It’s the first trade day at the IAA 2015 and the Mercedes-Benz Hall is packed with excitement. Between the hustle and bustle, we had a chance to speak with Sebastian Magenheim — wheelchair basketball star and brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz ex-factory driving aids. We’ll be sharing some highlights from our conversation and find out how he strikes a balance between professional sport and studies. Above all, the 27-year-old athlete and aspiring master’s student has one thing locked down: discipline.

As a wheelchair basketball player in the premiere German National League and as a member of the national team, Magenheim has already achieved great success — both at the 2012 Paralympics in London and at the European Championships just a few weeks ago where he took home the bronze. But even on a national level, he and his team have always been — especially in recent years — in the playoffs for the German championship. With so many competitive successes, the challenge of balancing sport with his studies and future career is ever-present. One thing’s for sure though: his studies and university degree are of utmost importance.

Today he has taken the time to visit the IAA because there’s an E-Class station wagon fitted with Mercedes-Benz ex-factory driving aids. The project, launched by Daimler Business Innovation, allows customers with limited mobility the ability to order factory direct driving aids, curbing the cost of refitting their car after purchase. The driving aids are chosen based on the individual needs of each customer to ensure maximum mobility. In addition to the control and steering systems, hand control units and pedal changes, also included is a swivel seat for more comfort upon entry and exit of the vehicle. Another important consideration is that the vehicle remains usable by the whole family. You can check out the entire exhibit that was presented at the IAA here. In 2012, Magenheim entered the Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe (“German Sports Aid Foundation“) mentoring program and got in contact with Philip Wex, who is working on voice and gesture-controlled operation of vehicles at Daimler AG. Philipp became Sebastian’s mentor and introduced him to Mercedes-Benz ex-factory driving aids, which he is now the brand ambassador for. He acts as a brand ambassador for the driving aids as believes that mobility is an issue of ever-increasing importance.