100 Strangers #38: Moarigunkami

This is number 38 of 100 in my 100 Strangers photo project.

This is Moarigunkami from Wellington, NZ, Barrista at People's Coffee. No that's not his real name as you might have guessed, it's his Japanese persona. It's an amalgamation of several entities. Primarily based off the name of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami who's works he likes, and also a play off the "Maori" the native people of New Zealand. But also with the letters transposed to that of the "Moa" bird, a flightless bird native to New Zealand once believed to be extinct but possibly making a comeback? The "gun" part in the middle was a suggestion by a friend that to make it more 'fantastic' like an anime character he needed a gun or a sword, and hence put it in the name. Complex yes, but interesting conversation no doubt.

Moarigunkami hails not from the mouth of a fiery volcano but from all over the lands of New Zealand, calling Wellington his home of the past 8 years. He was headhunted to People's Coffee after working with his now boss at several coffee tastings at a local food market.

I met Moarigunkami at the same time I met Stranger#37 Henry, while picking up some ground espresso beans for a colleague. Not wanting to shoot the same background twice, I opted to use the decorative wall behind Moarigunkami instead. Oddly enough it turns out that Moarigunkami intends to enter into the same industry as I'm in, and in fact is a friend to one of my friends at work. That's the 3rd or 4th Stranger now that has known someone at my work. Crazy small world.

"What was the last thing you ate before becoming Stranger #38 Moarigunkami?" ...spanokopita (greek pastry filled with spinach and feta).

Thanks for participating Moarigunkami.

You can see the alternate portraits of Henry in my 100 Strangers Alternates set, and you can see my other strangers in my 100 Strangers set, and strangers from other participating photographers in the 100 Strangers flickr pool. Learn more about the 100 Strangers photo project here.