A job that changed me: At 14 I was a basketball musician. If someone missed a shot, I’d drop in a ‘du-ba-dum’

A big shot earned a triumphant snare drum roll with a resolving crash. My timing was often slightly late, occasionally wildly inappropriate

M

usic came to me very early on. I’m told that as a baby I would fall asleep to opera – arias would stop me crying. By age six I was enrolled at the local conservatory of music in Athens, learning classical guitar and moving, quite seriously, through music theory and the fundamentals. By my teens, I was in a band with friends, covering everything from Avril Lavigne to Muse, aiming for precision over hours of rehearsal. My music practice was very disciplined and far removed from anything resembling “entertainment”.

Sport, on the other hand, barely registered for me.

This made me a bit of an outlier in the family. In Greece, sport – especially basketball and football AKA soccer – is everywhere. My dad and older brother were deeply invested. One of Greece’s major sport clubs, Olympiakos, is based a few blocks from our house, and their stadiums are part of the neighbourhood’s landscape and soundscape. My brother started playing basketball at a local lower division team and showed talent at a young age.