Lau Geckler

Some people say that life in Scandinavian countries is less dynamic than in other countries. Well, it is dynamic, but in its own way. Scandinavian people like to have a good time, like to relax and to spend time with their families. And a lot of Scandinavian people do not like to work as much, as we work here in Moscow. They have a lot more free time, so they often have a second work and in many cases it is connected with the things they are interested in.

Russian people look more outside, think about what people think about ‘em and develop their lives based on that. And Danish people traditionally look a lot inside and sometimes get too depressed of doing that. (smiles) So I’m trying to find balance between two cultures.

Scandinavian movies are also very deep and in some cases even fucked up, as some people would say. (laughs)

Western civilization has been dominating only for about two hundred years, and before that Middle East and Asia played much greater role in the world. And I think that they are coming back now, and we will see a lot of changes soon, especially in the world of designers. So developments will always happen. People are still as creative as they were a hundred years ago, just in some other way. So I don’t think that art is going to a dead end.

Answering your cell-phone while in cinema?! That’s unheard-of! Such people should be beaten up with a big stick! (laughs) I’m myself from a country where it is unacceptable to even answer your phone while in the meeting.

I’m not a “100%”-person and I do not always look into details. It can be enough for me, if the overall picture looks fine.

Hollywood is a fucked up factory. (smiles) It limits so many people going out with different new styles and ideas, because in the end it’s all about commercialization, which I leave from. It’s good that it’s there, but it’s also good that there’re alternatives.

I’m always told by other people that I can make everything positive. Even if a big accident happens, I think: “Okay, but the good part of this is…”

I’m not religious, but one of the most impressive moments in childhood was when I met The Pope. I went to a Catholic School, and I was selected to greet him, when he arrived to Denmark. I didn’t know for the hundred percent, whom he was, but I felt that he was a very specific person with some unexplainable force surrounding him. The other impressive moments are probably related with different states of meeting girls, but we should probably spare the details…

Moscow metro makes people equal, you can meet anybody there. I like being there and feeling the beat of the city.

Enjoying your every day is the most important thing. I’ve been in very big corporations, like Hewlett Packard or Microsoft. I’ve learnt to be happy with what I’ve achieved, rather being unhappy with what I haven’t achieved. In Denmark educational system people usually take a year or two off between your university and your beginning of work, so you can go wherever you like and do whatever you choose, for example, dance naked around the fire in Goa. Travelling gives you an opportunity to study other cultures, and to my mind it’s far better than getting an MBA.

For me money is a funny thing. I was happy when I was a student with little money. I am happy now, when the situation is a bit better. (smiles) And the best investment I have done lately is my Paul Smith suit.

I believe in freedom. The only way you can achieve freedom is by securing yourself. So having savings is a good thing. It lets you do whatever you want to do.

My slogan, my motto is “Life is what happens when you’re busy planning other things”.

When I become a grandfather, I’ll tell my grandchildren to make sure to do what they feel they should do. I’ll advise them to follow their hearts rather than the expectations of other people around them. I’ll also tell them to have fun and not to always listen to their grandfather or their parents. (smiles)