TIM MORIZET chose a perfectly logical target for his camera – prominent local photographer Chris Cincotta. Well known on local social media platforms, Cincotta is known as the founder of @melbourneiloveyou on Instagram, and Humans in Melbourne on Facebook.
"It just seemed natural as Chris was a down-to-earth guy, open to talk about everything," Tim said. "So were the people we met during the day. From street musicians, artists, photographers and homeless people, we all enjoyed coffee together and a few good laughs."
I meet Chris Cincotta, the creature of Melbourne I Love You and Humans In Melbourne. He's a celebrity in the CBD. Not five minutes passes with him wandering down the street when he's not greeting somebody he knows. Working as a travel guide around the world for 12 years, Chris decided to come back to Melbourne to create something new that included his passion for photography. Humans in Melbourne is followed by more than 160,000 people on Facebook and tells the story of individuals living in Melbourne, wandering the same streets we do.
Chris is Cincotta's latest interview partner. The Australian lived in Europe for most of his life and has been fighting addiction for years. After hitting rock bottom three years ago, Chris has been off all substances for two years now.
Chris is documenting his daily life and makes a living from it. He spends six to 10 hours on the street nearly every day documenting what he sees: from street musicians, homeless people, his new favourite coffee place to live streaming a helicopter flight over Melbourne. His trademark: the hat. Never without it. Except when he's going to the footy.
Chris is popular. If he's not interviewing someone for his page, he's being interviewed by national broadcasters or, in this case, for someone's podcast. "I like giving people – I'm a people pleaser." Chris doesn't say "no" to anyone. He's heard it too often in his life.
When Chris came back to Melbourne and decided to become a photographer people laughed at him. When he first introduced his page, Humans In Melbourne, and Melbourne I Love You to sponsors and advertisers – they laughed at him and said no. Five years later, Cincotti spends hours every day responding to fan messages and advertising offers. When he's not wandering the streets, you can usually find him selling his prints at a little cylinder on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets.
Chris doesn't believe that Melbourne is the world's best city to live in. He argues that the city is praising itself too much with the title and is forgetting about some people. “I want the page to be something that will make Melbourne a better place. As the page gets bigger and bigger, it has the influence to be able to do that.” With his growing success, Chris has taken on a few charity projects. One of them is a collaboration with a major wintersports outlet providing him with hundreds of skiing jackets, which he distributes to people like Johnny (right).
The cylinder is also the place where 36-year-old Chris meets up with fans or just friends to enjoy time together. He felt a missing community bond when he moved back to Melbourne five years ago. He feels like the streets of Melbourne have become more "human" in the past years. Chris's favourite spot in Melbourne: Center Place. Why? "It's a human melting pot."
Chris doesn't have much "me-time". "When people ask me what they should get me as a present, I usually say movie tickets." He spends most of his day on the road and on his phone looking after his social media accounts. The movies are pretty much the only place where he knows where he can switch off his brain. When he needs a break during the day though, Chris heads to a club's meeting room (he's part of the committee) and sits down on the most comfortable sofa I've experienced in a while and enjoys his glass of white wine.