By George Pirounakis
Sometimes I wonder how the hell I can be crushed by impostor syndrome while being surrounded by people with zero clue but sky-high confidence. The ones who strut around like they’ve reinvented touring, when in reality they can’t even roll a cable properly.
Impostor syndrome usually hits the people who are actually good at their job. Why? Because we care. We know what can go wrong. We’ve carried the weight when a promoter forgot to arrange power, when the truck was stuck at customs, or when the venue’s “bar staff” meant two people for 1,000 fans. You see the cracks, so you keep second-guessing yourself.
Meanwhile, the clueless ones never doubt themselves. They don’t know enough to even realize they’re failing. That’s why you’ll meet the merch “expert” who’s never handled a settlement, the “security chief” who treats fans like cattle, or the “manager” who can’t tell you the difference between gross and net. They speak with certainty, because ignorance feels like confidence when you don’t have standards.
The real curse is this: the more responsibility you take on, the heavier impostor syndrome feels. The more corners you cut, the lighter your conscience gets. That’s why you see so many loudmouths climbing up the chain — they’re unbothered by quality, by consequences, by loyalty. They just push forward like a drunk bull in a china shop.
So what do you do? You stop comparing yourself to the noise. You remember that doubt is a sign that you actually give a damn. You don’t get impostor syndrome unless you’ve got something real to lose, and if you’re in this business long enough, you’ve carried more weight than most of those delusional clowns could even imagine.
Your track record is proof. The shows you pulled off, the chaos you cleaned up, the tours that didn’t collapse because you held them together with duct tape and caffeine. That’s not impostor syndrome — that’s credibility.
The delusional ones will always exist. They’ll swagger, they’ll name-drop, they’ll bullshit their way into positions they can’t handle. But when it all burns down, guess who gets called to fix it? The ones with impostor syndrome. The ones who never stop doubting, never stop improving, and never stop showing up.
Welcome to the music industry. Where the clueless are confident, and the competent are questioning themselves every night on the bus. If you feel like an impostor, congratulations: you’re probably one of the few who actually belong here.
- George Pirounakis is a merchandise and tour manager based in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is co-founder of OneTwoSix Hardcore Clothing and is currently on tour with Hatebreed.