Helm Trophy - keep emotions of victories

Company Biography

written by our Managing Director Christian Helm

Established in 1998 as an additional business segment in my parents’ bicycle shop, Helm Trophy has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. In the beginning, the Trophies were offered in a tiny area of about two square meters and refined with engravings. However, after just a few months, the space was no longer sufficient. Several relocations followed, the first company website was launched, and even an (almost) fully automated process control system was implemented. By now, it is no longer just about selling Trophies. As a former professional cyclist, I know the emotions associated with Awards. I know that clubs put a lot of passion into organizing their events and therefore have high expectations of us, our products, and timely delivery. Based on these personal experiences, I aligned Helm Trophy to be customer-centric from an early stage. This allowed us to grow and change the Trophy industry. You can read more about our journey so far and our future goals here:

In 1998, my parents ran a small bicycle shop in Butzbach. The shop was doing well, but especially in winter, there was a lack of customers. Only a few bicycles were repaired or a handful sold. That is why my parents had always been looking for a second source of income. It was pure coincidence that a shop for promotional items and Trophies across the street closed due to the owner’s age. At first, an employee continued the business, but eventually he needed money, came across the street to my parents’ shop, and asked if we wanted to take over the business. My parents initially declined, but kept thinking about the idea for a long time. Eventually, we decided to build up the business segment ourselves. We bought a hand engraving machine, set up a small, two-meter partition in the shop, and started engraving and selling Trophies. I was involved from the very beginning and at the same time completed my training as a retail salesman. In the beginning, we also experimented. We produced cups, puzzles, mouse pads, and the like. At that time, we did not yet focus on Trophies. We knew how trading worked, but offering these products was new territory for us. In addition, we had to learn to deal with new technology. Back then, we searched for Trophies in the catalogs of major suppliers, wrote down the catalog numbers by hand, and sent our orders by fax. Overall, it was a stressful time—somehow typical for start-ups.


In November 2001, I officially took over the company. At the same time, we created our first online shop. The idea came from my father, who said: “Come on, let’s just do it!” Back then, we managed it with a modular system and quickly reached our limits. But we thought, “The main thing is to get started!” However, I quickly looked for alternatives and started programming myself. At the beginning of 2006, I ended my cycling career to focus more on my company. The goal was to grow. And I realized that customers wanted to receive their goods even faster. Nowadays, that is normal—standard, so to speak. Back then, it was something completely new; so I decided to build up a warehouse. Previously, we ordered goods from the wholesaler on demand and then engraved them accordingly. In 2006, for the first time, we offered some products “for those in a hurry.” We had some Trophies in stock and could engrave and ship them very quickly. However, we already noticed that the Trophy business was gradually displacing the bicycle shop. The 300 square meters, where countless bicycles once stood, eventually were simply no longer enough. It was my then-girlfriend and now wife Verena who finally persuaded me to move. In 2009, we relocated our site to Eiterfeld Arzell (Hesse). Our supplier at the time was also nearby, which made communication much easier. Shortly afterwards, Verena began working full-time in the company. We did not say it at the time, but it was clear to both of us that the company belonged to both of us. We complement each other. With her commercial training, she inspires me and gives suggestions. True to the motto: There is a solution for everything. I think this attitude is great. And it helps to make good decisions for the company and the employees. One such decision was to revise our website after moving to Eiterfeld Arzell. For this, we were even honored in 2011 with the Website Award of the Awards and Personalization Association (ARA). The ARA is the largest association worldwide in the Trophy industry. In 2013, further awards followed as “Best Large Retailer of the Year” and in 2014 and 2018 once again for the best website.


We have always had the vision to build something great. In 2014, we developed the idea to restructure our business once again. At that time, we were still sourcing the majority of our Trophies from a wholesaler, engraving them, and then shipping them to our customers. However, this also meant that our customers were always tied to our wholesalers and had little flexibility in their requests. So, in 2014, we registered Helm Pokale as a German brand and began building a new production facility in Friedewald, our current location. On 2,000 square meters, we can fulfill almost any customer request. And all within a single day. This is also thanks to our company secret: the coating process. We developed it in 2017 and since then have been offering Trophies not only in the standard color gold, but also in bronze, silver, or any imaginable variation. In addition, we have invested heavily in know-how and machinery. Nevertheless, a large part of the production is still done by hand.


