Rimini, August 5, 2026 – In the early 2000s, a daisy printed on the chest was enough to recognize yourself in a tribe. Not just any logo: that of Guru, the clothing brand that dressed an entire generation and which today, more than twenty years later, has returned to tell its story through the voice of the one who created it from scratch and saw it collapse. Matteo Cambi, an entrepreneur from Carpi and founder of Guru, guest at La Terrazza della Dolce Vita – the cultural lounge conceived by Simona Ventura and Giovanni Terzi in the setting of the Grand Hotel in Rimini – retraced an entrepreneurial and human journey that has the traits of a fairy tale and those, equally true, of the fall, already told in the docufilm Guru – The story of Matteo Cambi, produced for Sky Crime and available on Now.
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There was no marketing strategy behind the symbol that would make Guru a phenomenon. Cambi admitted it without filters: “Everything started from an idea I had with my partner at the time. We wanted to launch a clothing project. The daisy was born by chance: we took this design seeing it at the newsstand, in a children’s coloring book.”
The beginning of a myth
The leap from the idea of two friends to a national phenomenon, worn by stars of entertainment and sports. But what made it the symbolic t-shirt of an era were especially Bobo Vieri and Paolo Maldini. Those were the years when “people believed in the entrepreneurial project and that atmosphere fueled a strong sense of belonging.” Wearing Guru meant entering a community. “We were all Guru”, recalled Simona Ventura herself.
Great sales then the collapse
The numbers speak for themselves: 4-5 million garments sold every year, a market that broke through in Spain thanks to the sponsorship of the Renault R25 signed with Flavio Briatore, as well as in many other countries. Then, from 2009, the downward trajectory. “I lost control of myself”, he admitted speaking about the addiction problem he carried for a long time, before finding balance again. In retracing the roots of that fragility, the entrepreneur returned to the early loss of his father and, at the same time, to the vertigo of a success that came too quickly.
The fatherly bond with Flavio Briatore
In his story, the figure of Flavio Briatore took on the contours of an almost fatherly bond. “Flavio got very angry when he understood the real problem of my addiction”, he revealed, explaining how he spoke directly with his mother and tried to help him with “that direct and uncompromising method that distinguishes him. He reached out to me, helping me just like a father.” And in 2006, when Simona Ventura contacted him to participate in the Isola dei Famosi, Briatore opposed it.
Those 17 years on the Riviera
But the evening in Rimini also had the flavor of a return to the beautiful origins. Cambi recalled his 17 years spent in Romagna, between Milano Marittima and Cervia: “Guru was born here,” he said. What does he hope for now for the future? “I’m well, but the path is long. I still need to persevere. I expect to continue like this, I have many satisfactions and much to give, finally I’m regaining the desire to do something of my own. One step at a time, though. The longest step I’ve already taken and I don’t want to repeat it. I have two children and a wife, who are my great strength, but I have to find the resources within myself.”
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