An interview with Franziska & Bruno Mancia
Franziska and Bruno are big fans of bicycle messenger culture and support the CMWC 2024 substantially and very generously. Valérie met them at their photo studio for an interview.
Valérie: To start with, can you please introduce yourselves?
Bruno & Franziska: We are Bruno and Franziska. We are both photographers and have a photo studio together. We are married and have been working together for 40 years.
Bruno: We started in Italy where I originally am from. We then moved to Zurich about 35 years ago. And we’ve been working and living in Zurich ever since.
Valérie: What is your connection to the cycle messenger community?
Franziska: We are happy clients and big fans.
Bruno: Yeah. In the 1980s, when we moved to Zurich, we spent a hell of a lot of time going to the lab. Bringing film rolls back and forth and delivering film to the clients. And then one day we saw some guy on the street with a backpack with “Veloblitz” written on it…
Franziska: … and the phone number…
Bruno: … and the phone number. So we immediately called them. When they showed up, we figured out that our problem was solved.
Franziska: That was our lifesaver.
Bruno: That was our lifesaver because it enabled us to really work. And the surprise was that these young fellows were great fun and they were motivated and they were happy to do what they were doing. And they were enthusiastic about their job and full of energy. We immediately became friends. We were young, they were young, and back then there were only a few of them. So we knew them all by name very quickly.
Valérie: At the time you were about the same age as the messengers?
Franziska: Right. We were young. We still feel young. We always forget that we could be their grandparents by now.
Bruno: Yeah, very few from back then are still around.
Valérie: Did you have any experience with couriers back in Italy?
Bruno: When we had a studio in Rome, we worked with a messenger service with scooters. It was called the Pony Express. We tried to use it a couple of times, but the guys were unreliable and they were completely pissed-off. They didn’t like the job they were doing. They were angry and totally unhappy. The opposite of bicycle messengers, which were just obviously enthusiastic about what they were doing.
Valérie: Okay, so your first real encounter with the bicycle messengers was here in Zurich.
Franziska: Absolutely. At the beginning of the 1990s. I remember exactly. We had a place in the old town of Zurich when I called for the first time. I was so anxious, I didn’t really know what to say. And then the messenger really showed up early in the morning, picked up the film, smiled and off he was. Such a good experience. It was a nice sunny day. I’ll always remember this sight, him coming into that courtyard.
Bruno: That was fun.
Valérie: My next question is why you like cycle messengers so much?
Franziska: The right thing to ask is why do you love cycle messengers so much! Bruno thinks it’s kind of corny.
Bruno: No, that’s what we said before, more or less. They have the same motivation and the same enthusiasm in doing what they do as we do. And they manage to turn what could be a very hard job into a lifestyle and even into a fashionable and fun thing to do. And this enthusiasm just connected us and made us feel like family right away. And they come. Come rain or shine, it doesn’t matter. They are always punctual and always happy. We have a very warm feeling about them.
Franziska: They solve every problem. There was never a “no” or “we can’t do that”. It doesn’t exist. And they’re always happy.
Bruno: Later we even managed to send things to other cities, by train [via Swissconnect]. They were and still are real problem solvers. They are part of our life, fully.
Franziska: That was like a miracle. And since they always helped us, we also tried to be good clients. So we had a refrigerator marked “Only for Veloblitz” downstairs. It was always full of drinks, all the things they liked…
Bruno: … which kind of upset the neighbors. Also, when another courier came along, they asked: “Why only Veloblitz?” Well, that’s the way it is. Sorry.
Valérie: You were already involved in the CMWC which took place in Zurich back in 1999. Can you tell us more?
Franziska: Lots of things! We had a checkpoint, of course, with FBM studio. That was fun. And then we were helping around and at some point they asked us whether anybody could stay with us. They said they still needed a place for four to six people to sleep. I said, okay, no problem. I remember that there were people from Berlin and London supposed to be coming. Two guys came early, and I think they were all wet because of the rain. And the whole studio here was filled. They unpacked everything and put everything on the floor to dry. Then it started. The days going on, they just kept coming and coming. Everybody brought somebody else. I think the most we had were 34 people sleeping here!
Bruno: The whole house was full of bicycles.
Franziska: They were sleeping everywhere. On the balcony, in every room we had. There were mattresses everywhere.
Bruno: It was quite fun.
Franziska: We ourselves moved out because there was no bed left for us. The bicycles were everywhere. On the stairs and stacked up in two piles. It was the best time ever.
Bruno: And it was so busy because of all the coming and going. The door was open. It was like having family around. Nothing was broken, nothing was missing. We felt completely safe. And we were, you know. It was beautiful. Then off they went. We exchanged addresses and telephone numbers. We then remained in contact for a certain amount of time.
Franziska: The last morning was really sad. We all had breakfast together. It was so nice staying together. Nobody wanted to leave anymore. They had to pack up when we finally were able to talk with everybody. During the races, there was not much time to talk. That was really the best time ever.
Valérie: One last question. Do you have a message to the international bicycle messengers who will come to Zurich? Or perhaps those who cannot come to Zurich? Something you want to share with them?
Franziska: Stay the way you have always been. All the cycle messengers have always stuck together and they help each other. And they’re just special people. They’re different than everybody else, I think. It’s hard to describe with words, but there’s something special about them.
Bruno: Right. Keep it up.
Pictures bellow: Impressions of the improvised housing at Franziska’s and Bruno’s photo studio during CMWC 1999.
