From washing glasses to gardening guru: meet Spicy Moustache, the Italian with 6.4 million followers

With his muscular build and tattoos covering much of his body, Alessandro Vitale, better known online as Spicy Moustache, looks as though he belongs on a rock stage or in a tattoo studio. Instead, this young man from Verona, who has amassed 6.4 million followers on Instagram, has built his own kind of revolution around soil, compost and banana peels. It all goes back to his roots. "My first real connection with nature came through my grandfather, who taught me about farming and respect for the land, and my grandmother, who passed on her love of wholesome cooking. Between them, there was an unspoken golden rule: nothing goes to waste. Everything goes back into the cycle." After leaving Italy at 23, he worked his way up from washing glasses in London's pubs while dreaming of becoming a full-time tattoo artist. But above all, it was in the British capital that he rediscovered the deep-rooted need for green space he had always felt. He began growing plants wherever he could: on balconies, rooftops and in the tiniest of courtyards. From there, he built an entirely new life. His first videos, posted in late 2018, focused on growing hot peppers, hence his online name. Today, he lives in Ibiza and has become a social media phenomenon, bringing sustainability and self-sufficient living to a mass audience. Let's start at the beginning. Why did you leave Italy, and how did you end up in London? "I was making handmade shoes near Verona. I wanted a change. I didn't want to feel obliged to take a permanent job just for the sake of security. So, at 23, I left for London. The impact of arriving in such a huge city was traumatic: the frantic pace, the language barrier, the stress. I wanted to become a tattoo artist, but I ended up working in bars. Within eight months, thanks to London's meritocratic culture, I went from washing glasses to becoming a general manager. Then, because of the cost of rent, I had to move house six times in five years. I turned every move into an opportunity, creating gardens on balconies, rooftops and in courtyards, learning from my mistakes along the way." Where does your deep connection with the land and cooking come from? "From my grandparents, who lived in San Bonifacio, near Verona. My grandfather used to take me fishing, mushroom picking and gathering wild asparagus. We made olive oil and wine together. My grandmother taught me to make the most of simple ingredients. But above all, waste simply wasn't part of their vocabulary. Everything that came out of the vegetable garden went back into a closed cycle, between the kitchen and the compost heap. When our content took off on social media in 2021, following a BBC documentary, I realised I wanted to carry those same values forward, but this time reach the whole world by communicating in English." Your videos last just a few seconds, but they're meticulously produced. How much work goes into them? "A 30- to 50-second video takes two to three days of work. I research the ingredient, look for food scraps that everyone has at home, such as banana peels or leftover rice, and work out how to transform them into something fun, simple and easy to recreate. The idea is to ‘market sustainability’: to take a serious, meaningful concept and turn it into something engaging." Beyond cooking and gardening, what other areas are you exploring? "We've expanded from permaculture and low-waste cooking into natural personal care products. Plants are the foundation of medicine. We're launching a skin balm made from flowers harvested in our garden and left to macerate for 30 days. What's more, for every pack sold, we'll fund tree planting. The packaging is made from paper embedded with seeds that can be planted to support bees." After London, you're now working from Ibiza. How has the move changed the way you work? "In London, I was always rushing around. Here, I focus on my mental and physical wellbeing. I don't touch my smartphone for the first two hours of the morning. I go out into the garden, soak up some sun, look after the chickens and check on the seeds. That immediate connection with nature sets the rhythm of my day before my phone notifications do." What has been the most rewarding part of your journey? "Having a real impact on people's lives. I'm not interested in becoming a billionaire. What keeps me going is when people write to me saying things like, 'Thanks to you, I've stopped throwing away coffee grounds,' or 'I've planted basil on my balcony.' When I lived in London, I used to invite a four-year-old boy into my garden and give him strawberries and seedlings. Passing this passion on to younger generations is an indescribable feeling." And you've shared this success with your partner throughout... "We've been together for 11 years, and I wouldn't be where I am today without her. She believed in me more than I did. She's now overseeing the development of an eco-friendly retreat in Romania made from recycled shipping containers. Having someone by your side who supports you even through the worst times makes all the difference in the world." This article was reviewed by an external translation partner