How caretaker legend “Goffi” from Wels became an advertising star

From the good spirit of the Otto Loewi settlement to an advertising star: the retired LAWOG caretaker Gottfried “Goffi” Roschitz (71) is the face of Raiffeisen’s new advertising campaign. He revealed to the Welser Zeitung how he came to this honor and what his late popularity brought him.

Welser Zeitung: How came it that you became an advertising star?

Gottfried Roschitz: I worked in the security service at LASK for ten years. My late wife’s grandson is a member of a fan club and told me that they were looking for a club legend that they wanted to portray in advertising. That’s how the whole thing started.

What happened then?

The commercial should depict an entire life. The fact that I was a caretaker and worked in the integration and social sector obviously convinced them. Then a photographer came and accompanied me around the city for three weeks. The film company then went to Wels and filmed for two days, 15 hours a day. That was a really big deal. The production consisted of 50 employees and the directors came from Los Angeles.

How did you experience filming in the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz?

That was on a Saturday afternoon. Since filming wasn’t allowed during the games, they staged everything. They tied a scarf around my eyes and took me to the stadium. A banner with the words “Thank you Goffi” was stretched across half of the stands. That’s what they shouted too. And I thought, they can’t make that much noise over there. Only then did I notice that the 200 people who also appear in the commercial were standing behind me.

Late, but you have achieved great popularity. How do you deal with that?

For me it’s a completely normal thing. But it took me a few days to realize everything.

And how did your family react?

When the advertising started, my daughter called and said: “There are posters hanging in Sarleinsbach. That’s you, Dad.” People are already looking and asking me if I’m the “Goffi” from the advertising.

In the spot you are described with the words: “For you, being there for others is the most normal thing. Without you, we would all be missing something.” It’s not every day that you get this much praise as a caretaker.

I always lived for my job, was the first one on site in the morning every day and the last one to go home. This stopped some people from having stupid ideas. As a result, not much happened.

It is said that you contributed a lot to integration in the Otto Loewi settlement.

Migrants make up the vast majority of the 366 households. Most have integrated well. We once had a gang of teenagers who were doing stupid things with fire extinguishers. I stopped them. Today everyone has a normal job. Integration works when everyone sticks together. Politicians should take this to heart. Everyone there outrages their boss and they beat each other up. But you don’t achieve anything that way.