Bötschi asks Kaya Yanar "I was convinced I was going to die when I fell down the slope"
Kaya Yanar is one of the most popular comedians in German-speaking Europe. He has lived near Zurich since 2012. A conversation about his wife, speeding and a traumatic near-death experience.
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- Kaya Yanar is a German-Turkish comedian. The 51-year-old has lived near Zurich since 2012 and is married to a Swiss woman. The couple have two sons.
- The comedian, who was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1973, became famous in 2001 through the Sat.1 comedy show "Was guckst du?
- "My wife is super humorous and regularly provides me with funny stories. And you know what, her jokes often find their way into my stage programs," says Yanar in an interview with blue News.
- The interview with Kaya Yanar took place as part of his ambassador role at Mediamarkt in the Sihlcity shopping center in Zurich.
Kaya Yanar, I'm going to ask you lots of questions over the next half hour. And please answer as briefly and quickly as possible. If you don't like a question, you can also say "go on" once.
Go on.
Do you prefer to watch TV with or without shoes?
Without - unless I'm standing in front of a TV in a Mediamarkt store, then it would be stupid without shoes.
Wow, a nice advertising slogan in the second answer. Bravo. Would you rather go to the hairdresser or the dental hygienist?
To the hairdresser.
What was the last song you listened to?
"Digital Love" by Daft Punk was playing in the car on the way to our interview .
Have you been skiing this winter?
No.
So the picture of you on the slopes that I recently discovered on Facebook is fake news?
That's right. I was already producing fake news before this kind of misinformation became world-famous thanks to Donald Trump (laughs). But you know what, the picture of me as a skier is almost 20 years old. It was once created by a graphic designer for my TV show "Was guckst du?
So you can't ski at all?
I can ski, but not well. And I've also been snowboarding. But I'm even worse at it, so my two children find it all the more fun.
About the author: Bruno Bötschi
blue News editor Bruno Bötschi regularly talks to well-known personalities from Switzerland and abroad for the question-and-answer game "Bötschi fragt". He asks them lots of questions - always direct, often funny and sometimes profound. It always remains open until the very last question as to where the fast-paced ping-pong will lead.
What else do you like about winter sports - in the snow or in a ski hut?
Preferably in front of the TV without shoes (laughs).
You've been living near Lake Zurich with your wife Janine and your two sons since 2012: have you ever tried skiing on water?
Yes - and there are pictures of it that aren't fake. I'm much better at skiing on water than on snow. This has to do with the fact that I'm less afraid of falling on the water because you don't break your bones as quickly as on the piste. And on the lake, unlike in the ski area, you don't have lots of other beginners coming towards you.
Do you like swimming in the lake?
Very much so - except in Lake Walen. The water there is still too cold for me, even in summer.
So you've never beenwinter swimming?
No. I'm a southerner. Cold is not my thing. And I also realize that the older I get, the more sensitive I am to the cold.
As a child, you regularly visited your uncle, who lived in the canton of Aargau at the time. What is your very first memory of Switzerland?
That's a very nice question. There are two childhood memories that I will never forget. I was five years old when our family took the train to Switzerland. During the journey, I looked out of the window and was amazed by the landscape, which looked like a Märklin train. Later, we once traveled with our uncle along Lake Lucerne - from Weggis via Vitznau to Gersau. The memory of this trip faded over time. But when we were filming a special episode of "Was guckst du?!" on Lake Lucerne a few years ago, I suddenly had a flashback and remembered it again.
They say that many things in Switzerland vary from canton to canton.
You mean the cantonal spirit, right?
Exactly. What are your experiences with this?
So far, I've only paid taxes in the canton of Zurich. So I don't know how things work at the offices in other cantons. Professionally, as a comedian, I've hardly noticed any differences between the individual regions. But that probably also has something to do with the fact that I don't focus on the peculiarities of individual regions in my stage shows, but rather on Swiss-wide phenomena.
When was the last time you broke the law?
Are you talking about speeding now?
For example.
They've become much less frequent. But I also had 13 years to get used to it, or rather the Swiss authorities got me used to it - sometimes with heavy fines. But I admit it: I was recently flashed again in a municipality on Lake Zurich when I was driving through a 20 km/h zone at 30 kilometers per hour.
What was the last challenge you faced?
To be honest, the challenge as a family man is growing every day - not least because my wife is currently moving away from being a mother and housewife and is doing her own thing extremely successfully. In concrete terms, this means that she is in the office more and more often and I am at home more and more often. But as the saying goes, you grow with your job.
Have you ever been scared to death?
Oh yes. In 2012, I had a really, really, really bad accident while jogging near Petersberg near Bonn. It was a traumatic experience. It was already dark when I fell and slid several hundred meters down a slope. During the slide, I was convinced that I was going to die. And do you know why? At some point I felt that my father, who had been dead for several years at the time, was very close to me. But the rest of this story would go too far ...
No, not at all. Go on with the story.
At the time, it seemed to me that my father wanted to greet me. I even say it was a near-death experience. But at some point I came to a standstill and was still alive.
Were you injured?
