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ATILLA ISKIFOGLU

What is your full name?

My full name is Atilla Iskifoglu

Where are you from?

I am originally from Turkey

Where do you live now and howlong have you lived there?

I have lived in the UK for 12 years

Where do you work?

I work in London in a cocktail flair 

bar called Electric House and also

Cavendish No5

How long have you been flairing for?

I have been flairing for 10 years

Who did you look up to when you

first started?

I was actually watching the flair 

OLD SCHOOL 

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bartenders from Singapore, they

were really good at the time. There

were many flair bartenders I really

enjoyed watching. Youtube didn’t

exist at the time, so we had really

limited videos.

What was your first contest, and do

you remember where you finished,

and who won?

It was a Cutty Shark flair competition

in 1999. I came 7th out of 15 people.

I remember I kept dancing in my

routine because I didn’t have more

than 8 flair tricks! Flair legend Hasan

Sivrikaya won. His style was

amazing.

The first time I saw you flair was back

in 2001 at Roadhouse. You put on

one hell of a show to the music of The

Mask. It was so awesome on many

levels. Where did you finish at that

comp?

That was my first World

Championship ever. Acting as Mask

(Jim Carrey movie), flairing and

dancing in the same time wasn’t easy

at all. But I really enjoyed that show.

I finished number two in that

competition.

Why do you think at that time you

were just about the only one at

Roadhouse to embrace 3 and 4

object flair, and to use a little

juggling?

 

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,

were hard to do. Hard moves give

me an adrenaline rush, and people

love it, and I’d rather do a hard and

risky move than a small and easy

move, honestly it’s a lot more fun and

makes me happy. When I am on thestage I want to please the crowd as

well as entertain them while I am

doing my show. In 2001, I added a

little juggling to my routine as I said,

the audience loves juggling and it

looks smooth.

Why do you think people in Londonwere so anti-juggling?

Well that’s the question I have been

asking to myself for many years. The

funny thing about it is people in the

UK love to watch juggling, that’s why

all the American bartenders have

done well in past years in the UK. But

most flair bartenders in the UK saythat juggling is a circus act, and

belongs to the circus not the bar. If 

you ask me, I am a flair bartender 

who can juggle and flair, and as long

the person is putting in some effort,

trying hard and juggling in front of 

me, I won’t judge, I’ll just enjoy the

show. It is all about the show isn’t it?

What is your favorite comp?

Legends.

Because it’s hard and needs a lot of 

concentration, it’s about being a

complete bartender. I am really

excited for 2011 because I’ll be

Photo by Lenka Pellova

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competing at Legends.

Do you pick you music first, then

build your routine around it, or do

you have a routine, then try to find

music that matches it?

Well, it’s a bit of both, I do have a

routine, but when I do find a good

song I do change the routine to go

well with the music.

How often do you practice?

I do practice 5 to 6 hours everyday.

Some days I just cant stop flairing

until I feel extremely tired.

Where do you practice?

I do have a practice room in London,

that’s where I practice most of the

times.

It seems to me like you took a break

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from competing in flair comps from

2004 to 2009, did you? And if so,

why?

 Yes, I took a break from flair 

competitions, but never from flair,

between 2004 and 2009. I wasdoing flair shows all over the world. I

thought I should give some space to

new talents for them to improve their 

flair routines. But then wherever I

performed flair people use to tell me

that it’s such a waste that I am not

competing. My ex-girlfriend always

wanted me to be back to thecompetitions. After all those years I

felt that I am actually really missing

to compete. And I am back. And I

love it!!!! It’s going to be so much

fun!

Was it hard to start competing

again?

Not at all, I have a singing

background, I kind of groove up on

stage. When I am on the stage it’s

my opportunity to show people what

I have got. I don’t even think about

the competition, all I care is... “Do I

entertain people?” If I am, then that’s

why I am there.

How do you think flair has changed

over the years?

It changed a lot, it’s a lot faster and

smooth, and a lot harder. You can

see many items in the air, different

styles, competitors are more

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pro ess ona . o n a we ave

to give something when we flair, flair 

is not only throwing things around,

it’s creating a feeling and sharing it

with everyone, just like dancing,

singing or acting.

Why do you think so many people

compete for only 3 or 4 years, and

then stop?

There can be many reasons, losing

the interest is a top reason for many

people.

Is there someone you wish wouldstart competing again? For me, it’s

Chuck Mac and Adriano.

I wish Alan Mays, Ken Hall, Christian

Delpech, Nicolas St Jones, Eric

Holbert, Angelo Viera, Francesco

Leoni and many more that I can’t fit

in here competes again, that would

be the best thing ever. I’ll just leavethe bottles and watch them.

Is there a person that you just love to

beat in a flair comp or are me and

Levi the only ones?

Where should I start? There are

many people on the list!

What is your idea of a dream comp ?

15 minutes long routine, and no

rules.

What is your favorite item combo to

throw- ie: bottle tin, two bottles and a

Photo by Lenka Pellova

 

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a un.

A specially there where 2000 people

front of me inculuding 3 juges. And

as soon as I begin my show they

where screaming, and thats where i

got relaxed

and continued my show with alot of enjoyment. Was that your first time being on

flimmed for flair?

No the first time when I was filmed

was in 2001 England Bbc1 6 a clock

news it can be viewed on you

tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeA4HVe-if8

BBC was interested because I was

representing Britain in World

Championship in Cuba. And which ewer country I went tv

stations where interested in filming

me like the tv station in Belgium Than I was on few cable channels inengland, with small interviews than in 2009 it was britain's got

talent, I was on Flair live tv in 2010 and had

an interview with World greatest flair 

bartender Christian Delpech Here are some of the video links:

,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ebrFMPMH7U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=10ViPTh49QM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=vLssh4rt Po

Atiila on Britain's Got Talent

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http://www.youtube.com/watch#!

v=9vrUz9ed5jI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=rAeuXiqBuSw 

What big plans do you have for the

coming year?

Compete in the biggest competitions,

and practice like I have never 

practiced before. I will be working oncreating a really different style. And I

will just enjoy flairing.

Are you excited to be moving to

Vegas?

I have never felt this happy in my life,

because the best flair bartenders areliving in Vegas. And there is many

flair competitions happening. And

being a part of the dream team of 

Rock & Rita’s makes me feel so

excited.

What do you think of the Rock &Rita's team... should be fun?

That’s going to be more than fun, this

will be a history, it will be written on

the books, something big is going to

happen, and I can see it. This will

make America and Las Vegas the

leader of flair bartending in the

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wor or a ong t me, an w o

my best to play my part very well in

this amazing team.

What do you do for fun outside of 

flair?

Flair, and flair, if I have some moretime then I go and flair again.

 You probably will think I am such a

boring person, and I don’t blame

you, when I had a break from flair 

for four years in my spare times I was

riding my motor bike all over the

town by the beach, I was rock

climbing, DJ-ing and singing in clubs,and I was doing anything that sounds

fun.

But now I am still doing something

fun, except all those things I did in

that 4 years of break. Now I am

flairing, and for me it will be the only

fun for a long while.=