Annemarie Barnes – President and co-founder (Kevin & Joey’s mom)
In the spring of 2021, when we were just coming out of the Covid lockdown, I was ready to resume my ‘normal’ life as a semi-retired high school English teacher. Life was looking pretty good.
But there’s an old Yiddish proverb: “Man plans and God laughs”. On June 26, 2021 my younger son Joey was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 40, and just like that, our lives changed forever!
Losing a child goes against the natural order of the universe. Joey fought his cancer with such great courage that we couldn’t let him down. As soon as our terrible grief allowed us to function again, we founded the Having a Ball Association in his memory. We’re quite sure he would be proud.
Kevin Barnes – Co-founder (Joey’s brother)
I’m in hospitality – the director of tibits, Lausanne. Growing up, Joey and I were always close, and as his elder brother I looked out for him as much as possible, be it on holidays abroad, ski trips or simply on our way home from school. As adults, we saw less of each other, living as we did in different cities, each with our own full lives. But we’d make up for it whenever we were together, talking throughout the night about our favorite movies, TV series, books, or life in general. We had our differences, like most siblings do, but he was my little brother. That says it all!
After he was diagnosed, I tried to always be there for him, not realising what little time we had left. I’ll be grateful forever for having been by his side during the last months of his life. I hope I helped to make him less afraid of what he knew was coming. I promise to do what I can to spread awareness of the terrible cancer that took his life.
Andreas Enehaug – Spokesperson, ideas man, contributor and original baller
I’m a Norwegian filmmaker and the original co-founder/co-host of the “Having A Ball” -podcast, where we famously documented Joey’s courageous battle with cancer.
Ever since we first met at the Met Film School in London in 2007, I’ve thought of Joey as my “brother from another mother”. Therefore it was obviously both an honour and a privilege to help him through his painful journey in any way I could.
Near the end of his life, I promised my dear friend that I’d do whatever I could to turn “Having A Ball” into a global cancer awareness phenomenon – and I intend to keep my word. As the remaining original “baller”, I’m immensely proud to be a part of the Association.
Nils Rettby – Spokesperson, ideas man, contributor and motivator
I’ve been a friend of Joey’s for over 30 years and work in oncology drug development, I bring to the Association a network and plenty of energy to help keep the ball rolling.
Catherine Aeschlimann – Webmaster & secretary
I met Annemarie at the Lycée Jean-Piaget in 2005, and since then we’ve been sharing our hikes in the Alps, the Himalayas and the Jura. During these mountain trips, we share our joys and sorrows, and since the news of Joey’s cancer, our contacts have become more important and intense. It was in the name of friendship that I agreed to join the committee to create the website.
I live and work in Les Hauts-Geneveys. Between drawing, setting up artifacts and observing urban nature, I exhibit mostly outside the canton of Neuchâtel. I’m particularly fond of tea, Alphorn, snow and telemark skiing.
Lucio Romerio – Contributor
In 2023, on my 29th birthday, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. What frustrated me most was that no one had ever told me to check my balls regularly. It was even more disheartening to learn that several people in my entourage had faced testicular cancer themselves but had never spoken about it. The lack of awareness and prevention campaigns fueled my anger. The only resource I found online was a podcast by a guy from Neuchâtel called Joey, who seemed to share my frustrations and was doing his best to make a difference.
After five long months of treatment, including three cycles of chemotherapy and two surgeries, I was finally in remission. It was during this time that I discovered Joey’s family had founded an Association. Inspired by my own experience, I knew I wanted to contribute to spreading awareness about testicular cancer, so joining Having a Ball felt like a natural next step.
When I’m not busy working as an ethical hacker, you can find me immersed in a good book or exploring the world on my bike—sometimes even both at once!
Nicolas Meyer – Media relations
Joey and I knew each other without actually knowing each other. We were familiar with each other’s work from a distance, and admired each other’s creativity. In 2021, I discovered that Joey and his friend Andreas had launched a podcast series called “Having a Ball”. Interestingly, I had started my own audio project, the webradio Radio Rocher, only a year earlier. I felt that their deep and honest conversations would be a perfect fit for it, and they immediately agreed to let me re-broadcast each episode.
I’ve gained a lot from listening to this podcast. But sadly, too many people are still uninformed about testicular cancer. The prevention work initiated by Joey, Andreas and the Having a Ball association deserves to be heard and relayed, and I’m honored to be able to contribute to their cause!