Just like the magazine, US-German Richard Shakocius has been in Berlin 10 years. He immediately got involved with Exberliner as a versatile and multitasking contributor: columnist, distribution manager, stage editor… and the mag’s most inveterate football fan (he coached the EXB football team).
Nadja was into the idea of me writing a football column right away. I think she thought it was a good idea to have it next to all the artsy stuff. What I thought was pretty spectacular was: I am pretty sure we were the only magazine carrying a football column and a gay column side by side. It kind of happened out of the blue. The designers came to me one day, kind of awkward, and asked if I would be okay with sharing a spread with the gay columnist. “Fuck yeah, I think that’s great!” I said. I always thought that his was the best column in the magazine, so I was pretty happy to be sharing this with him.