I Let’s start with how you make your living.I just do what I like and be myself on social media. That’s what pays my bills — which is ridiculous, honestly. I’m a Gastarbeiter kid from Gelsenkirchen, the poorest city in Germany, where art isn’t taken seriously. Work there is supposed to be physical. That’s whyContinue reading “Canel [ d͡ʒɐŋɛɭ ]”
Category Archives: YSBM
Chazz Cooks
“What is your fondest dream?” I asked Chazz.“To dance naked in a nudist colony, with no sense of time—only love, no judgment. That would be true happiness.” He smiled, his full lips parting to reveal straight, gleaming teeth. “Do you remember the first time you felt completely happy?”“It was the first musical I ever saw.Continue reading “Chazz Cooks”
Sasha Tischenko
I met Sasha in Berlin, where she had come to spend time alone for the first time since becoming a mother. Back on the island of Majorca, her twenty-month-old son was with his father and grandparents. She had anticipated this brief taste of freedom, but now that she was here, I wondered how it felt.Continue reading “Sasha Tischenko”
Valentina
Trigger warning – this interview discusses suicidal feelings. ‘Let’s talk about how you make your living,’ I said.‘I’m an artistic director,’ she replied.I was waiting for the continuation. She tried to tell me something but her lips seemed glued together. ‘Could you explain to me what you actually do?’‘All that (speaks indistinctly) like illustration, photos,Continue reading “Valentina”
Katya
‘Is there something that bothers you?’ I asked her.‘I worry very often and I know that it is me creating conditions for suffering,’ she answered easily. Her chin, mouth, cheeks and nose were concealed by a blue surgical mask. Her huge pale blue eyes, big forehead and long blond hair were visible. She was staringContinue reading “Katya”
Fiona Zanetti
‘Do you remember the moment when you felt and realized that this is happiness?’ I asked Fiona Zanetti, a 26-year-old star known for her DJ skills and long vivid nails, a fashion icon living by her philosophy of aesthetics and drawing inspiration from dance music.‘Oh my God I feel it all the time,’ she saidContinue reading “Fiona Zanetti”
Kira Piskernik
‘I’m a student and I’m studying biology’, she said calmly.‘Why biology?’ I asked.‘My teacher at school gave me her interest for biology,’ she said completely lacking in passion and emotion. ‘Do you like it?’‘Yes.’ Kira was my last client in Vienna before returning home. I was tired and nervous at the thought that I wouldContinue reading “Kira Piskernik”
Lea Naumann
‘I was born in Bremen and grew up in the Black Forest. Then I studied nursing, first in Freiburg before moving to Berlin and finishing my studies. For almost two years I worked on an ICU (department that provides intensive care medicine), but I quit my job this year and became a freelancer. Now IContinue reading “Lea Naumann”
Suzana Horvat
‘If you could change something in the past, what would it be?’‘There is a lot… I mean, I’m happy with who I am now, but I would be less traumatized…’ Momentarily she lost her breath and began to cry. The tears were streaming down her cheeks tumbling from her chin onto the jeans. I tookContinue reading “Suzana Horvat”
Adrien
“If you had a billion euros, how would you spend it?”He rubbed his broad forehead and said, “Actually, I have it,” then fell silent.I stared at him, unconvinced. Maybe he had not understood me. I met his eyes and asked again. It was Paris, December 2020. Adrien was a stranger, arriving at my studio forContinue reading “Adrien”
