They started their project in 2018 – now Olli Schulz is continuing alone.
Six years ago, Fynn Kliemann and Olli Schulz teamed up to buy and renovate the former houseboat of Gunter Gabriel, who died in 2017. This project has now been successfully completed and the resulting music boat is ready for use, but things are still not looking exactly rosy for the two singers’ company. Now Olli Schulz has announced that Fynn Kliemann will be leaving the matter.
What exactly happened?
When the singer and composer Gunter Gabriel died at the age of 75, he left behind his houseboat in which he had spent the last 20 years of his life. After his death, daughter Yvonne Koch asked to buy it. Schulz and Kliemann came together and purchased it, hoping to restore it to its former glory with a few simple maintenance tasks. They also documented their entire project – from the purchase of the original water home to the final outcome – in the Netflix documentary “The Houseboat”.
Trailer for the documentary “The Houseboat”:
High costs, Corona and Kliemann’s scandal with “Global Tactics”
Their plan only partially worked because the project turned out to be significantly more difficult and, above all, more expensive than previously thought. Nevertheless, both had the goal in mind – to create a “retreat for creative people”, including a recording studio and overnight accommodation. Although it no longer looked like it, they actually completed the “music boat” and found a place to park it in the Rothenburgsort district of Hamburg. It could have been so nice, but unfortunately the hoped-for success has not yet been achieved. After completion, the pandemic thwarted their plans, then the Fynn Kliemann mask scandal.
At the beginning of May 2022, the influencer and his textile company “Global Tactics” came under fire. In an issue of Jan Böhmermann’s “ZDF Magazine Royale” He revealed some of the background to the company’s mask production. In summary, he raised the question of whether the country of production of the masks was intentionally concealed in a business deal with a wholesaler in 2020 – they came from Asia instead of from Europe as stated. The public prosecutor’s office investigated the case and closed the proceedings in 2023, and Fynn Kliemann had to donate a fine of 20,000 euros to a charitable institution.
Olli Schulz between the chairs
It was a difficult situation for Olli Schulz back then, as he was in business and friendly contact with both Kliemann and Jan Böhmermann. He has been recording the joint podcast “Fest & Fluschig” with the latter for several years. In an interview with the “TimeSchulz now gives some insights into his dilemma at the time, his thoughts on the conflict and why his houseboat partner is leaving the project.
He himself knew about Böhmermann’s publication a week before the scandal. “Jan called me a week before the show and said that something was coming,” explains the 50-year-old and continues: “I then warned Fynn. I don’t think either of them looked good doing it. I don’t believe in trashing people, even if it’s justified.”
What’s next?
Many people knew that he was closely connected to both of them and were waiting for a statement. Schulz then reported on Instagram with the words: “Do you actually know what Jan Böhmermann and Fynn Kliemann have in common? “I’ve seen both of them cry in their kitchen.” He also saw what weeks of public pressure can do to people.” “It’s bad and I really don’t wish this on anyone,” he ends his statement.
Time doesn’t seem to heal all wounds either, Kliemann’s reputation doesn’t really recover from the revelation, so Schulz and her “music boat” ultimately suffer as well. The Hamburger explains that “bookings have collapsed since the Fynn mask scandal” and that the former “Kliemannsland” operator will be leaving. Neither of them knows whether this is the solution to the problem. Olli Schulz is also not entirely sure how things will continue. All he knows is: “My heart would bleed if I had to sell it. I’ve always dreamed of a houseboat and enjoy spending time there.”