anna Book and others. I really did all I could to go there for a few hours, since I believe that it is extremely important for the children and parents to have someone there to talk to, who also spent a lot of time at hospitals as a child.

Then, quickly back home for a phone conference before the big sports meeting this weekend with RF. Then, quickly to Scandinavium for a concert with Beyoncé Knowles. A really really professional concert that I enjoyed. Not spontaneous, but professional