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“When something isn’t working it
becomes very obvious, so I think that

as long as we remain a bit invisible then

we are doing our job well and creating

space for the competitors and judges

to shine and for the attendees to enjoy

themselves.”

Behind the Engine, The Necessary “Invis- constantly living in the speciality coffee world bubble. In
ible” and “Visible” a professional sense we use Instagram and other social
media only as one arm of a marketing strategy. I think a
In 2018 you said you would much prefer to be behind lot of people think that the only way to promote yourself
the scenes. How do you balance the fact that you is via digital ads and building a big social media account.
will undoubtedly gain more influence by participat- I don’t believe this and depending on who you are trying
ing in the competition? to communicate to, what you have to say, what you are
I love that more and more people know of The Barista trying to build and what your core value is you may not
League - it is a really crazy thing that we can go to a even need a social media account to succeed.
place like Mexico City or Melbourne and a few hundred
people show up to an event, but it’s definitely not about You have mentioned you wanted to, “playing as much
me. Firstly, we have a team of (soon) 9 people and they music as I could”, do you ever wonder why you were
are doing the hard work to create events that people attracted to the role behind the scenes?
want to attend. Secondly I think that most event pro- I really wanted to be a “rockstar” as I liked to play
ducers are relatively invisible – you don’t often think music and be on stage, but by the time I was in my
about the booking agents or stagehands at a music fes- twenties I realized I was definitely stronger behind the
tival – you’re just there to enjoy the music. But when scenes and not writing or playing (there were too many
something isn’t working it becomes very obvious, so I amazing musicians around me for me to think I was as
think that as long as we remain a bit invisible then we good as they were). But to do the rock star stuff some-
are doing our job well and creating space for the com- one has to book the gigs, organize the payment, pack
petitors and judges to shine and for the attendees to the car, buy the merch – and I was always this person
enjoy themselves. in my group of friends – even from when we were like
15. So by the time I was looking for jobs, this felt like
In today’s age of social media, you don’t have a the natural next step of moving towards the production
public social account, how do you feel about social side of the industry instead of being on stage. I have
media as a tool? always liked doing the behind-the-scenes work, and I
I think social media can be a super powerful tool to love the idea that you create something out of nothing
connect with your people, develop a brand, find new and that it has a deadline. For the audience, they don’t
friends or market your company or products. For me, care if you are ready or if something has gone wrong “I like the pressure and creativity that you need to exert when there is a hard deadline that you can’t extend. I have so much
though, being on Instagram and scrolling became more – you just have to figure it out and find a solution. I respect for people who edit films, or record music or write books – but it’s a totally different skill in having the patience to
destructive and anxiety-inducing than a positive expe- love this pressure and the creativity it inspires and this grind thought a piece of art or work until you feel like it is ready or perfect. Live events, on the other hand, must be released
at a certain time – and it doesn’t really matter if it is perfect or not. So, when that is the reality, you have to change the way
rience. I still enjoy different social media but I prefer is what led me more and more to production manage-
of thinking towards prioritizing the big stuff, letting the small things go, being flexible, fast-moving and being able to com-
that it’s disconnected from my work life so I am not ment instead of making music.
promise. I love this way of working and how challenging it is and as a bonus it is much harder to get bored.”
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