ADARSH
MANOHARAN
Long story short, let's call it kismet.
My journey starts in a middle-class household in India, which pretty much meant moving to a new city every few years. At first, I hated it. I mean, who really enjoys packing up their life and pretending to like the all the new food and people around? But as the years went by, I realized it was secretly turning me into a diversity ninja — learning to appreciate people and their wildly different ways of being.
Throughout this time, I gobbled up books and films like to fuel my growing love for words and images. That passion led me to pursue a bachelor’s in Media Communication, with dreams of becoming a filmmaker — writing and directing films that would make people feel, at least a bit.
So, I graduated and leaped straight into Bollywood. And that’s when I learned the first rule of the industry: the struggle is not just real, it’s really real. Those years were the toughest — being a nobody, trying to make things happen while earning just enough to keep my plants alive.
I was forced to change my situation (okay, maybe I conveniently pivoted) and made the leap into advertising — from feature films and documentaries to ad films.
Best decision ever!
Since then, I worked across India in various agencies and roles for nearly four years, juggling creative work and client servicing. But I wanted to do more. And be more.
At 27, I gave up my well-established life (and maybe a few sane decisions) and moved to Berlin for Miami Ad School. The next two years were my creative awakening — collaborating with people from all over the world and interning at top agencies like Anomaly in Toronto, Geometry Global in Hamburg, and Antoni in Berlin.
Now, I’m a proud senior creative at Havas in Germany, after 8 bittersweet years in the ad world. However, several countries, and one very well-traveled passport later, I’m still living my best Aüslander life in Hamburg.