Yes. I had broken both arms and lost a lot of blood. Unfortunately, I didn't have a cell phone with me, so instead I wandered around in the woods for a while. It was totally crazy. At some point I came to a settlement where I barely managed to ring the house bell. The family immediately administered first aid and called an ambulance.
But you know what the craziest thing was: the accident happened on a Saturday evening. When I rang the family's bell, they were watching the TV show "Stars at Work", in which Paul Panzer and I tested the best and worst jobs as celebrities. I'm sure you can imagine how they looked when I was suddenly standing in front of the door covered in blood.
Did you later go back to the place where you fell?
Yes, I did. Wow, I still get chicken skin today when I think about it. I was really very lucky back then. If I had slid down the slope just a few centimeters further to the right, I would have fallen down a rock - and I probably wouldn't be sitting here with you today.
Why is Kaya Yanar funny?
I think there are two things that have had a decisive influence. Firstly, I notice things that other people don't notice and I don't take myself too seriously.
And secondly?
I grew up in a family where there wasn't much to laugh about. I had a depressed and violent father and a mother who loved drama. As a child, I was always trying to make my bad-tempered father laugh. I wanted him to put on a friendly face. That was my tactic to somehow cope with the tragic situation in our family. You could also say I became tragically funny.
Were you ever able to reconcile with your parents?
Things remained difficult with my father until his death. My mother is still alive, as is my brother, but things are still complicated. I think that's one of the reasons why I talk about my family so often on stage. I want to encourage other people who also grew up in a dysfunctional family and may still be suffering from it today. I want to say to all these people: Hey, it's okay. The perfect family doesn't exist anyway and we can still lead a happy life later on.
What do you say to people who claim that humor is allowed less and less these days?
Humor is still allowed to be anything, the reactions to it have simply become more and more violent in recent years. In other words, as a comedian I have to think about what reactions my stories might trigger - and whether I can cope with them or not.
You also tell stories about your wife on stage. Do you have carte blanche or does your partner sometimes play censorship authority?
Quite the opposite. My wife is super humorous and regularly provides me with funny stories. And you know what, her jokes often find their way into my stage programs. So my wife makes a considerable contribution to my programs. What's more, there's no one who can make fun of me better than my wife. She can imitate me perfectly and mirror my behavior.
What do you do to keep yourself in a good mood?
Fortunately, despite a difficult childhood, I am a cheerful person. I'm basically always in a good mood and don't have to do anything great for it. But of course there are also things in my life that I particularly like. My wife and our two children come first, my friends are very important to me - and I like being outdoors in nature.
In "Interview by Ringier" magazine in 2024, you said: "My wife told me very early on that I was very Swiss." What do you mean by that?
Wow, you're well informed. I once said to my wife that I was constantly being asked the same questions about migration in interviews. It was tiring and I often didn't know how to answer them. Do you know what my wife said in response?
No.
She said I should just answer this question in future: Sorry, I'm Swiss. And to be honest, my wife is right. I'm a person who doesn't like to interfere in my private life, who always keeps his garden tidy, takes myself back for the sake of peace and for a long time even collected the Coop and Migros supermarkets ...
... Jeez, that really is very Swiss ...
And then my wife said: sometimes I'm a total bum. But she meant it in a positive way.
Sounds like a declaration of love.
And what I also really like about Switzerland: the order, the serenity, the friendliness and the calm. Because what could be better for me as a celebrity than to be left in peace when I'm out and about in the city with my family?
What Swiss quirk will you never understand?
I've tried playing Jass twice, but I don't have any feeling for it. We've already discussed skiing ...
When you talk about something at home, do you sometimes notice how you automatically go into a comedy routine?
I don't notice that anymore.
So your children never say: Dad, stop it, you're not on stage.
No, they never say that - but my older son, he's five years old, sometimes looks at me and says: "Daddy, that's not funny.
Can you tell me how you and your wife split the housework?
Umm ... I'm taking on more and more, much to my chagrin. But I have to say, my wife does it extremely skillfully and always in stages. She recently asked me: 'Can you please get the kids' snack boxes ready quickly? Since then, I've done it every day.
But taking on more household chores doesn't mean you'll do them to everyone's satisfaction?
Well, I'm good at tidying and cleaning, I can clean the kitchen and load and unload the dishwasher and I can do the laundry too. In short: I rock the household. But I often only notice this in the evening when I realize that instead of watching a movie, I just brush my teeth and then go straight to bed because I'm so tired.
Who is responsible for the household appliances or other gadgets in your home?
The technicians. My wife and I have absolutely no talent in these areas, which incidentally means that something always breaks or doesn't work properly (laughs).
How did your view of life change when you became a father?
My priorities have completely changed since then. Before that, I was in a happy partnership and later a marriage with my wife. Since the children arrived, we've been living in a shared flat (laughs). Today, my life is focused on our children. I would say that takes up 90 percent of my time and thoughts. I also have nine percent left for my wife and one percent for myself.
Is that enough?
