Latest news with #DreamChasers
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Suhana Khan inspires youth to fearlessly chase their dreams
Vivo, the innovative global smartphone brand, has introduced its campaign called the Dreamchasers. The campaign, launched in collaboration with Suhana Khan , reflects vivo's continued commitment to India's young consumers, inspiring them to pursue their ambitions confidently while staying true to their individuality. Rooted in the core philosophy of empowering self-expression, Dreamchasers speaks directly to the Gen Z mindset — a generation entering the real world with big dreams, limitless ambitions, and the determination to carve their own paths. Conceptualised by VML, Dreamchasers is an extension of vivo's long-term brand philosophy of enabling the youth to express who they are while chasing their goals, and that too is their own unique style. Geetaj Channana, head of corporate strategy at Vivo India , said, 'With Dreamchasers, vivo is deepening its connection with India's youth — a generation that believes in defining success on its own terms. Suhana Khan's journey resonates with this ethos, making her the perfect face for the campaign.' Babita Baruah, chief executive officer at VML India, said, 'The Dream Chasers campaign for the Vivo Y series is a celebration of this attitude. Featuring Suhana Khan, this campaign unravels the mindset of today's Dream Chasers.' The launch of Dreamchasers also sets the stage for vivo's upcoming product introduction, the Y400 Pro — the latest addition to its highly popular Y Series. Crafted for the youth, the Y Series carries vivo's distinctive proposition: 'As Unique As You'. The Y400 Pro continues this legacy, combining bold design, advanced AI-powered cameras, and seamless performance, tailored for the content-first, style-driven lifestyles of Gen Z users. Watch the video here:
Indianapolis Star
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
How 6-7 UDFA Colts TE Maximilian Mang made it from Germany to the NFL
INDIANAPOLIS — Super Bowl XLVIII has not gone down as one of the most memorable games in NFL history. Denver snapped the ball over Peyton Manning's head on the first play, the Legion of Boom tortured Manning all day and Seattle ran away with the Lombardi Trophy in a laugher. But that game changed Maximilian Mang's life. Mang, a massive volleyball player on his way through the club ranks, watched that Super Bowl and fell in love with American football, a game that seemed like the ultimate team sport to a kid growing up in Potsdam, Germany. 'Football, you need everybody on the field,' said Mang, an undrafted free agent with the Colts. 'Volleyball, alright, you need one good person, and you can be decent.' Two summers later, Mang was playing club football for the Potsdam Royals of the German Football League, falling in love with the game even though he had no way of knowing whether or not he'd ever have a shot at the NFL. Mang played at Potsdam, then for the Berlin Rebels. A wide receiver initially, Mang eventually made the transition to tight end and defensive end in Berlin, bringing his 6-foot-7 frame to bear on the edges of the line. Brandon Collier, a scout for PPI Recruits — a company that identifies and develops international players, then helps them get recruited by colleges in the United States — invited Mang to a PPI camp in Hennef, giving the young tight end a chance to play a bunch of good players, players Collier believed had the potential to play college football in America. From there, Mang's career became a whirlwind. PPI brought Mang to the United States as part of its DreamChasers tour, putting young, promising European prospects into American camps all over the eastern United States, allowing them to get in front of college scouts. Mang's size and athleticism made him an obvious target. Penn State offered Mang a scholarship in 2019, but he was unable to complete the necessary paperwork in time to become a part of the 2019 recruiting class. The next year, Mang made sure he was available, and offers started coming, beginning with Eastern Michigan early in the process and ending with a signing-day offer from Syracuse, the school Mang ended up choosing. Mang loved football. The magnitude of its influence on life didn't fully hit home until he was flying to the United States to begin his collegiate career. 'On the plane, I was like: 'This is going to be different,'' Mang said. 'Living on my own, speaking a different language.' Mang had become part of a growing movement in Germany, a nation where interest in American football has exploded over the course of the last decade and a half. Nine months before Mang turned on Super Bowl XLVIII and fell in love with the game, the Colts used a first-round pick on German defensive end Bjoern Werner, a watershed moment for the country's interest in American football. Werner wasn't able to live up to his draft position in Indianapolis, but he returned to his home country and became the face of the sport in Germany, helping grow the game through his Football Bromance podcast, TV appearances and his own set of camps, Gridiron Imports, that he built with the same goal as PPI. Players like Mang — including future Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann, an Austrian native whose career path is shockingly similar to Mang's — have become much easier for colleges to find. But there was still a transition for Mang to make in America. A tall target with the body control of a long-time volleyball player, Mang spent most of his early career as a receiving weapon, only to get to Syracuse and realize he was going to do most of his work as a blocker. 'You can just throw verts up in Germany,' Mang said. 'Getting into the camps in Germany, I realized you can't just run a go and beat somebody.' Mang caught just nine passes in four seasons at Syracuse, topping out with a career-high five catches as a sophomore in 2022. A receiving profile like that typically does not catch the eyes of the NFL, but Mang kept pursuing the dream of playing at the highest level heading into his senior season. 'The thought was always in the back of my mind,' Mang said. 'This is my last year. I'm going to put in all the work I can, and if at the end of the season, I get a chance to do a pro day and make an NFL team, that's the dream.' Big receiving numbers never came. Mang caught just one pass as a senior, picking up five yards in the Holiday Bowl. He finally got his shot at Syracuse's Pro Day. Mang was hard to miss. The big tight end carried 263 pounds easily on his 6-7 frame, a frame with an enormous wingspan of more than 81 inches. The volleyball background was easy to see; Mang recorded a 33.5-inch vertical and a 9-7 broad jump, proving he had the athleticism. The receiving drills went so well that Syracuse head coach Fran Brown and offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon had a message for Mang after Pro Day. 'Maybe we should have thrown you the ball more,' Mang remembered his coaches saying. He had the NFL's attention. A handful of teams interviewed Mang on the phone, and even though he knew he likely wouldn't get drafted, a shot as an undrafted free agent was always a distinct possibility. The Colts came calling shortly after the draft ended. Mang's physical profile, and his history as a blocker, caught the attention of the Indianapolis scouting staff. 'Our college scouts had what would equate to PFA, a priority free agent, grade on him because he's a good blocker,' Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds said. 'Then the pro guys look at those guys too and after the draft – I hadn't seen him until that point and (was) like, 'Who do you guys want to get at tight end?' and they stack it and they said, 'That's where we want to go, right there.'' Mang faces an uphill road to make the Indianapolis roster. A much more accomplished rookie, first-round pick Tyler Warren, is already on the Indianapolis roster at Mang's position, and the lack of college catches limits his profile somewhat. But Mang has a big frame, plenty of developing still left to do and a rare skill set for today's tight ends coming out of the draft. 'It's primarily a blocker,' Dodds said. 'Those guys are hard to find now.' Mang couldn't have picked a better place to start. Werner, his hero and a man Mang still asks for advice, played in Indianapolis. German safety Marcel Dabo is still around as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. Raimann is not German, but he speaks the language and also happens to be one of the most successful European natives in the NFL right now. Mang never could have seen all this coming when he first started playing football a decade ago. But the sport has altered the course of his life considerably, and he's going to keep playing it as long as he can. Hopefully for the Colts.
