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Our vendors: Sascha (Asphalt, Hannover, Germany)

Interview by Svea Kohl, Asphalt

Sascha sells Asphalt in Celle am Lauensteinplatz in front of Edeka Wilhelms. Hannover is currently playing host to the Global Street Paper Summit.

Sascha, how long have you been selling Asphalt for?

For four years – my pitch in Celle is really busy. It’s good to be in contact with other people, otherwise I won’t be in touch. But I try to make it happen so that everything goes well and I’m not lonely.

Do you live alone?

No, with Jacko and Charly, my two budgies. It’s nice not to be alone. And they always chirp so beautifully! They just do not like it when I watch them billing and cooing. In most cases, I put a sheet over the cage – for their privacy. Just recently, they scolded me for not covering the cage fast enough.

Very considerate. But on another topic: You even produce podcasts, tell us more!

Indeed, I produce podcasts about movies – the series is called Hörspiele zum Film, and that’s the name of my channel on YouTube. I already have over 120 subscribers and also a homepage: www.hoerspielemitherz.de. I’ve already done podcasts about Jurassic Park, Titanic, In a Land Before Our Time, and many other films. It took years to put together Titanic – it was so time consuming.

How you do that? Are you reading the novel about the movie?

No, I repeat the movie, just free-style, including all characters, so with different voices, and I also play the sounds. Sometimes, I also do podcasts without a template and I come up with something completely new. I’m currently doing a co-production with someone I met online. We have the podcast ‘Anlage B, Jurassic Park’. This is brand new, because normally I do everything by myself.

Credit: Svea Kohl

How did you get into podcasts?

It all started when I lived in a children’s home, at the age of twelve. I got a tape recorder in my hands and noticed that you can not only play things, but also record. Then I started to repeat stories with different voices and imitate sounds.

Would you like to tell me more about your childhood and the children’s home?

Yes, but that is a dark chapter in my life. I had a lack of oxygen at birth, so I have ADHD. I was upset as a kid, hyperactive, as they call it – a real beast. It got bad at the age of nine when I ended up in a mental health facility. They treated me like an adult – and I could not get away, nowhere! First, I stayed in the open and later in the secure ward, because I had a fight with another child which included a pair of scissors. I remember exactly how I stood at the window and said, “Dear Moon, please let my parents get me out of here!” And then they actually got me – like in the movies! After that, I ended up in a children’s home. I wanted to be among other children because I had no friends at home. I liked it a lot: a farm with barns and a playground. At about that time, my parents separated, so I had to go to the orphanage and had to decide who I want to live with. I decided to stay with my father and his new partner, my worst mistake!

Why?

She did not like me. Whenever I emptied the Nutella glass, she hit me … but not only then. She also turned my audio cassettes into tape salad. My father was caught between us. He really did not protect me. My mother did not know about it at the time, otherwise she would have gotten me immediately. I would like to leave my past behind and continue to be a child in the past; that’s why I like to do my radio plays.

What happened next? Did you stay with your father?

No, I was sent to a youth facility. At that time, I started working on my Titanic podcast. The others did not think that was cool. They lambasted me. Eventually, I got out there and moved into my own apartment. Unfortunately, that did not go well: I got schizophrenic anxiety psychosis and had to go back to the hospital, and after that I was in different homes. During that time, I witnessed two fires. My friend caught a girl who had to jump out of a window. That was bad. Since 2014, I finally have my own apartment again. It’s all better now, even if there are some hard times – without a girlfriend and friends. But, without diligence or flair you cannot find a wife! I learned that from the movie Hitch.

Diligence and flair: I do not think you are lacking that Sascha! So are you looking for a wife?

Yes, and children who have a nice childhood and future! They should have it better than me.

Translated from German by Eva Schueckel