Bravo Media House launches a new kind of human-first networking experience in Carabanchel, the “new Brooklyn” of Madrid

Bravo Events are hosted and sponsored by Bravo Media House at Tönnheim Gallery in Carabanchel Madrid. It is going to be an unskippable series of events and the first Bravo Event will take place on the 3rd of December with the purpose of reuniting creatives, experts, investors, students and entrepreneurs. 

Building up for this event, in which Bravo Media House will officially present its digital publications (FintechScoop, Enterprises&More and EmprenderyMás), we have interviewed the two people leading the effort to situate Carabanchel as the place to be not only for cultural activities, but also for people wishing to stay updated and participate in the tendencies shaping the new economy right now.

These are Mattias Tönnheim, owner of Tönnheim Gallery and Co-Founder and Publisher of Bravo Media House, and Oriana Sgalla, copywriter and event strategist for the first event under the Bravo Event brand. This is what they had to say about the unmissable date in the buoyant Madrid neighborhood.

Mattias, you currently run Bravo Media House and other companies as well. Why did you decide to enter the events sector with Bravo Events?

MT: All I do business wise is basically about communication, and in a digital era, where everything is getting more and more fragmented, and we are getting disconnected from each other, I think it’s important that we meet, as the kids say, IRL (in real life). Also I’m a social person, and I think most people are social beings, even though some are more extroverted and some are more introverted. I think we have this need to connect.

And one other reason it’s a business reason. I think this is a good way to market our new office here in Madrid. Bravo Media House is not really new, but we have done a big relaunch and improved everything when we moved the company to Madrid. And this series of events is a good way for us to make us more visible, even though we’re a global product we do think and act local too.

Mattias, you have already hosted different events in the context of Tönnheim Gallery. What will you translate from this experience to the new events you are preparing with and for Bravo Media House?

MT: Tönnheim Gallery is a business I’ve been running for a long time. I used to have an event agency ages ago, and I also used to run nightclubs in my youth for a couple of years, so I’m used to connecting people and producing events. I like it because I’m a person who’s social, and I also think it’s a fun way to do marketing and make business.

At a gallery, when you show art, which is a very physical space and  “a real experience”, and that’s regardless if it’s paintings, sculptures, photos or installations. It’s very natural for people to come and see it and experience in person. Art is easy in that way because it’s physical, it’s very natural, you know. Therefore a gallery for me is a natural place and space to connect people. But for online publications and platforms it’s a bit more difficult but you can access them from everywhere as long as you have internet access. The gallery, you can only access here at Calle Alejandro Sanchez 94 in Madrid. But our news sites you can access all over the world as long as you are online.

So… Bravo Media events is for people who want to meet new people and to find new clients, contacts, insights and expand their horizons. The gallery is of course focused on art, and a visit to a gallery is often more about an internal than an external experience.

Oriana, you come from copywriting. Why are you interested in exploring the role of event strategist?

OG: I’m mostly interested in exploring new ways of doing networking events in general. As a freelance copywriter and content strategist, I’ve been to plenty of networking events hoping to meet potential clients. And honestly, they often felt forced and a bit awkward. Funny enough, the clients I actually ended up working with were people I met in completely casual environments, when I wasn’t even trying.

That’s why I wanted to create a networking event that recreates that feeling — something more easygoing and relaxed, where people can have a drink, talk about art, and connect through real conversations.

When I first came to this gallery, I immediately felt it was the perfect place to host something like that. I also feel really strongly about this neighbourhood. I think Carabanchel is becoming the new Brooklyn: a place that used to be very working-class but is now slowly transforming thanks to all the interesting projects happening here. I wanted to be part of that wave and create a space where freelancers, business owners, artists, startup founders, and investors can meet and create new opportunities together.

Oriana Sgalla at Tönnheim Gallery, Madrid.

How are you preparing for the first event of Bravo Events? What would you like to see in this event that you didn’t get to see in other networking meetings?

OG: I definitely want people to have fun and feel like they’re not in the spotlight, like they don’t have to perform or sell themselves. I think one of the problems we’re facing with mental health today is that everything feels so transactional.

Just like on Instagram or Tinder, we’re constantly marketing ourselves as products, and that takes away a bit of our humanity. But when you can talk to people in a real, meaningful way, without the pressure to present yourself perfectly or pitch something, you open up new ways of connecting. It stops being only about finding a client and becomes a space to explore, learn, and just be human.

