My first appearance on Croatian television came through a show called Globalno sijelo, my favorite show at the time. It aired on national TV and was watched by hundreds of thousands of people. I was just a young guy building robots.
They reached out and invited me to present. The video is old, and hopefully the translations still work. Of course, things didn’t go as planned, the robot got stuck on a wire on live Croatian television. But hey… I was in primary school, on national television, in prime time.
The phone started ringing. Proud parents. Friends. A moment I’ll never forget. It felt amazing.
I was nervous, but I handled it. Even then, I showed I wasn’t afraid to speak in public, to stand in front of a camera, and to represent myself. I still remember the huge hallways of the national television building, the studio lights, the cameras, and Joško Martinović. I’ll never forget him.
That appearance opened doors for me, technical exhibitions, competitions, and growth. It gave me confidence and visibility I hadn’t had before.
I remember one exhibition in particular, where I presented my robot and won Best Robot and Innovation. I received the award in front of a crowd. But then… another teacher complained that my project didn’t fit the competition category. They took the award away.
I was sad. It hurt. But I learned something important that day: the world isn’t always fair. And you have to fight for your place, even when you’ve already earned it.
Still, I had already won what mattered most - the hearts of the jury, the crowd, and the visitors. The experience became a complete show. And in the end, that’s what stayed with me.