Sure, it grinds from time to time, but as crazy as it may sound, I'm happier and more creative today than I used to be and I'm also quicker at writing. I know that other comedians find it more difficult to write new stage programs after becoming a father. I admit that I couldn't imagine that it would be easier for me afterwards. But don't worry, I don't want to romanticize the situation too much. Because, of course, being a father is sometimes damn exhausting - both physically and mentally.
People often look for a humorous man in personal ads, but rarely a humorous woman. Your explanation for this?
As I said, my wife is totally humorous. Humor is extremely important to me in a relationship. Humorous people are more attractive and also more intelligent. But it's also a fact that in the past, women often didn't have much to laugh about in the roles they were given. Fortunately, this has been changing for the better for some time now. I am also firmly convinced that this will also change the image of women in society. In other words, attributes such as beauty will fade into the background.
Would you like to be in a relationship with yourself?
No.
What's your problem?
I need a calming influence in a partnership - and that's definitely my wife. It works a bit like with some comedy duos: one is the calmer part, the other is the crazier. The American comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a classic in this respect.
What is your favorite character trait?
Humor.
Did your appearance help or hinder your stage career?
It helped - especially because of my versatility. At the beginning of my career as a comedian, there were TV viewers who didn't realize that all the characters in my show "Was guckst du? Many thought that Hakan and Ranjid were played by two different actors. This also had to do with the fact that the two characters could sometimes be seen in the picture at the same time. A technique that was not yet so widespread at the time.
You often wear a hat.
Yes, you know, not so much grows up there anymore (Kaya Yanar laughs, lifts his hat and points to his slightly thinning hair). By the way, Michael Mittermeier, who I've always been a big fan of, is to blame for my hat. I even claim that he has Americanized the German comedy scene with his mixture of comedy and stand-up. Before that, there was a lot of silliness and cabaret. Michael's trademark was initially a blue shirt, black trousers and an upside-down baseball cap. So I thought: I need trademarks too - and so I became a cap and hat wearer. I still had hair back then, though, and it's only diminished over the years.
A trip to Istanbul could help you with your missing hair.
What do you mean?
Turkey is the Mecca for hair transplants.
(Laughs) You wouldn't believe how many offers I've already received.
But you're not going?
My wife always laughs when I try to talk to her about it. I've already told her: Honey, if my thinning hair bothers you, I'll go to Istanbul straight away. But unfortunately it didn't bother her any more than it bothered me, so there was no reason to go on a trip to Turkey until now. Because to get a hair transplant there, I would need my wife as an excuse.
Why is that?
I could then say in public: I was happy with the little hair I had, but my wife said there was no more sex without hair (laughs).
Back to your hat again: hats shade the face unattractively on stage when the light comes from above.
That's absolutely right. But it's only a problem if you don't have a good lighting technician.
Torsten Sträter told me: "That's why I usually look like The Undertaker on stage when I'm wearing a hat. I'm just saying: not good."
You know what, many of the hats I wear were recommended to me by Torsten Stärter. Not only is he one of the best storytellers in Germany, but as a trained men's tailor he also knows a lot about fashion. But between you and me: I think Torsten would look even better on stage if he wore a hat instead of his beanie hat.
Where is Switzerland at its most beautiful?
As I said, I really like nature. I like cities less and less - maybe because I grew up in one and often work there.
I'm a little disappointed with your answer.
Why is that?
I was expecting you to mention at least one name of a beautiful peak in Switzerland.
Okay, my local mountain is the Rigi.
Your first name Kaya translates to "rock" in German.
That's right.
So there must be more to come.
I could tell you which Swiss peaks I've already been to. I've been to Mount Pilatus near Lucerne, I've been to the Rothorn and I've looked at Lenzerheide ...
... have you ever been up a real mountain, such as the Matterhorn?
That would be much more than just a walk. Do you do that?
No, I suffer from a fear of heights. But I thought that because your name is Fels, it would fit well ...
... my name is just Rock and not Matterhorn (laughs). But you're right, I usually feel more comfortable in the mountains than on the beach, even though I'm a southerner. By the way, I've also been to a few peaks in New Zealand and Canada.
You have Turkish roots, grew up in Germany and now live in Switzerland. What does home mean to you?
I had a problem with the term "home" for a long time because my parents always made me feel that Germany was not our home because they had migrated from Turkey. For a long time, home for me was characterized by memories - where did I kiss a girl for the first time, where did I get into a fight for the first time. It all happened in the Frankfurt am Main region. As I got older, my sense of home changed more and more. Today I say that my home is where my wife and children live. And if they were to say tomorrow that we absolutely want to go to South Africa, I would travel with them and take my home with me. Home is not just about geography, but also about psychology.
You wanted to apply for a Swiss passport. Did that work out?
The application worked out, but I'm not there yet. However, I've already been invited to an interview by the municipality and then received a positive response. Now it's up to the canton. So it could still take a while.
Would you like to end on a brilliant note?
I feel at home in Switzerland and hope that the country will remain stable in the coming years. I have trouble with the extreme right-wing tendencies in some Western countries and the increasing warmongering worries me greatly.
The interview with Kaya Yanar took place as part of his ambassador role at Mediamarkt in the Sihlcity shopping center in Zurich.
