I’m not a selfie type. I’ve spent decades in boardrooms, creating and managing companies, advising family offices, and sitting on boards of directors: serious stuff, no filters, no hashtags.
When my business coach suggested that I start an Instagram account in late 2021, I thought she was joking.
“Me? Post outfits? Cappuccino photos? Never. That’s not serious!”
She just laughed. “That’s exactly why. It’s not about being serious. It’s about doing something that brings you joy. And reconnects you with your creative side.”
Her point was clear: I had gone from being a creative mind and entrepreneur to an efficiency machine. Rational, functional, predictable – but hardly impulsive, playful, or courageous anymore.
Of course, I had reservations. What would my friends, clients, and business partners think? But I let myself be persuaded – more or less reluctantly, there had to be some reason why I was paying for this coaching. I had one condition: if I didn’t reach 3,000 followers by the end of 2022, the experiment would be over.
On December 1, 2021, I went online. Without expectations. After a few weeks, I had 1,000 followers. Then 5,000. In August, I broke the 25,000 mark. And at the end of 2022, I reached … 39,000 followers. Messages followed, encounters on the street – in Luxembourg, Paris, even in Guadalajara, Mexico. People felt drawn to my content. And there were also reactions from the business world – positive ones.
A man with style, attitude, and ideas – not despite his age, but precisely because of it – was giving something to others, a counter-image. What I often heard, and still hear, is that I am authentic. And that tells me that I am doing something right.
Sure, there was criticism. Mockery. A few supposed friends suddenly found it inappropriate to be seen with me anymore. Or talking behind my back, that I must have bought my followers. And yes, that hurt at first.
But at some point, I understood: Some people project their own discomfort onto others. They reject anything new and unknown as the work of the devil. And they see the character “Travel Renaissance Man” and confuse him with me. As if the actor were automatically the serial killer he plays.
I’m not superficial. I’m visible. And being visible takes courage.
Today, almost four years later, “Travel Renaissance Man” has become a brand. I publish travel guides, collaborate with select partners and brands, and create content that combines elegance, a hint of adventure, and attitude.
And I’m still doing what I’ve always done: leadership, strategy, consulting. Only now is there room for creativity again.
And it all started with a single “yes” and the courage to leave conventions and prejudices behind.
This article was published in the 7th edition of Forbes Luxembourg.
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