Berlin is loud and multicultural.
We continue our SLEEK’s New Faces series by Fashion Assistant Catherine Edwardina. This time we catch up with the Berlin-born Benjamin Förster in a very cold industrial winter setting. Layered up in Warschauer, we find out the best spots in Berlin to eat Sushi, how it really feels to get scouted to be a model and what he will miss about the city when he moves away this summer…
SLEEK: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
BENNI: A good song, which is ‘never be like you’ by Flume at the moment
SLEEK: Current song you have on repeat?
BENNI: ‘Human’ – Rag’n’Bone Man
SLEEK: What’s your choice of music when you want to go dancing?
BENNI: I really like electro music with vocals
S: What do you feel most confident wearing?
BENNI: My favorite thing to wear is a shirt styled with a jumper.
S: How has your style changed and developed over the years?
B: I used to only wear large graphics on all my t-shirts but now I only wear plain white or black Tees.
S: The designer you’d love to model for?
B: I like the campaign from Louis Vuitton so maybe for them…
S: Favorite spot to eat food in Berlin?
B: Sushi bar – it’s a place in Prenzlauer Berg called Mikoto sushi. I don’t go there too often but on special occasions like my birthday or Christmas.
S: How would you describe Berlin to someone who has never been to?
B: Berlin is loud and multicultural.
S: How have you seen it change?
B: I am from Berlin and I have seen how areas have changed and become more expensive. Areas that people have lived five years ago are now double the rent. Berlin has become a place that is more for people who have money then students because apartments have become too expensive.
S: When you are not out and about modeling, what can we find you doing?
B: I am at the Baltic Sea with my friends and we are Kite surfing
S: How did you get into modeling?
B: I got scouted on the street.
S: And how did that feel?
B: Before I was scouted I had a private photo session with a photographer who told me I should go to an Agency with my photos but I never did it. I was too busy. So when I got scouted I was like Ok, let’s do this.
S: What do you always carry around in your Wallet?
B: I have a picture of my best friends and I keep a one dollar bill from a friend for good luck.
S: What food can you absolutely not live without?
B: Eggs – always two fried eggs in the morning
S: Drunk food?
B: Chicken burger from McDonalds or Burger King. They are the only stores open till 5am
S: Worst Habit?
B: I am a little bit messy – my clothes are everywhere and you will find lots of old coffee cups.
S: Where is the first place you take your friends in Berlin?
B: In summer I would bring them to a Beer Garden next to the Spree and in the winter to Kauf Dich Gluecklich
S: What is your favorite Bar or Club?
B: One of my favorite bars is called Morgen Rot because beer is really cheap. Only €1.80 and the bar and the people are super cool behind. When I was studying and I did not have to go to school I used to take my work there and study at the bar.
S: How would your friends describe you?
B: Free-thinker and traveller because I love to travel – Last year I travelled for three months by car. I have an old VW Bus that has a kitchen and a place to sleep inside. Every month different friends would join me and the last month was spent with my girlfriend – I drove from France and Italy.
S: Highlight of 2016?
B: Year of travel
S: What are you looking forward to this year?
B: To have an opportunity to model in a foreign country over the summer and then at the end of the summer I will begin my studies.
S: What will you miss about Berlin?
B: The possibility to do whatever you want every day. In a smaller town it is not so easy as Berlin. You can go to a club on a Thursday and stay late in a bar on a Monday.
