- Story and photography by Lia Crowe
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on
When I meet Magnus at Craft Beer Market in Kelowna for a chat about life, work and style, he introduces me to the most refreshing thing 鈥� a Radler 鈥� which is beer and Sprite mixed together. He says it鈥檚 a typical German drink.
Originally from F眉ssen, Germany 鈥� a mountain town he jokingly describes as 鈥渏ust a bunch of goats and cows鈥� 鈥� Magnus came to Canada, and landed in Whistler as a professional snowboarder. He fell in love with the Canadian lifestyle and has lived here ever since.
鈥淲hen I first came to Canada, I saw what you have here, all the opportunity, and I wanted it. I thought to myself, 鈥楾his place is awesome and I鈥檓 staying.鈥� I set goals for myself and I went after them. I think generally in life you should keep your eyes open for opportunity and go for it. It鈥檚 not always going to be perfect. I can鈥檛 handle whiners. If you鈥檙e not happy with something then change it yourself. You鈥檙e the only person who can do that.鈥�
Magnus鈥� company, Castello Custom, undertakes all types of millwork: commercial, residential, furniture, etc. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 made of wood then we do it.鈥�
Asked what he loves most about his work, Magnus says it鈥檚 all about customer satisfaction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that I connect with clients to really feel what they want. I meet every client and bring them to the shop because I need to see their reactions when they see certain things and when they touch certain finishesin order to realize their vision.鈥�
Outside of work, Magnus loves dirt bikes. 鈥淚 love the sound of an engine! I ride the track twice a week to decompress, and my phone stays in truck. When you鈥檙e on the track, you have to be totally in the moment. If you mess up you will hurt yourself so you have to concentrate.鈥�
He also says his personal style its pretty important to him, describing it as 鈥淓uropean, old-school-snowboard style and a little bit of rock 鈥檔 roll in there. Every person has their own style and it鈥檚 cool when people embrace that. If you feel that this is what you want to look like, I won鈥檛 judge you. I think if you judge other people鈥檚 style then you obviously don鈥檛 have your own style.鈥�
Now aged 39 with two young sons, Magnus says he has a lot to love about living in Kelowna. 鈥淧eople here are happy, especially as soon as the sun shines. I think the most important thing for me is happiness. I want to see other people happy and that is what makes me happy and motivated. It鈥檚 a cool lifestyle here. It鈥檚 a good work and fun mix. Everybody works really hard and everybody plays really hard.鈥�
CLOTHES/ GROOMING
Uniform: Lederhosen.
Favourite Denim, brand and cut: Replay.
Current go-to clothing Item: Baseball hat.
Best new purchase: .
Accessory you spend the most money on: Sunglasses.
Favourite work tool: CNC (鈥淐omputer Numerical Control 鈥� it鈥檚 a way of controlling how machine tools operate using a computer.)
Sunglasses: .
STYLE INSPIRATION / LIFE
Favourite band: Metallica.
Era of Time that inspires your style: 鈥�70s rock.
Favourite local restaurant: .
Favourite Cocktail/Wine: Dirty Martini.
FavE Print magazine: .
Album on current rotation: OK, I鈥檓 Sick by .
Favourite city to visit: .
Favourite App: Sirius/XM.
Favourite place in the whole world: .