With us, the customer is at the center. From ordering goods, through production and shipping, to handling complaints. I know from my own experience how much work and time, for example, clubs invest in organizing events. That is why it is important to me that our customers do not have to worry about the most important part of an event—the award. Helm Trophy stands for quality and reliability. I believe I have carried this philosophy with me from my time as an athlete. A particularly formative moment was the Hessen Championship in 2002. I finished in second place, stood on the podium, beaming with the medal around my neck. It was only during the award ceremony that I truly realized what I had achieved: I became Vice Hessen Champion in my age group. It was an indescribably wonderful feeling to stand on the podium, and I never wanted to step down. When we were about to leave the podium, my silver medal was taken away from me again. The reason: there was only one set of medals for all age groups. I was told I would receive my personal medal later. I had no choice and had to return the medal that had just been placed around my neck on the podium. It is hard to describe what I felt at that moment. Anger, disappointment, incomprehension, sadness. All at once. Because I had to give back the award for my achievement. And with it, all the emotions and memories of that competition. For me, it was clear at that time that something like this should never happen at any award ceremony. And I have often had to think back to this moment in our company’s history. A good example was a European Championship in Taekwondo. The organizers had ordered the last figure Trophies available in Europe at that time. Fortunately, we managed to complete the series and ship it. But due to an unfortunate mistake by the transport company, the Trophies ended up in Spain. We then pulled out all the stops to somehow get hold of the Trophies. A courier drove to Spain, picked up the Trophies, and headed straight to the European Championship. He even got stuck on the highway in a complete closure. Traffic was at a standstill, and time was running out. Only half an hour before the award ceremony did our courier arrive. Fortunately, just in time, because for us it was clear: it should never happen that the organizers at such an important championship are unable to present Awards in the end.


The Corona pandemic also presented Helm Trophy with a completely new challenge. Fortunately, we have not had to lay off any employees so far. I used the time to further my education through entrepreneur coaching. Since then, I address the employees informally, listen more closely, and take much more account of our employees’ personal issues. Verena and I have also worked on the company’s concept and further developed it. It is clear to us: We will expand Helm Trophy internationally. Even today, we already ship some packages to Australia or Canada. These are still exceptions, but we want to increasingly ship packages overseas. We notice that there is demand for our high-quality and durable Trophies, and we want to become the leading provider of Awards—for competitions and member recognition. We are aware that only Awards can truly capture the emotions of a victory or voluntary work, so that they never fade. On the one hand, recognition can be expressed with an Award. Regardless of whether it honors a victory or many years of voluntary service. A Trophy is the optimal form of recognition. When the Award is presented at a victory ceremony in front of a large audience or at an annual general meeting in front of the entire team, it creates great emotions. Above all, joy. And it is precisely these memories that are captured and, so to speak, stored with the Trophy. With other gifts, such as a towel, this works less well, as these items are used and not treated as carefully as Awards. Consequently, the memories never fade—in fact, most Trophies are displayed in a showcase or carefully kept in memory boxes. And every time they are brought out again, the memories return and the moments of victory or the event are relived. That is why the Trophy should also be of high quality and robust. It must not break. At the beginning of 2022, we fundamentally revised our website once again. Since then, the online shop has been accessible in eight languages; configuration is now even easier—whether for one or a hundred Trophies. And our customers now save valuable time in the ordering process. Looking ahead, we want to establish additional warehouses. First in Europe, later all over the world. As you can see, the now almost 25-year history of Helm Trophy is far from over.

Biography of Christian Helm

Born in Eisenach, I tried out many sports already in my early childhood. Ultimately, like my father at the time, I was drawn to cycling. For a while, I participated in national and international races, but decided to end my professional career. Instead, I focused entirely on the sale and customization of Trophies. By now, however, family is the most important thing to me. With my wife Verena and our four children, I am able to unwind. This is a lesson that became especially clear to me thanks to entrepreneurial training. If you would like to learn more about me and my life journey, you are welcome to read the full biography. 

I was born on August 12, 1982 in Eisenach (Thuringia). I have been involved in sports since my early childhood. It all started when I was about 4 years old, when I learned to swim at the water polo club. Unfortunately, I no longer remember how I came to this hobby, but I clearly enjoyed it. However, before the reunification, my parents moved to Butzbach (Hesse). Here, I looked for a new passion and found it at the German Life Saving Association (DLRG). I really threw myself into it. That has always been my way. Either I do something all the way or not at all. I then quickly completed the training to become a lifeguard and obtained the bronze and silver lifeguard badges. However, swimming never truly fulfilled me, which is why I tried other sports such as table tennis or go-karting. Through my father, Jürgen Helm, I then came to cycling. He was an amateur professional in the GDR, having participated in all major championships at home and abroad. I can still remember very well how, at the age of 7 or 8, I sat on our home trainer and pedaled away. That left a mark on me. Just like my father himself. He was never the classic role model for me, but he was always there to offer advice and support. For a while, he was also my coach. It was great to have him by my side at various championships and international races, such as Paris Roubaix. This allowed us to experience many wonderful moments together.


At the same time, I completed my apprenticeship as a retail salesman in my parents' business and graduated with top marks. In 1998, we also began to establish a new Trophy distribution in my father's bicycle shop. The idea for Helm Pokale was born. From the very beginning, it was clear to me that I wanted to build up the distribution in a big way. It was also the perfect combination to live out my sport. In addition, I trained daily, was at the gym early in the morning or went for a jog, and in the evenings I was on the home trainer. During my professional time, I trained up to six hours a day. The hard training paid off: In 2000, I became club champion of RV Sossenheim 1895 e.V. The club is still considered a breeding ground for professional sports talent today. In 2003, shortly before the start of my professional career, Heiko Salzwedel became my coach. According to media reports, he is considered the "most successful cycling coach in the world." He was an analytical thinker, took great care of his protégés, but also demanded a lot. Efficiency and team spirit were very important to him. Despite his efforts and the hard training, I did not quite make it to the very top.