A prologue and six chapters, from the Paris suburbs to Brussels. Scroll: the tanuki moves forward, each setting carries its chapter. And here and there, secrets to find.
I grew up in the Paris suburbs, the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Stacks of manga, Wu-Tang in my headphones, whole afternoons at the library. I didn't know yet what I would do. I just knew I liked understanding how things work.
I didn't start with a career plan. I started by working. Markets, shoes, clothes, spare parts: the products changed, one thing stayed. Learning to understand people.
I started at the very bottom, washing dishes, and rose to chef de partie in a Brussels institution. At fifty degrees in front of the stoves, talent isn't enough. The kitchen taught me to work. Above all, it taught me to hold on.
There are moments when life decides to slow down for you. At twenty-five, two months in hospital. When I come out, I leave the Paris suburbs for Brussels. Not to change address: to change surroundings.
Then the world stopped. I wanted to build something else, to picture a family life without being a prisoner of odd hours. With someone close to me, I start a non-profit project. And I go from the one who uses the tools to the one who wants to understand how they work.
Sales taught me to understand people. The kitchen, to work under pressure. Fresh starts, to adapt. Code gave me the means to turn ideas into real projects.
Ability: the drive to build something.
A million questions a day. How does it work, how do you improve it, how do you do better. That's how I've always learned, and that's how I work: I take care of the web and social media so professionals can take care of their trade.
Wholehearted, passionate and sincere: when I say I'm interested in what you do, I really mean it, and looking for the solution with you is a pleasure.
No logos, no percentages. Pick a skill or a project: the threads show where I used it, and what came of it.