Thirty years in the trenches with the public leave deep marks and strip away every filter. Alex Frezza hides nothing: not his corporate ties, nor his burnout. Born in London, forged by Naples, with Polish blood in his veins. This is his truth, raw and naked.
ALCOHOL, SEX, AND GEN Z
There’s a lot of talk today about Gen Z cutting back on alcohol. Alex doesn’t try to play the “young” card: “I’m nearly 50 with a white beard; I’m probably the least qualified person to talk about this, given my manifest inability to understand Gen Z.” But his analysis hits like a bullet: “Alcohol consumption between 18 and 25 is directly proportional to the ease of finding a sexual partner. In other words, alcohol doesn’t become a major consumption factor until 25 or 28, when people have a bit more disposable income and a more stable social life. Trying to sell drinks to 18-year-olds today is pointless. At 18, nobody drinks for the pleasure of it. We used to drink to socialize and position ourselves; today, you do that with an app.”
PLAYING WITH GIANTS
While many claim a facade of “purity,” Frezza is blunt about how to sit at the table with industry giants without being swallowed whole. “There is no Mr. C or Mr. M&R; there are just salaried employees working for other salaried employees. Today they work for a beverage brand; tomorrow they might be in childcare or confectionery. We, however, will always be at the bar.” For him, it’s pure pragmatism: “The brand will always be in charge; we can only accept or decline the work. Learning to mediate, present an idea, and translate from ‘bar-speak’ to corporate-speak is a vital skill.”
TWO WORLDS COLLIDING
London and Naples. But don’t go looking for the “Englishman” in him. “The only English thing about me is my South London accent. My grandparents were Polish refugees from WWII; culturally, I’m perhaps more Eastern European than Anglo-Saxon. I have much more of Naples in me. Thirty years of dealing with people leave deep scars and teach you not to mince your words.”
FORMING THE HUMAN FIRST
In an age of information overload, Frezza bets on substance: “You need to form yourself as a human being first, not as a professional. The profession comes later. Surround yourself with people better than you, read everything—especially outside your field. Travel uncomfortably, to the very edge of the possible, to see different ways of living. Only then will you have the capacity to analyze your own life. Today I see so many people talking about bars, only to find their only experience was a seasonal gig in August…”
THE COUNTER VS. THE SMARTPHONE
On the obsession with “appearing,” Alex is categorical: “Repeat after me: ‘a bartender does not exist without a bar to work in.’ A bartender who thinks social media is his bar is everything but a bartender. The ‘bar-posers’ playing the social media roulette hoping for a payout are just egomaniacs who have nothing to do with the bar. I play with social media; it’s a tool to gauge where public attention is shifting. It helps create better atmospheres and specific consumption moments.”
