IN CONVERSATION WITH FLO WÜRGLER

Interview by Samo Šajn

Flo Würgler has been at the heart of El Tony Mate for a decade, from its Swiss roots to its growing presence across Europe and the electronic music scene. With a background in nightlife, events and club culture, he brings an insider’s perspective to his role as Brand Director. Through the El Tony Culture Collective and its invite-only Selected Sessions, the brand has built a deeper connection with the scene, bringing together international headliners, local talent and their communities. Following the latest session with Seth Troxler at Amsterdam’s Skatecafe, we spoke to Flo about staying authentic, thinking bigger and the evolving relationship between brands and electronic music.

You’ve been with El Tony for around ten years. How have you seen the brand change since you joined?

A lot. When I joined, El Tony was still very small and, honestly, we were figuring out a lot of things as we went. Today, we have a much bigger team, we’re in several markets and, of course, things have become more professional.

But the spirit is still quite similar. We try things, we make mistakes, we change them and move on. And we still believe that a relatively small Swiss brand can compete with some very big players by doing things differently. I hope we keep that.

El Tony started in Switzerland and began expanding internationally in 2021. What has been the biggest challenge in taking a Swiss brand to new markets?

Not expecting things to happen too quickly. El Tony grew very organically in Switzerland. Over years, not months. People discovered us in bars, clubs, at universities and events, and through friends. You can’t just copy that into another country and expect the same result.

We’re learning a lot with every new market. What works in Switzerland doesn’t automatically work in Amsterdam or Paris. You need the right local people, some patience and, at the same time, you need to make sure El Tony still feels like El Tony.

You come from the nightlife and events world. How has that experience shaped the way you approach El Tony today?

Probably quite a lot. In nightlife, you learn very quickly if something feels real or if a brand is trying too hard. Nobody in a club at 2 a.m. cares about your marketing strategy. That’s something I still think about a lot. I’d rather create something people actually want to go to than put our logo everywhere and call it an activation.

And I’m a big believer in just trying things. Not every idea needs ten meetings before you know if it’s good.

Why was it important for El Tony to become part of electronic music culture through the Culture Collective, rather than simply sponsoring existing events?

We started the El Tony Culture Collective in 2020 because electronic music already felt like a very natural place for us. A lot of us internally are really into the culture, and El Tony had been part of that world pretty organically from the beginning. So it was never really a strategic decision like, “Now we go into electronic music.” We were already there.

At some point, we simply wanted to do more than sponsor existing events. We wanted to create our own formats, work with people we like and hopefully add something to the scene instead of only putting our logo on it.

The Selected Sessions launched in 2025. What makes a Selected Session different from a typical brand event?

The idea is to create a really intimate club experience, but not keep it limited to the people in the room. The sessions are small, curated and held in locations we find interesting, with global headlining artists we genuinely like. Then, every session is livestreamed two weeks later, so you can experience the same set from wherever you are. You might be at the actual session with 100 people or listening to it at home on a Sunday afternoon.

That mix is what I like about it. It feels small and personal in the room, but the music can travel much further than the event itself.

What do you think brands often get wrong when they try to become part of music and nightlife culture?

Trying too hard and wanting too much too quickly. People notice immediately when a brand suddenly enters a scene because it’s trendy or because someone identified a new target group.

You need to spend time in that world, work with people who actually understand it and also give them some freedom. And you don’t always need to be the loudest one in the room.

As El Tony grows internationally, how do you ensure the brand remains authentic and connected to the communities that helped shape it?

By not trying to run everything from Switzerland. There are obviously things about El Tony that shouldn’t change. But Amsterdam isn’t Zurich, Paris isn’t Vienna and Ibiza definitely isn’t Rotkreuz.

That’s why the local people are so important. They know their cities and communities much better than we do. We need to give them a clear understanding of El Tony and then also trust them to make it relevant locally. We’re still learning how to get that balance right.

After ten years with El Tony, what are you most excited to build next?

It still feels like there’s a lot ahead of us. We’ve seen in Switzerland what El Tony can become when people really make the brand part of their everyday life. Now I’m excited to see how far we can take that internationally without losing what made it work in the first place.

And I still enjoy the same part of the job most: coming up with ideas, trying new things and sometimes doing stuff where we’re not completely sure yet if it’s going to work.

The latest El Tony Selected Session was in Amsterdam with the mighty Seth Troxler, supported by Emvae & Moxes. Watch Seth Troxler HERE & Emvae & Moxes HERE

Follow @el_tony_mate & @el_tony_mate_nl to find out about future Selected Sessions…