A Belgian story.

I have a French first name and a Flemish last name.

In Belgium, Quentin’s Flemish counterpart is Quinten and I would often get misnamed, leading to Belgian surreal moments.

Between Quentin in French, Quinten in Dutch, Kwentin in English, and countless wild takes like Quente in Brazil, which means “hot”, and even Quentron in Korea : I simplified.

“Just call me Q“.

The nickname stuck. It felt approachable, unlike my full name and its assumptions of privilege that aren’t true.

By stepping away from it, I became “ungoogleable”, reclaiming both privacy and the freedom to explore sensitive topics in my work.

And, the fact that Q in French is slang for “ass” just makes it more fun.