Addiction & panic confession

Seiler “was on very questionable substances”

"On the red chair", questioner Bernhard Egger engaged his guest Christopher Seiler (pictured) in an intensive conversation.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Musician Christopher Seiler put on a real soul striptease on YouTube and spoke openly about important, often taboo topics and even revealed that he himself had suffered from panic attacks and struggled with alcohol abuse, among other things.

What began as a YouTube-only format can now be seen on TV and live on stage: With "Auf dem roten Stuhl", musician Bernhard Egger has created a popular interview series for which he has already chatted with stars such as Nina Proll, Barbara Schöneberger and Peter Rapp. Most recently, "half" of the Austro duo "Seiler und Speer", namely Christopher Seiler, took a seat on the familiar, signal-colored seating.

"Problems with various substances"
Although it was already the third interlude between the two musicians - at least the third in front of Egger's running camera - this was still a special one. In the course of the hour-long conversation, Seiler dropped the bombshell and admitted to having had problems with more than just alcohol in the past: "I had problems with drinking for a while ... and with other substances."

"The reason was that I wanted to run away. From unpleasant things. Always running away, always smiling. And then I just ruined myself in the process. That's what happens. Nobody can tell me that alcohol abuse makes you better. You believe it for a moment, but it doesn't make you better. There are terrible interviews of me on the internet where you can tell that the guy is on questionable substances. I actually needed a press spokesperson for that!"

His "attempt to escape from reality" then culminated in exceptional physical reactions: "I got to the point where I actually had panic attacks. And I could no longer do the simplest things. I got up in the morning and it was as if there was a black curtain in front of me. Everything was dark," said the native of Wiener Neustadt. He is now undergoing therapeutic treatment and recommends it to all those who may feel the same way.

Full speed ahead
And it seems that the talk therapy and intensive work on his own problems are paying off: He wants to produce another season of a cult series "Horvathslos" himself this year, the debut album of his second band "Aut of Orda" (with Paul Pizzera and Daniel Fellner) went straight to number one and it's also "time for a new album" for "Seiler und Speer"!