FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski has been announced as the Global Ambassador of digital gaming market place G2A.
Like Lewandowski, G2A - which stands for Gate
As Founder and President of G2A Capital Group, Skwarczek told me when meeting him in Barcelona to announce the partnership with Lewandowski that the company started "in a very humble way" with him and Rozek and four employees in a "very small 13 square meter room".
Starting out as an online store, G2A did so at a time when there was 70/30% split in the gaming market in favor of physical copies of games being sold over their digital counterparts.
This meant that G2A simply "bought games and sold them", and this was successful for the first three years of its activities.
It could also rely heavily on the success of World of Warcraft, becoming its leading seller in Poland and then Europe, but sought official agreements with publishers which were difficult to obtain.
This would be key to performing a "pivot" as Skwarczek explained, and scaling G2A globally while also "doing something meaningful".
Skwarczek asked himself what it would take to become the largest gaming marketplace in the world, which led to mockery from his peers doubting that a company from a post-Communism country such as Poland could rise to such a lofty status without investors or solid support.
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He admitted that he and his team were merely a band of gamers, but they wanted to provide inspiration to others that dreams can be realized.
Alongside important factors such as the range of products and pricing, G2A felt that security in making payments was also essential and becoming a leader in these aspects would facilitate its rise to the top.
While making payments might be straightforward in the United States and Europe, the same can't always be said in countries like India and Brazil.
To this end, G2A integrated almost 200 different worldwide payment methods and created what Skwarczek described as the largest system of its kind in providing a local experience for global clients.
The company also vetted sellers, freezing transaction payments from customers for 14 days in case there were any issues regarding quality which resulted in narrowing down to a group of trusted parties.
Pitted in a David Vs. Goliath battle as Skwarczek called it, G2A gradually overtook its main competitor Steam and achieved its ambition.
Some 15 years later since its launch, with Skwarczek driving the same car for 11 of those and investing "every penny" back into his business, G2A is now considered the biggest player in its area with 30 million users. Furthermore, as he envisioned, digital copies of games now outnumber their physical alternatives by 95% to 5% when it comes to the market share.
And while it has worked with 1,000 influencers, landing Lewandowski is one of its crowning achievements so far.
Skwarczek explains that he first imagined one day attaching arguably the most famous Polish personality to G2A back in 2013, when the striker rose to prominence with a virtuoso four-goal performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals.
That was over a decade ago, but the number 9 now at Barca was pretty easy to convince to become G2A's first Global Ambassador after Skwarczek found that their "values resonated".
"I had Robert in mind for a long time when he wasn't so famous, but as time went on he became a 'Top 3' football player and icon, I only met him for lunch a few months ago," Skwarczek said.
"After a couple of hours together, I found that our values resonated. For me at G2A, what I've learned in business is that values are the cornerstone, because if they don't resonate, it's not going to work out.
"With Robert we knew we were on the same page. Not only with the determination and passion we both have, but also his professional approach that Robert is known for, because we're trying to be the same at our company.
"We share family values, values as a human being. Being a good person, which clicked immediately and allowed us to believe that we should do something together.
"The gaming industry is the perfect platform for him, because he's a sports icon and e-sport player who shows it is possible to enjoy gaming but also be in excellent shape and spend time with the family."
"We believe we can combine the e-sport experience, sitting and playing the games, and physical sports," Skwarczek concluded.
Lewandowski of course agrees with this concept, as he told me at the same event.
"If we're talking about the gamer, it's not only about playing the video games themselves. He has to be physically ready, because if you're tired, feeling bad, it can affect your performance.
"You have to find the balance, and also remember that a healthy life can help you to be more successful. I'm sure that gamers and professional athletes share a lot of similarities. Like in football, I'm running a lot, but if I feel fit then I can do better and I'm sure that's the same for a gamer.
"Professional gamers are starting to think about this, because they know that they can perform better if they're in good shape."
"The partnership is also to remind everyone that it's possible to enjoy gaming but also go out there and do things to feel fresh."
"This connection and co-operation works on both sides, and I think that this is the perfect solution as someone who has been in the gaming world since I was young when my parents got me a Commodore 64.
"Of course the technology is changing all the time, but it was easier for me, someone from Poland, to connect with G2A's idea and say yes to them."
As a professional athlete and family man, Lewandowski said that gaming is his main hobby if he's able to get a spare 20 minutes downtime, which helps him feel better afterwards.
He prefers F1 and motorsport games - or even Call of Duty which was a hit in the Dortmund locker room - and doesn't play much football on consoles, but maybe his palette might expand given his new role.
