If good old Pirandello had been born today, he would very likely—or perhaps not—have started telling his "One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand" exactly the same way Cristian opened this conversation with us. We kind like to think that the two characters could have even met (you can also find the book on Amazon for less than 4 euros, go make the investment) and perhaps even fascinated each other.
"Inside here, there are at least five of us: the Virgo perfectionist 'know-it-all', a part-time Zen master, then Lucifer, then the one full of guilt who would rather blow himself up just to stop feeling anything), and the glue holding all these personalities together—the hopeful kid who dreams of being a rockstar. If I had to sum it up right now, though, I’d probably say 'Like a tower on fire'. I’m referring to the Tarot card, The Tower, which represents the destruction necessary to rebuild, re-evaluate, and question what was taken for granted, leading to a more authentic rebirth. Lately, I’ve been finding a lot of answers to my million questions. So, I’d tell you that I’m doing well, also because the life I often take for granted—made of a thousand trips, a great job, a roof over my head, and loving people by my side—is the exact same life that someone, somewhere else in the world, might be wishing for without even knowing me. That’s why I think it’s important to be grateful, or at least try to be, even if often with rather poor results."
The theme of gratitude is something we should all address more often. We spend three-quarters of our lives complaining, preaching, and often weighing down the lives of those close to us. We aren't saying that life is easy and always beautiful, but maybe sometimes we complain a bit too much about our problems and overthink things needlessly. So, starting today, we invite you to give thanks at least once a day (we’ll be launching a meditation podcast soon, get ready).
LIFE CHOICES
What if it’s a matter of priorities? What if it’s a lack of willingness to make sacrifices? We don’t have the answer, and unlike others, we don’t even want to have it. Because maybe the answers are multiple, and maybe we are forgetting that we too were once kids who didn’t always have a clear goal. It’s not wrong to not always have a direction, because sometimes that’s exactly how we stumble upon the best paths. Maybe we should listen more, or maybe we should just live life more.
“The new generations will save us. Doing training, I often find myself dealing with them. Even among my team, more than half are under thirty, and some have just turned twenty. That’s why I watch them closely. I believe that, just like it happened to me at their age, many don’t yet know what they want to do with their lives. And who can blame them? At twenty, there are so many dreams and infinite possibilities, especially thanks to the time you think you have at your disposal. The new generations, especially after 2020, have shown that they value their free time more and don’t want to live to work. "Better unemployed than in chains," some would say. While this is an absolutely legitimate and beautiful concept of freedom, I think other aspects need to be considered too. Work isn't always just a means to get money: for some, it is also an end, a reason for being—as the Japanese would say, "Ikigai," a blend of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for. In short, what gets you out of bed every morning. (Unless your ikigai is actually sleeping). There are activities that can ignite your passion and don't necessarily have to have an immediate financial return. At least in the beginning, you should move out of passion, not for money. Well, maybe that’s exactly what I see missing in the new generations: less passion, less intensity, less sense of belonging. Everything becomes fast and fleeting; it becomes hard to build something lasting because everything seems so fragile and superficial. And this scares me. Terribly. Because if I think about it, and look closely, the fault probably lies with the previous generations—and therefore, unfortunately for me, with mine too.”
LIVE A LITTLE MORE
Traveling doesn’t automatically make you a genius; if you’re an idiot, you stay an idiot even when traveling. This phrase isn't by Spaghetty, but we gladly steal it from Leonardo Leuci—someone who, when he speaks, leaves you standing there frozen, listening and wondering, "Why didn't I think of that first?" Cristian is one of those guys who always has a suitcase packed, someone who has made his life a journey and hasn't traded it for an Instagram post (we don't capture the most beautiful moments on camera, and here is a stat for you: only 5% of influencers on Instagram make a living from that work, and on OnlyFans it's only 2%, so no feet pics for this year).
“Traveling is a fundamental part of my job. And I’m not talking about guest shifts, masterclasses, trade shows, or Bar Shows around Europe. I’m talking about research work in Mexico.To truly know a product, you have to go to the place where it is made. (How lucky that Mezcal is made in Mexico, huh?!) If I had to find a flaw in all these trips? I’m not sure, because even though I’m aware I’ve traveled a lot, for me it’s never enough. So I’d say the real limit is time: too much time spent moving around and too little to truly experience a place.”
Pick a destination and slow down. Discover it, live it. Taking a photo in front of a monument just to say you were there might make you more popular on social media, but it won’t be enough to call yourself a traveler.
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
“In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream / At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines / ... / Tonight, tonight the highway's bright, a bicycle light on the tracks / ... There's a darkness on the edge of town.” — Bruce Springsteen
He wanted to be a rockstar, and in our opinion, he should have been one, because a character like this has a thousand facets (he's even a healer—he cured our nausea with mezcal) and maybe he should experience them all (though we’re sure he does). Behind that calm and quiet facade hide a thousand worlds, all fucking clashing with one another.
"Am I always smiling and calm? You don’t know me at all. 😂 Yes, my true talent, the most beautiful and exciting thing in the world for me, is music. In all its facets. In any case, I try to rejoice in what I have and take care of my mind: I meditate and, even when I’m not formally practicing meditation, I reflect a lot and try to listen to myself. But, like everyone, I have a pretty strong dark side. A side that needs to be fed, that sometimes needs to take over, and that really likes Mezcal. (Guess which one he is among the 5 described above). The calmness that many attribute to me is therefore, in part, an apparent calmness. Behind it, there’s a bit of experience and the awareness that life is full of messes. And that problems, as what's-his-name said, are divided into two categories: those that have a solution, so there’s no reason to worry; and those that don’t have a solution, so it’s not worth worrying about anyway."
AND NOW LET'S HAVE SOME FREAKING FUN
I’d like to ask Roberto a question (Yes, we’re talking about Artusio, and the question is from Bugiada)
"I know your thoughts on rankings and lists. However, I’d like to ask you one thing: when certain dynamics within this industry make you both angry and smile at the same time, don't you also feel a bit responsible? You and your partners were among the first to work on that international network, which then contributed to the boom in the sector and the market interests that followed. Do you ever stop to think that, at least in part, this is also a consequence of the path you helped build? And how does that make you feel?"
