Moussa Clarke

Export manager, Bath Ales, on Japanese cartoons, being a disco dad and Kafkaesque paperwork

What was your first-ever job? I was a club and rave DJ for nearly 20 years and still moonlight on the wrong side of the mixing desk. There seems to be a lot of synergy between the music and beer industries. I wonder why?

What’s been your worst job interview? I applied for a marketing position at an internet start-up a few years ago. Halfway through talking to the teenager who was interviewing me, it transpired that the position was actually unpaid, albeit with some rather tenuous equity provision.

What was the first music single you bought? I grew up in France and the first seven-inch I bought was the theme tune to a classic Japanese giant robot cartoon called Goldorak, which was a huge TV hit on the Continent. (Google it) It still brings a geeky tear to the eye of my inner 10-year-old self.

How do you describe your job to your mates? Beer purveyor, disco dad, digital geek. They seem to love the fact I work for a brewery and pub group.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? Great beer and delicious food - the chefs and brewers at Bath Ales and Beerd are creative wizards and I am somewhat in awe of them. But aside from keeping my stomach happy, I would say seeing a project, deal or campaign through to fruition, and visiting often fascinating new export markets.

What is the least rewarding part? Kafkaesque export paperwork, and web servers that won’t behave.

What is your motto in life? It’s all good.

What would be your dream perk? Direct-to-brain web access, but in the meantime I’ll settle for my tablet and smartphone.

Do you have any phobias? Boring, tasteless music and boring, tasteless beer.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? The state of the British economy.

What luxury would you have on a desert island? A huge 3D printer. I’m rubbish at DIY so I reckon it would come in handy.

What animal most reflects your personality? The moose. It’s all in the name.

What’s your favourite film and why? Being John Malkovich. The scene where Malkovich enters the portal into his own mind still makes me chuckle. Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman are geniuses. I also love the sci-fi classic Blade Runner, plus an honourable mention has to go to Arizona Dream, which is one of the only romantic comedies I actually like (This pleases my wife no end).

What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? Falling over in the dads’ race at my eldest daughter’s school’s sports day. She was mortified, as you can imagine. I blame the shoes.

Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? I guess I’d have to marry two of my big passions, beer and electronic music, so maybe a series of carefully crafted drinks with the best DJs in the world. Danny Tenagli-Ale. Carl Cox’s Apple Cider. And Melancholy Rage, a triple hopped IPA collaboration with progressive house legend Sasha. I can see it now - the official launch on the Space Terrace or at Ushuaia. Has that got any legs at all do you think, or am I just showing my age?

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