GMNSM

Sport as a platform for development

Kuprejev started GMNSM after seeing what he describes as a gap between children’s sport and personal development. Traditional sports programmes can be very effective at developing technique, discipline and physical ability, while soft-skills programmes are often taught separately from the situations in which those skills actually matter.

Sport, in his view, provides a natural environment for bringing the two together.

“During training, a child makes mistakes, loses, tries again, learns to listen, manage emotions, support a partner and take responsibility for their actions,” says Kuprejev. “From the beginning, I saw sport as a tool for developing character.”

That idea has shaped GMNSM into a broader ecosystem focused on well-rounded personal development, rather than training alone.

One model, multiple developmental environments

For children aged four and above, for example, the sports session can continue in a dedicated discussion space. Children watch a short scene from a film or animated story and explore the characters’ choices with a mentor. Instead of being given a prescribed answer, they are encouraged to recognise emotions, behaviour and consequences, and connect those situations with experiences from training, school, home and relationships.

The programme is structured around six areas: Confidence, Leadership & Responsibility, Resilience, Self-Mastery, Social Intelligence and Thinking. Emotional intelligence is not treated as a separate theoretical subject. It is connected to situations children encounter directly: dealing with a loss, returning after a mistake, controlling an impulsive reaction, asking for help or understanding how a training partner feels.

For younger children aged two to three, the same principles are introduced through movement, games, imitation, repetition and simple routines.

And the model extends beyond regular classes. Camps, competitions and family events are designed as different developmental environments around the same child. Tournaments introduce pressure and teach children to manage nerves and outcomes. Camps put them outside their regular routines and develop independence, adaptability and teamwork. Family events bring parents into the process, helping reinforce the same language and behaviours at home.

As Kuprejev puts it, “We don’t see these as disconnected add-on products. They are different developmental environments around the same child: training, team, competition, travel, family and community.”

Scaling with quality and visibility

For VEYRA, this broader product is an important part of the opportunity. The other is whether it can be reproduced consistently across locations and markets.

Scaling an education and sports business is not simply a question of opening more academies. The harder task is preserving the quality of coaching, customer experience and developmental methodology as the network grows. GMNSM is addressing that both operationally and through technology. Its internal Allim AI platform is designed to give management greater visibility into instructor performance, student engagement and retention across the network.

That combination is what makes GMNSM compelling to us: a differentiated product, a recognisable brand, strong commercial momentum and early evidence that the model can be replicated across markets while maintaining attractive customer economics.

Riyadh and Monaco are the next step, with further expansion planned as the company continues to build.

We’re glad to be backing Andrej and the GMNSM team on that journey.