“My deepest belief is that humans work to live and they should not live to work!
Sometimes we forget that the main goal of life is finding our purpose and we must never forget to find the time for ourselves and do the things that make us happy and satisfied,” explained Raimondo Barbaro, the Venue Manager of Da Maria.
“Money is not everything! To be honest, I trust this is what I have been doing since I arrived here. I’ve worked so hard to improve myself and my lifestyle, both professionally and personally, and I have to admit that I’ve learned so much about this matter from this wonderful country.”
Who is Raimondo Barbaro?
My name is Raimondo Barbaro and I am originally from the south of Italy. My hobbies vary from music to physical training. The first one I mentioned, recently I started to learn to play the piano. As for the training, I enjoy outdoor running sessions and I am very keen to study and experiment with myself regarding the benefits of ice baths after physical exercise.
I must give merit to Indonesia. I genuinely believe that my arrival here has utterly changed me in a positive way. A fun fact is that I truly do not reckon myself drinking alcohol, especially at work. In fact, I doubt it is essential to have fun, contrary to what many people say. This country has taught me to live life to the fullest.
I am the venue manager of Da Maria which is part of Mexicola Group and my main responsibilities are overseeing the entire business operations as well as staff development including systems implementations.
How did you find yourself in Bali? Was it intentional?
My story is quite funny. To summarise, I was living in the UK and felt very unhappy because the weather was affecting my routine, so I was mostly seeking sunny countries to live in. My best friend moved here years ago and he convinced me to join him here to enjoy life for a little while. At the same time, I could try to understand whether this could be a good place for me.
A fun fact is that he had to leave Bali because he was having issues with his business partner and decided to go to work in Singapore instead. When I finally arrived here, I was all by myself – I had never been to Asia before and didn’t have much money in my pocket. However, the joy and energy to find a solution to live in a place like this pushed me to take up this challenge. I actually forgot to mention that I booked a one-way flight! This was back in November 2017 and Bali was stunning back then, so it was literally love at first sight.
You describe yourself as “music addicted and nightlife passionate”. Care to share your latest project with us?
I have always dreamt of working in the music or entertainment industry. Back in the day, I used to listen to music for almost 11 hours per day. I worked on many projects related to vinyl records production and was able to organise many events during my past experiences. 
Once I stepped on Bali, my necessities changed and I stepped out of that huge music bubble I was living in for so long, so the only project I feel I can mention at the moment is Rever Limited, a record label I founded in 2015 whose purpose was to record and release underground music on 12” vinyl using art concepts drawn by very young autistic kids. The profit would go to the school that helped us to collaborate with the kids in order to meet their necessities. I paused this project in 2017 when I arrived here as the whole industry was declining and production costs were constantly increasing.
Work is part of life. You’re currently the Venue Manager of Da Maria. Would you say what you’re doing now in Bali aligns with your true passion or desire?
Not a very long time ago I used to feel unfulfilled and then I understood I was not very happy with what I was doing. We, as humans, sometimes try to achieve more and more, plus my way of constantly pushing to achieve, as part of my DNA, was not helping.
Interestingly, just a month ago, I stumbled upon an old document of mine on my phone containing the name of brands and venues I’d noted while I was living in the UK to which I would send my CV once in Bali. I noticed that I have worked and had quite successful experience in three of the 15 venues I’d written, plus I am still working for one of them, Da Maria. By that point, I learned that sometimes we should just be grateful for what we have, and work to achieve more in the future without too much pressure, especially when the big targets are reached already.
My passions have always been the same, and working in the hospitality industry gives me the purpose and drive to achieve what I love most. I feel happy when I see people enjoying their moments and my only goal is to bring that happiness. Nowadays, most of these happy people thank me for what I do.
How did you achieve that? Was it a long journey to get where you are today?
The reason why I said that we should be more grateful for what we have is because my journey was truly long and quite hard. The moment I felt real happiness is when I look back to roughly five to six years ago and understand that I could have never imagined being where I am right now. My workplace, my home in Bali – I mean what can I ask more?! It’s exactly what I dream about all the time!
Fears, obstacles, doubts, and all of the negative emotions that come along with doing something unfamiliar or out of reach are always around. Do you have a way to cope with that?
I think fears and obstacles are something that people need to face and work on to overcome. The only way to achieve success is through pain and sacrifice – there is no shortcut. People have to understand that the only constant for success needs to be discipline and hard work. My personal way to work these out is by reading and listening to audiobooks. It helped me very much. I usually document myself with real stories in life such as Wim Hof and David Goggins. True heroes!
For anyone reading this, what advice would you give them in order to reach what they want out of life?
My only advice in order to reach their goals is to TRY! If you never try, you will never know your limits and work hard to exceed them. This was the reason that pushed me to change my whole life and focus to get what I always dreamt of. I was tired of complaining and the only solution was to do something! It is also important to remember that if you try and you fail, don’t give up! Try harder!!