We are officially in our teens — A letter from Antonio
Maze turns 13. António Miguel looks back at the urgency that started it all and asks: what advice would you give your 13-year-old self?
What if there isn’t work to do?
When I was thirteen, in 1999, the municipality of Sintra was building a church in Lourel, right by the abandoned parking lot where my friends and I played football for hours every day. One day, a national TV crew went on site as we were playing.
I felt a sense of urgency and jumped in front of the camera with a ball under my arm, a bunch of kids on my back, and stated unashamedly, ‘There is so much space out there; why don’t they build a church somewhere else? We love playing football here!’
Around thirteen years later, I watched a live Frank Turner gig in London with my beloved friend João. I will never forget one song: Love Ire and Song. An anthem about youthful idealism colliding with growing up. A message to not give up on ideals just because we are getting older.
The verse ‘and if only for a little while, we could insist on the impossible’ has echoed as the soundtrack to many moments in my life ever since, especially on the mornings of important days.
Thirteen years ago, Maze had its first day. No grand ideals, no strategy, no plan. On the very first day I arrived at our office, my biggest fear was ‘What if there isn’t work to do?’
I quickly realised that there is plenty of work to do, whether we are commissioned to do it or not.
Why are there people not accessing education and reskilling if there is a way to pay for it? Why are there people who work hard yet cannot make ends meet? Why, why the hell are there people sleeping on the streets if there is a way to fix it? I don’t want to accept it.
For as long as I can remember, I have felt a sense of urgency.
It is neither beautiful nor charming, quite the opposite. It locks me and makes me feel less free. It annoys me and sometimes makes me stay awake at night. It makes me question where stubbornness starts. It makes me care more than I would like to. It stresses me. A lot.
It is also one of the biggest privileges of my life: the opportunity to test-drive the limits of our dreams at Maze.
Don’t let go of your sense of urgency is the advice that I would give to my 13-year-old self.
What advice would you give yours?
You can share it here [link to lovable]. It’s a small birthday present that Mafalda lovingly built for you.
Happy birthday, Maze.
Um abraço, antonio