Full Name Marek Jozef Posluszny
Hometown? Bielsko-Biała, Poland
Where do you live now? Warsaw, Poland
Age? 25
How long have you been flairing for? 7 years, I started on 2nd of August 2004.
How did you get into flair? I was working as a waiter in Rogata restaurant in my hometown, and two girls were flairing over there behind the bar... after first night I have been infected....!
Who did you look up to when you first started? I looked up to my friends in my first work.
How long have you known Tomek for? How did you meet? I have known him for 7 years. I met him during our first competition in September 2004.
Do you work anywhere outside of Flair Factory? No, only for FF
How long have you worked there? We have been working together since 2006.
What was your first experience competing in a flair comp? I made my first competition after 33 days of practicing and it was the Independent Flair League, which was the first IFL competition ever. That contest was held in my hometown Bielsko-Biala on 5th of September 2004.
How many contests have you won? No too much, 9 international and 10 national
How much time do you spend getting ready for a comp? It is dependent on the kind of competition, rank and notice of competitions in a certain period. Usually it is around 2 weeks. But sometimes it was just one or two days :-/
It seems like you put a lot of effort into your showmanship. Do you
ever worry that it will take away from your flair moves? I always try to put it together. Flair is all about entertainment the people, so I can't only focusing on the flair moves.
How did you guys do on Poland’s Got Talent? I saw it on youtube, let me say, you guys
kicked ass
Thanks, that was a good experience. Semi-final show was the most nervous routine I have ever done! We were glad after our show because we did everything what we had planned. We could do better show or more entertainment, but we didn’t know what we should present, so we put on more technical flair.
Tougher to run a comp or compete? It is always is more difficult and stressful to organize the competition than just compete. Of course competing is also stressful, especially some world championship finals, but in case of failure you can be pissed off at yourself. But when you organize a competition and if something will go wrong then you can have more problems than just being angry at yourself.
Do you plan on competing more or less this year? I hope to compete more during whole year, but I don't want to make too many comps in one month. Prefer to select some comps and prepare for them well.
What would you like to see change in comps?
I would like to see that organizers care about things which are most important for competitors, like good lighting on stage, proper practice area and after party ;-)
Why does flair seem to be booming in Europe and stale over here ...or is
it just me? You’re right. But I think it is not because of the bartenders – most of the top guys live in Vegas now, where the level is just sick. In my opinion the reason is the lack of the comps. If there isn’t too many good comps over there then guy don’t have a motivation for practicing. Lastly how long you can practice for yourself with out competing...
What would it take to get you to compete in the States?
I have competed in Vegas two times and I loved it. Really good competition, great organization, best bartenders, highest flair level in the world and friends whom I love to visit again!
Would you ever want to live in the States? Difficult question, from one side- I would like to move to States because of work and life opportunities, but on the other hand- I love my country and want to have close relationship with my family and friends.
Have you ever thought about competing in Legends? Yes, many times. Legends is the most difficult flair competition in the world. Always wanted to make it, but I have never been ready for it and used to say – “next time”. Wanted to go and be ready, but now I regret it, because there is no more Legends at the moment.
It seems to me like you and Tomek have raised the bar so much for
working flair with crazy 3 tin/ bottle moves- would you like to see
more working flair contest? We both put lot of effort for working flair and think that working is most important, but I don’t expect to see many working flair competitions, because exhibition flair is more interesting for crowd than working flair, so it’s difficult to ignore the exhibition flair.
What is your favorite combo to work on now? ie, bottle /tin, 2 bottle/ tin, 3 bottles, etc... It was and it is one bottle and tin. I always spend lot of time for it.
Who are your favorite bartenders to watch now?
I have few favorite bartenders – Tom Dyer, Dario Doimo, Sebastian Oguic, Behnam Gerami, Alex Searle, Alexander Stifanov and Tomek Malek – but can’t watch them enough ;)
What was more nerve-racking- Poland’s Got Talent, or performing for Bruce
Willis? Only me and Tomek had that opportunity. It was really extraordinary show, I will never forget it!
What was Bruce like? He seems from the pictures I saw like he was really into
the flair and a cool guy! Yep, Bruce is a cool guy. At the beginning of his career he was a bartender, so he very much enjoyed of our performance.
Bruce’s people declined my request for an interview so thank you for
your time. No problem, Bruce’s people are probably more busy than me ;)
Good luck at Roadhouse! If you had to guess the Top 8 who would you say?
(mine are you, Tomek, Danilo, Vlad, Dario, Luca, Rodrigo and Tom)
Thank you for put me on this list. Still don’t know how is coming this year for World Final but I would love to see myself in Top 8.
On a side note Tomek won
What do you like to do outside of flair?
I was a basketball player, so still love to play with my friends. In winter time I snowboard if I find time for it and I never reject the party ;)