Michel Ruge was a bodyguard, best-selling author, and neighborhood kid. A conversation about the art of invitation, the emotional value of a Rolex and the reasons why his daughter will never inherit anything.
Michel Ruge is waiting on the steps of his house on a side street off the Reeperbahn. The oldest Sahlhaus in St. Pauli is said to have once been a brothel. There is now a heavy wooden table with space for guests and a children’s chair. On the wall hang photos from Ruge’s life, which mostly took place at night. Hamburg’s “Bordsteinkönig” makes fresh coffee, but it’s still too early for champagne.