“I don’t know why I am always doing these different things. It’s just what I do.”
It’s been said that Gen Y are the masters of the “side-gig”. Created partly out of necessity (many of us started our careers in the midst of the recession) and partly as a way of fulfilling our passions, if you ask around the studio you’ll find out that a number of us have an entirely different kind of “professional” life outside of our profession.
The king of the side-gig here however is Julian. In addition to being a certified paint technician and vehicle refinisher, and our master paint technician, his daily life is as characterised by what he does outside of the studio as what he does inside of it.
“Rolling out of bed and into the car is pretty much the limit of my morning routine.”
There are a lot of plusses to Julian’s position at KISKA and one certainly is not being too particular about his daily apparel. When you’re surrounded by paint all day, getting gussied up for studio life isn’t high-priority.
However, his aim is to make it to KISKA in style. In a gold 1982 Mercedes 230 CE in fact (which brings us to side-gig number one: restoring cars).
When Julian gets to work, it’s all about starting things off right with a coffee and a brief. Salzburg has a solid coffee scene and working all day in the paint room can be isolating at times, so making a ritual out of the first gourmet cup of the day while getting updated on projects is important.
For a guy who spends the majority of his day absorbed in the creative and technical details of painting motorcycle and vehicle concepts, the job offers plenty of opportunities to collaborate.
“I’ve always been interested in bartending and finally I just decided to do it and see if it was like I always imagined.”
When the day is done for many of us, Julian is just gearing up for phase two (and side-gig number two). Last year he began pursuing another ambition: making great cocktails.
Two nights a week you’ll find Julian behind the bar. Straightaway he was fully involved in bar life – creating complex cocktails that would not be out of place in Manhattan for guests from around the world. The cocktail knowledge he has had to accumulate and use is immense, but you can be sure the team appreciates his efforts! It’s not uncommon to find a few of us hanging out there on any given evening.
Oh, and if the master-level painting and mixology weren’t enough, there’s also a third side-gig. When Julian isn’t painting or slinging drinks, he and two friends operate a bike restoration shop in the city.
“For me, it’s actually not about the bikes at all. I just like making new and useful things out of something that was broken.”
Check out life at KISKA.
Our team of 250 is international and dynamic. Bursting with creativity, we like to live out our passions and seek new experiences. Whether in our studios, or KISKA’s unique surroundings. Find out how we live, work, and play.