Our Pioneer in Hamburg, Germany: Robin Stam

Robin Stam is a freelance copywriter living in Hamburg. He studied at the Miami Ad School and worked for agencies like Saatchi New York, Duval Guillaume Brussels, Lemz Amsterdam and Jung von Matt Hamburg during which he learned from the best creative directors and made many award winning campaigns. Five years ago he traded his secure position at one of the best agencies in Germany for the adventurous life as a freelancer. This allowed him to put more time in his other creative activities, which include experimental electronic music, swing dancing, illustrating and... running a bar.

Through our Pioneers series, in collaboration with Nils Adriaans, we catch up with members of the Dutch Creative Community living abroad and ask them to send back personal ‘messages in a bottle’ about life away from the Netherlands.

Header image credits: Arend Wiersma

How did you end up in Hamburg? What drove you?

I studied at the Miami Ad School in Hamburg, after which I worked for Duval Guillaume Brussels and then for Lemz Amsterdam. One day I got an email from a headhunter of Jung von Matt Hamburg who was asking me whether I'd be interested in working for them. The prospect of working for such a great agency and going back to Hamburg was so appealing, that I didn't think twice.

What makes you feel at home?

Hamburg is raw. Hamburg is punk. Hamburg is getting a banana skin thrown on your face during an experimental music concert on a rusty ship. And liking it because this is the price you pay for the fact that there's unrestricted freedom in this city and anything is possible. This was of course before Corona, but the vibe is still there. Since last year I even co-own a bar here in Hamburg called The Kurhaus (I co-own it together with four others) which binds me even more with the neighbourhood St. Pauli and the interesting people who live here.

What stands out the most there (professionally)?

Germans are known to be hard workers and perfectionists and this cliché is true. People working in agencies here are so passionate about their job that they almost live in the agency. This is especially true for Jung von Matt, which seems to be like a microworld on its own. You get breakfast there, in the evening you can order dinner at the cost of the agency and regularly there are parties with your colleagues. Home is just for sleeping. After four years however, this life became quite exhausting. After such a time, you either go a step further and become a creative director (which in Germany means working even more and not making any work of your own anymore) or choosing the free life and exploring even more agencies and creativity. I decided to pick the last option.

What is your Random Pic(k) Of The Week? Or what, more generally, inspires you extremely as a professional?

To be honest, I'm not inspired anymore by advertising. For inspiration I started shifting from checking the latest ads on my laptop to soaking up inspiration from real life. And especially, meeting people who do other things than advertising. A director who, before his cinema premiere, talks about his latest movie; my dancing teacher Ruby Doo who made a dancing theatre piece despite difficult Corona-times; an 8-bit music artist who built his own synthesiser which looks like an enlarged Gameboy. My random pick of all time is basically: real life. There's nothing wrong with letting yourself be inspired by great advertising work online. I did that for almost 20 years. Until I realised that many mechanisms and concepts repeat themselves and then you need to expand your horizon.

What’s the most radical piece of work over there?

I can talk about a few advertising campaigns that I've made here, but I choose instead to show work that is longer lasting than just the next award season: 8 Pauli. This is a party I organised for over 5 years where 8-bit artists from all over the world are making music with retro gaming consoles. This opened doors to well-known clubs in Hamburg for me and gave me the opportunity to meet experimental music artists, nerds, hackers and other interesting and creative people.

What ‘souvenir’ would you bring home?

I am home. But when I move somewhere else, I would definitely bring my St. Pauli sweater. St. Pauli is the name of the local football club here and even though I don't like football so much, this club is truly original. They have a skull as a logo, the players enter the stadium with rock music and the fans are not the typical football fans, but punks, alternatives and other left-winged enthusiasts. St. Pauli is not just a football club, it's also the neighbourhood where I live and it's a state of mind.