So if someone tells me, “I met the love of my life at one of these events,” or “I made great friends,” or “I found an amazing opportunity,” I would consider that a success. Because the whole idea behind this type of networking is that many different things can come from it, not just clients or professional leads.

The motto of this event is “Disconnect to Connect”. What do you mean by that and what message do you want to share with the guests?

OG: Mattias came up with the slogan, so that’s his credit. I think it’s very smart and it captures the essence of what we’re trying to do. Which is, we want people to rediscover the beauty of connecting in real life, and the power of connecting in real life.

Nowadays, so many people are posting on LinkedIn and they are realizing that they are sending so many CVs and nobody is replying to them, and sometimes just having a nice conversation with someone who is working in a company can get you a foot in.

Now that everything is so digital and we have so much artificial intelligence everywhere, we forget the power that human connections have, and that we are social beings, and that basically we come, and all of the greatest things human beings have created, they come from a place of groupality, of doing things together, and not individually.

And sometimes, letting go of your phone, of social media, of LinkedIn, and just coming to an event with an open mind and an open heart, can do way more for you than what you might think.

Mattias Tönnheim and Oriana Sgalla at Tönnheim Gallery in Madrid, 27/11/25.

MT: I agree with this. Thank you, Ori, you said it well, and it’s also how we met. You and your boyfriend came into the gallery and you guys first looked at the art. Then we started talking and it was a good vibe and you lived here and we started, yes, organically a natural conversation that led to this plan and efforts to also connect other people organically.

And I think that is something that’s getting lost online. Not always, but I think you start in a different end there. Because all these apps is sort of constructed and artificial in the beginning. Then it can grow into something  more natural once you get to know each other. I also like what Ori said before about the mental health issues.

They are growing rapidly and I think with the risk for sounding pretentious, it is great and important if we also can try to do something about this urgent matter considering a lot of people are unwell today and feel lonely nowadays. And for most of the time for the wrong reason.

I mean, there are a lot of things to be upset about in today’s life. But life is a precious gift and it’s a privilege to be alive and especially in the part of the world we live in. Giving your time to another person and really paying attention to that person without any distractions, like phones or any other digital media is important. We tend to forget that.

In the future I would like to do an event outdoors in the wild nature with a lot of people if we can create the network here considering how healing nature is. For now we’re going to do it inside because well… it’s December.

Anyway I also want to emphasize that, for me, it’s not a contrast by being commercial and genuine. You can be commercial and genuine and productive and connected at the same time. A lot of things in life is not only about what you do, it’s how you do it. And we are going to do it in an inspiring and well managed way. It is not rocket science, we didn’t invent networking or social events. It’s been around for a long time. The Romans, the Greeks etc… they did entertaining events and connected like this.

We are just trying to fine tune it, do a more genuine take on it and of course if people want to take up their phone and change numbers they’re welcome and if they want to take a photo and post on Instagram or LinkedIn they’re welcome, but I really hope that the people that comes to the event actually tucks their phones away and instead pay attention to the people they meet.

In which ways do you think an art gallery is a good space to talk about topics that seem to be very different from art, as fintech, economy or crypto?

MT: First of all it is a magnificent and enlightening setting. I discovered art at an early age because my mother was an artist and my dad has been collecting. So for me, it’s a creative space with positive energy. The thing with a gallery is that it is free to enter. A lot of people forget this. Galleries are like all these small mini museums around the world in different places where you can actually enter free of charge and invest everything from five minutes to an hour or whatever you want. Artists and galleries invest so much time, energy, knowledge, experience and emotions in their pieces and places just to try to give you a fantastic and unique experience. It’s a very open and vulnerable space.

I get so much energy from being here. For me, it’s a lovely place to work at, and we have our office connected with the gallery in the basement and you’re surrounded by great art. It’s a different and enriching environment. It gives you energy and a gallery is not like a museum or a collection where the content doesn’t change so often. In a gallery the exhibitions usually change from 6 to 10 times a year so the energy is vibrant.

Some exhibitions are not always pleasant. They can be very disturbing, they can be controversial, they can be provocative, they can make you think or feel in a way you don’t like and that’s not a bad thing. Because you know, all emotions are important not only the “soft nice ones”. It’s important to show different kind of emotions, and art is actually a very tolerant space. Sorry for the long answer but I feel I needed to give relevant background information. So in this context, I think it will be a suitable forum where people can come and be themselves and get new impressions and insights in a liberating space.

OG: It’s a beautiful and interesting space. In the future, we’ll cover different topics, and I feel like as more people come, we can get to know new profiles. Maybe someone attends the first events as a guest, and by the fifth event, they are a speaker. That is the kind of space we want to create, where people don’t just meet others, but can also share their expertise with attendees. It’s a very collaborative environment.

