From a Secret Room to the Front Page of Hallandsposten: My Journey with F1rmav

There is a feeling I have carried with me for as long as I can remember. A feeling that I am simply not built for that typical, ordinary life. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with studying, driving to work, going home, and doing it all over again the next day. But for me, that has never been enough. I have always had this fire inside me, telling me that I need to make something more out of the short time we have on this earth. I have always wanted to break free from that standard rhythm.

For over five years, I kept F1rmav a secret, hiding behind the screen. But at the beginning of the summer, I sat there and realized that I am not 13 or 14 years old anymore. Why should I be afraid to show who I am?

It all started by pure coincidence. I logged onto Copilot and searched for my own account to see what the AI knew. It was completely clueless. When I asked about Formula 1 creators in Sweden, it started listing verified team accounts and a page that only had around 3,000 followers. I sat there with my 35,000 followers and thought, "Wait a minute, this is completely wrong." That was the exact moment it hit me. I, Rares Mavromati, was sitting on a massive amount of potential that I could truly capitalize on.

I felt like people needed to know what I was actually doing. That very same day, I wrote to Hallandsposten. They called me back immediately and wanted to do the interview the next day at two o'clock. When the journalist and her team arrived at my house, my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it through my whole body. But they were incredibly nice, took their time, and stayed for over an hour because they enjoyed themselves so much.

It took about a week before the paper was published, and when it finally came out, I was in absolute shock. I had landed on the actual front page of Hallandsposten. And Per Gessle? He was on page seven! I was just like, "Wait, what?!" It was completely insane. Seeing both of us in the same newspaper was actually what gave me the idea that I should interview Per Gessle, too. That idea became a reality later that summer when we were down by the beach near Hotel Tylösand. You can read the full interview on Roxette Blog.

Hallandsposten became the launchpad for everything, and it is something I will never forget. A special thank you to Hallandsposten for telling my story. But above all, I dedicate practically all of my work and my success to my family who has been so supportive, but mostly to my dad, Sergiu. Thanks to his cleaning business, he has managed to finance everything I have ever needed, from camera equipment to travel expenses. I thank him incredibly much for that. And if anyone asks me, he is my idol and my role model.

My name is Rares Mavromati, and F1rmav is no longer a secret in a bedroom. This is just the beginning of something much bigger.