Ravenstein: the surname that turned into a band

If Rammstein and I had a child, it would without a doubt be named Ravenstein, after Udo Ravenstein, the grip operator in the “Dicke Titten” video — a surname my family traces mine, Rave, back to. It’s without question a good conversation starter. Twelve of my twenty-seven years have had Rammstein as the signature sound of my life.

I traveled alone at fourteen from Cali and sat through forty hours of traffic in line to make it to my first Rammstein concert, on the largest field in Colombia, in Sopó. That trip led me to discover the origin of my own surname, and to start studying German at thirteen. Years later I was photographed in Mexico City by the photographer behind my favorite band DVD, Völkerball; I trained as a pyrotechnics technician as a line of work; and I took my first international trip to Foro Sol in 2022.

Now I’m about to record my first album with RAVE, my industrial metal/ballad band, thanks in large part to those six guys and their tightly compact sonic and emotional universe. Basically half my life has been shaped by Rammstein — and being part of the official club is, for me, a way to share that passion with people who notice the same small details in every video or song.