Andrew

Andrew

Barista Nerd, Audiophile, Mustachio

“The city gives you different perspectives on what is success. In places like the suburbs, success is having a house, a lawn, a family and money. Here, you can be a dog walker every day earning shit, but be the happiest person. It’s inspiring to see that the joy of life can have different kinds of expression. You can craft your own idea of what success is, here.”

“ If you move here, you need balance. You need to have a goal and move forward at all times. You have to remember why you came here.”

“The city can swallow people alive because everything is available. When I started at NYU, a professor told us to look at the person to our right and to our left, because most likely none of these people will be here in five years. There was a lot of truth to that.”

“When I was younger I lived a more hectic lifestyle. I wouldn’t see my friends in weeks. You start to burn out doing that. Friends are the ones who can so easily go because you’re being pulled this way or that way. It’s easy to have a million friends in New York, but it’s difficult to have one good friend. That can be heartbreaking. With New York you have to emphasize the relationships and focus on quality over quantity if you want to last.” “I left New York and lived in San Francisco for a while. I quickly I missed the energy and diversity of New York. I feel invigorated when I’m here. I like the pace here. San Francisco is diverse, in the sense that there’s a lot of different people there, but everybody is always in their car. People are not really melding. In NY you have to interact with people—and I love that.”

“If New York were a cup of coffee, it would be a sweet coffee with a bitter finish. Sometimes this city can be really beautiful and sometimes it can be a mess. You can see the most welldressed person walking down the street and further down see a homeless person taking a shit in an alley. You have designer stores next to a deli. Projects next to new developments. Not that one is better than the other, but you have so many polar opposites. You can find anything here. Some of it is very beautiful and other parts are very dark.”

Q&A

“ I think people are bitter on the outside, but when you peel back the layers, New Yorkers are sweet on the inside. Sometimes you have to have a thick skin to get by day-to-day. We may seem like assholes, but we actually care about things and people. It makes me proud to be from New York.”

What neighborhood do you live in? Ridgewood, Queens.

Best thing about living here? Space, friends and laid-back vibes.

Favorite neighborhood in NYC? Bushwick, where you can find me slinging coffee at Mixtape (coffee shop).

Favorite street to stroll? E. 7th Street. So many memories.

Why? History, nostalgia and awesome pizza!

Favorite restaurant? Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen, Ridgewood.

Favorite bar? Boobie Trap, Ridgewood.

Hidden gem? Larry Lawrence Bar, Williamsburg.

How to be(come) a New Yorker? Fall asleep on the subway and wake up in Coney Island at 5 a.m.

Your New York soundtrack? “All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem.

5 THINGS THAT TELL A STORY ABOUT ANDREW

DOG (LEFT THE PICTURE) “My best friend. He is excited to see me when I get home. He listens to all my problems. I love him. He is really cute, so I always smile when I look at him.”

COFFEE CUP “This is the way I’m making my living and I love it. I make a solid 100 cups every day”

SPEAKER “I’m always listening to music. Sometimes it motivates me; sometimes it makes me cry. It makes me feel things. It is a big part of my life.”

YOGA MAT “I have practiced yoga intensely. It has helped me think and calm down. You want to be aggressive in this city sometimes. Every day there is a trigger. Then yoga really just helps you breathe.”

KNICKS CAP “Huge fan, but they continue to let me down year after year. I feel like a proud loser when I wear this cap, but I will stay true.”