Tobias has been a volunteer with the Rave The Planet team since 2022, serving as our Team and Safety Coordinator. Born and raised in the Bavarian region of Berchtesgadener Land, he started out holding the safety rope at one of the floats back in the early days. By 2023, he had already stepped up as a communicator at the parade, and in 2024, he took on his current role. When Tobias isn’t deep in planning safety strategies, he works as a dispatcher for a Berlin-based security company.

With a background in club and event gastronomy, Tobias spent 1999 to 2020 working across a range of roles in various clubs and venues — “from glass collector to boss”, as he puts it. Most of those legendary party spots are long gone now, like Kunstpark Ost, Freudenhaus, and Millenium — the latter where Tobias was managing director from 2003 to 2004.

Blown away by the vibe of the Love Parades in ’98 and 2000, and by Berlin itself, he made the move to his adopted home city in 2007. He wasted no time and threw an unofficial two-day party for a few thousand punk fans at Halle Weissensee right after arriving.

“Electronic music is unbelievably intense and feels like family.”

RTP: Hey Tobias, thanks for sitting down with us today! You’re kicking off our new interview series, where we’ll regularly spotlight people from the team. Let’s jump right in to get warmed up: what exactly are your responsibilities as Team and Safety Coordinator, and how many team members are you in charge of?

Tobias: Alright, so my job’s not just about assigning people to tasks — it’s about planning the whole team structure in a way that, at the end of the day, not only is everyone happy, but, for example, all the radios actually make it back too. The number of people in the Rave The Planet team definitely hits the triple digits. When it comes to safety, I’m responsible for training the team, but also for joining the coordination meetings with the police.

RTP: Exciting stuff! So, what does a typical day for you actually look like?

Tobias: Honestly, the typical stuff is really just checking emails and calling Verena, who handles community management, or Timm, who’s in charge of awareness. Everything else, especially when it comes to team and safety, just depends — you’ve gotta stay flexible. Some days it takes a lot of time, other days not so much.

RTP: Got it. And what about on the day of the parade itself?

Tobias: On demonstration day, my focus is 100% on the team and being present. And out on the parade route, my attention is fully on security.

RTP: Can you describe a few of the challenges you face while planning and organizing an event like this? Maybe some that keep coming up?

Tobias: For sure. The challenge isn’t just about how reliable the volunteers are — it’s also about making sure we meet all the safety regulations.

RTP: And in that context, do things ever come up that you really didn’t expect?

Tobias: So far, no. We prepare down to the smallest detail.

RTP: Let’s keep it that way! Are there any moments or experiences that really stick with you from your work, or just in general?

Tobias: When things run more or less exactly how you imagined them, and you can actually see that harmony playing out along the parade route — yeah, that can definitely be a pretty intense experience.

RTP: And beyond that?

Tobias: For me, the best part is after the parade, when it’s around 4:00 in the morning, and you crack open a bottle of Weißbier.

RTP: Let’s switch things up a bit — away from organizing and safety, and more towards the music and the scene itself. From your perspective, what makes both worth preserving and protecting?

Tobias: The scene gives young people the chance to just be who they want to be, to let loose without immediately being judged for whatever they’ve just done. Being allowed to be yourself, to switch off, to try things out and push your limits… those are all really important steps in growing up. Just those aspects alone make the scene worth protecting, no matter what genre of music we’re talking about.

RTP: And what about your own taste in music, outside of electronic stuff? Anything else you’re into?

Tobias: My taste is actually pretty broad. I listen to everything from electronic to jazz, oldies, and even folk music.

RTP: Folk music?

Tobias: Yep. When you grow up in the countryside, going to local festivals with brass bands as a kid — it definitely leaves a mark on you.

RTP: Would you say that your work in the scene has changed your life or your view on music and community in any way?

Tobias: One thing that really stands out is that a lot of people nowadays seem less into losing themselves in the music and the artists — they’re more focused on their phones.

RTP: Good thing there are still plenty of people, including us, who know how to really let go in the sound! Conscious music consumption and all that. One last question for today: how would you describe the atmosphere and spirit of Rave The Planet?

Tobias: Purely joyful! It’s Berlin the way it’s meant to be.

RTP: Thanks so much for the chat!