MT: Two things that I want to pick up on. Expertise is important. People need to know what they are talking about. I’m tired of all this “subjective facts”, you know a lot of people mix up emotions and opinions with facts. They’re both of relevance but totally different things that often belongs in different forums.

The people who get on stage, they have to know what they are talking about. They have to be experts in their field. At the same time you can talk about collaboration and connections. So in that sense, we’re humble and open to input and ideas.

It’s a similar policy as I have at my gallery. I exhibit artists that are both emerging and established but they are all educated and well profiled. They need to have a sound foundation and clear vision to be able to exhibit in my space and to be aligned with my program. The same goes for people that work at Bravo Media House, and when we do the Bravo Events. People that go on stage or sit in the expert panel, they need to be grounded and really know what they’re talking about.

Mattias Tönnheim at Tönnheim Gallery, in Madrid.

For example, the first three events we are producing, they’re about the parts of the new economy where we talk about blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFTs. And related matters around these topics that maybe other people don’t think about or discuss. Most importantly this is NOT a sales convention for cryptos. We’re going to talk about cryptos in a nuanced and journalistic way, which means we’re going to have critical thinking alongside a positive attitude. We are aiming to be objective with open questions.

And during the spring, we already have three events planned when we’re going to digest one or two topics at the time. We’re going to talk about work-life balance, which is about the lifestyle choices you make as an entrepreneur. For example the crucial importance of sleeping and eating well, plus of course the necessity of exercising and surrounding yourself with the people that makes you feel good for long term mental well being. So it’s a part of our overall concept, disconnect to connect.

Why do you think Carabanchel is the place to be in Madrid?

OG: I think Carabanchel has a very interesting story. It used to be a working-class neighborhood, and the people who started moving here 20 or 50 years ago are still locals. They have shops that are very traditional and serve tapas that are hard to find elsewhere. There’s something very authentic about this neighborhood, and I feel very safe here, even though it sometimes gets a bad reputation. In many places, I actually feel safer in Carabanchel than in La Latina or Lavapiés, for example.

Right now, a lot of investment is going into this neighborhood. They’re building new metro lines, and it is very well connected to the M30. Many investors are putting money into real estate because they see its potential. There are three big parks, lots of green areas, and the neighborhood is calm. New cafés, bakeries, restaurants, and shops are opening, so it’s not just art galleries seeing the possibilities.

I really think Carabanchel will be a wonderful place to live. It already is, but it will continue to grow, and we’re going to see a complete renaissance of this neighborhood.

MT: Except for an amazing and most interesting art scene with several fantastic galleries and really good artists. It’s a neighborhood that is already happening. Also, I get pissed off when people thinks that Carabanchel is dangerous considering its more of a working class neighborhood and a bit underdeveloped, but that does not mean it is not a safe or good place to live and work at. There are other areas in Madrid that are a lot more unsafe than Carabanchel in my opinion even though Madrid in general is a really safe city in comparison with other major capitals in Europe.

Carabanchel is a big district. It’s officially 300,000 people living here, but I heard it’s more like 400,000 – 500,000 considering that not everyone is registered. And I agree with you Ori, there are unique places here and also traditional examples of restaurants and bakeries. One of Madrid’s oldest churrerías, founded in 1939 is located here only 150 meters from the gallery, and they’re thriving. It’s a family business. That’s just one example.

Again I think you Ori nailed it with your description about Carabanchel, and I have some other positive gossip about the neighborhood.. Big things are going to happen here in Carabanchel, and yes, it’s getting popular. It’s a lot of history, too – Goya (the painter) used to live here.

In short, one reason why people should attend the event on the 3rd of December?

MT: One reason is that you will get a fantastic experience and you most likely will be surprised. And now I’m going to hand it over to Ori because she has a great catch phrase.

OG: Walk in for a drink, walk out with a story. So this is kind of what we want. We want people to come in, and then they will leave with some kind of story. Something unexpected and a kind of partnership or a collaborator or someone that they really clicked with, or maybe they clicked with the speaker. We want our guests to connect and remember something special from this evening, at least that’s what we are aiming for.

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To learn more about crypto, blockchain, AI and the role of technology in the economy right now, do not miss the networking event hosted by Bravo Events on Tönnheim Gallery the 3rd of December 2025. 

Tickets are available on Meetup following this link with a price of 20 euro, food and drink included.