Splashing Panda

Up-and-coming rapper "Cro" takes a dip in the RivieraPool

Stuttgart/Botnang - It was far from being a pool party, because when the Stuttgart musician Cro held his photo shoot in the private swimming pool of ProPartner Claus Kissel at the beginning of May, it was pleasant that sweaty work and a little refreshment were in harmony. In search of an appealing and youthful location, Cro also came across the private swimming pool of the Kissel family. They are almost familiar with prominent visitors here, after the Pro7 TV channel's science program Galileo was welcomed as a guest last year with its "Jellybath" experiment.

Cro?! – That is THE newcomer of the German-language rap scene. A man with a mask, a healthy pinch of ambition and the necessary instinct to combine pop and rap music extremely successfully. With his latest album "Raop" released at the beginning of July, Cro achieved star status among his primarily young fans. His probably best-known track "Easy" has been viewed well over 25 million times on the YouTube internet platform.

Just like Cro, ProPartner Claus Kissel is also an experimental man who "likes to try things out" and "after the exciting shoot with Galileo last year" was immediately ready to make his home swimming pool available for the photo shoot in terms of fashion and music.

Because "initially I didn't know much about Cro," says ProPartner Kissel, "but my children quickly enlightened me, especially about the famous panda mask". The panda mask is THE trademark of Cro, without which he does not perform in public. Mystical and mysterious – the music in the foreground. Consequently, the atmosphere crackled, especially among the children, who were electrified by the hope of experiencing the musician up close backstage without a mask. "It fell," laughs Kissel, "I think my children are the kings at school now."

The combination of the straight-lined swimming pool and the attractive integration into the garden design transforms Claus Kissel's facility into an ideal backdrop. Thus, the photo series by Marc Schäfer ("marcschäferphotography", Esslingen), which was shot in and around the RivieraPool, made it to the front cover of the June issue of the Stuttgart city magazine "Lift".

A RivieraPool becomes a minor celebrity.