Rope Jams of a Bygone Era

We entered the back courtyard of a century-old factory in a working-class northern Berlin neighborhood, its still unrenovated industrial ambience intact. It was soon to be sold to a New York billionaire, but in the meantime, it was home to fitness and dance studios, a music club, and creative startups. And the Lotus Loft, where only those ‘in the know’ would enter. The line to get in stretched down the stairs and out the door. Some people wore black outfits that screamed hipster or goth. Others wore nondescript sporty or business-casual outfits, having come straight from work to queue up in time to get in.