Badnaiy – the Badass Bitch
Rap. Rapper Badnaiy is one of French-speaking Switzerland’s most promising newcomers – thanks to impressive rap skills and a confident, stylish presence, recently in the «Enter the Circle» Female Cypher. Best song: «Venus Beach». Best line: «I’d rather be a badass bitch than a good girl.» Still fairly unknown, she could become one of the country’s greats. Base: Lausanne. Star potential: ★★★
Dean Schneider – the Lion Tamer
Activism. No fear of wild animals: Dean Schneider lives with lions on a farm in South Africa and thrills millions on social media. For his love of animals he gave up his Zurich office job. Best mission: «Hakuna Mipaka» – Swahili for «no limits». Base: Dübendorf (ZH). Star potential: ★★★★
Chiara Bättig – the Kart Racer
Motorsport. In the final of the 2022 Swiss kart championship, the then twelve-year-old from Zurich clinched the title with great composure – the first female overall winner of the championship in almost 20 years. Her goal: Formula 1. Best line: «Water isn’t stone» – cold, wet weather doesn’t keep her from training. Base: Wettswil (ZH). Star potential: ★★★★
Valentin Matter – the Head Bartender
Nightlife. Valentin Matter works behind the bar of the Einstein in St. Gallen and is known for spectacular cocktails with crystal-clear ice. Trained at the European Bartender School in Berlin, he was named «Best Barkeeper Talent» at last year’s Swiss Bar Awards. Leitmotif: «The man who loves this destination». Base: St. Gallen. Star potential: ★★★★
Stéphanie Zosso – the Chef
Cuisine. Stéphanie Zosso is sous-chef at the Restaurant Glacier in Grindelwald and, at 26, already has a remarkable career behind her – stints in top-rated restaurants included. In 2022 she came second at the Golden Cook contest and won gold with the Swiss junior national team at the Culinary World Cup. Leitmotif: «The journey is the goal». Base: Grindelwald (BE). Star potential: ★★★★
Grégoire Saucy – the Favourite
Motorsport. The 23-year-old was the commanding champion of the 2021 Formula 3 European Championship – eight wins in 20 races – and is now among the favourites in the FIA Formula 3 championship. That puts him in the antechamber of Formula 1. Our forecast: he could become the next Swiss F1 driver after Sébastien Buemi. Base: Bassecourt (JU). Star potential: ★★★★
Ilira Gashi – the Petra Pan
Pop. Ilira began her career on Albanian television and made her name through a songwriting snippet on Instagram; she has already performed in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. Breakthrough song: «Fading», recorded with Alle Farben. Her strength: no fear of confrontation. If the self-styled Petra Pan keeps this up, we’ll be hearing a lot more from her. Base: Brienz (BE). Star potential: ★★★
Mathieu Queglas – the Sommelier
Wine. At 21, Mathieu Queglas walked into the legendary Hôtel de Ville in Crissier – convinced he didn’t belong there. But he worked like a man possessed and last year, at 29, was named Sommelier of the Year 2022; today he runs the restaurant of the chic Hôtel Valrose in Rougemont. Leitmotif: «Passion breeds success». Base: Rougemont (VD). Star potential: ★★★
Luna Wedler – the Rising Star
Acting. At just 24, Luna Wedler already looks back on an impressive career: she debuted in the teen drama «Amateur Teens», starred in «Blue My Mind» (Swiss Film Award for best actress) and filmed the Netflix series «Biohackers». Motto: «I love challenges». We wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood came calling soon. Base: Zurich. Star potential: ★★★★
Richard Schäli – the Finance Whizz-Kid
Money. At eleven, Richard Schäli entered a trading contest with 2.7 million participants – and won. Since then the now 16-year-old from Zug has managed other people’s assets; his portfolio runs into eight figures, earning him a place on a «Forbes» list of the most interesting people under 30. Alongside, he attends grammar school like any other pupil. His goal: «To broaden my horizons». Base: Zug. Star potential: ★★★★
Caro Knaack – the All-Rounder
Comedy. When Caro Knaack realised her life resembled a Mexican telenovela, she decided to make jokes about it. Today she is one of Switzerland’s youngest comedians, performs in four languages, founded the country’s first Spanish-language comedy club and won the SRF 3 Comedy Talent Award. She is also a slam poet and singer-songwriter. Her goal: «That the audience laughs – no matter the language.» Base: Basel. Star potential: ★★★
Gianluca Trezzini – the Ad Man
Advertising. Already as a schoolboy, Ticino native Gianluca Trezzini ran an agency matching helpers with seniors needing everyday support. At 24 he founded the advertising agency Marty/Trezzini with his partner Yves Marty, which today counts Adidas, Carl F. Bucherer and Lindt & Sprüngli among its clients and turns over seven figures a year. His recipe: «They say my drive and my passion can move mountains.» Base: Zurich. Star potential: ★★★
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/23 (June 2023).
