I grew up here in Berlin with my family. Back then the city was eventually different – a bit rougher and more contradicting because of the political situation of having the city divided in two. My parents were political refugees and left Greece to go to the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) – at some point they wanted to go back to their homeland but we got stuck in the middle of Berlin.
My brother Kostas and I grew up on Wedding, which is now an emerging part of the city, but back then it was a more difficult area. We played football on the outside, we went to school, and I remember I worked at a supermarket before my classes because I wanted to buy a Versace leather jacket (I think it was yellow) that I saw in American Gigolo. The city was pulsing in a different way back then and the West was quite wild – I used to go to parties in Mitte with my brother that are now legendary.
So in addition to studying here, I also made my first steps professionally. I had my first job in Werkbunderarchiv, which later became Museum der Dinge, and I ran it for quite some years as CEO. After leaving the museum world, I opened my stores in Mitte, where both my family and I live. As you can see, my connection with Berlin is very dear and deep. The city’s dynamics are constantly changing and nothing stays the same, and this makes it interesting and exhausting at the same time.