My name is Jens Beckmann and live in Bergheim, Germany (near Köln/Cologne). I love Hard Rock Cafes and collect Hard Rock Cafe Pins since 1995...

I was introduced to the Hard Rock Cafe a long time ago when I was a teenager. I had the opportunity to live in London, England for a few months when I was 14 years old. It was a great time for me. One day my host family went to this restaurant on Old Park Lane cause they liked it and they thought I would like it too - boy, they were so right. I just loved it. The food was great for me as a teenager, the music was fantastic and I loved to see all these guitars and stuff of my favourite rock-stars here. When I left the Hard Rock Cafe I bought my first pin - a black Les Paul Guitar (I still have this one in my colelction). And so it all began...

That's me and world famous HRC Ambassador Rita at HRC London during one of my latest visits there.

It took some time for me to get back to the Hard Rock Cafes. You have to know that there were no Hard Rock Cafe here in Germany at that time or anywhere within a few hundred miles.

But when I began to travel to North-America I found out that there are Hard Rock Cafes all over the States. Wherever I went I checked if there was a Hard Rock Cafe and for sure I visited it and bought a pin or two there. My collection at that time consisted of about 20 pins or so. It was nice to look at them and to remember when I visited the different Hard Rock Cafes.

One day while surfing threw the Internet I found out that there are a lot of people from all over the world who collect Hard Rock Cafe Pins - and it all changed. I got in touch (threw CompuServes Collectibles-Forum) with a lot of traders and bought my first pins from Joachim Hanka, one of the best guys I have ever met. He sold pins to me from places I had never been to - it was great.

Next time when I visited a Hard Rock Cafe I bought more then just one pin and offered the doubles for trading. It was great. My collection grew and grew.

In early 1996 some of my Internet-Trading-Partners and I decided to visit HRC Antwerp which was pretty new at that time. This was my first live HRC Trading experience - we sat in Antwerp with about 6 or 7 guys from Germany, Belgium and Switzerland and it was just great. I stayed for hours and we had so much fun. You can say that this was the first real European Traders Meeting and that this was the root to the European Pin Marches that should come in the future. My friends Stefan Winkler (former President of PIN - Pin Collectors Internation Network) and Ulli Ratz (former Vice-President of PIN) were part of this meeting in Antwerp.

Me and the Phoenix gang at HRC Phoenix on my November 1997 trip.

I have been to the first five PIN Marches: Antwerp 1997, Copenhagen 1998, Stockholm 1999, Stockholm 2000 and Amsterdam 2001. I always helped out during these events and in 1999 I became Vice-President of PIN (Pincollectors International Network) and was responsible for PIN March Stockholm 2000 with my fellow board-members, which was the biggest HRC Pin Collectors Charity Event ever. 

Me (left) with HRC Stockholm Manager Dennis Thern and waitress Karin (you might have her pin in your collection).

In 2000 I was elected to President of PIN and so I was also responsible for PIN March Amsterdam 2001 with my team. This event with more than 450 HRC Pin Collectors from all over the world became the biggest HRC Pin Collectors event ever in the history of the HRCs and I am very proud of this event.

Me and world famous HRC Pin Collector "Uncle Dan" at HRC Copenhagen during Pin March 1998. Unfortunately he passed away in summer 2000. Dan I miss you and I will never forget the great days and nights at your home when you showed me your HRC museum.

During a USA-trip in June/July 1998 I had the opportunity to visit HRC Lake Tahoe for their Opening on June 30th - and I was lucky enough to be their first customer and to get a HRC Jacket for free.

HRC Lake Tahoe's GM Matt Duguay (right) presenting a new HRC Lake Tahoe Denim Jacket to me (left) for being their first customer. In the background you see the kitchen-staff smiling.

In May 1999 I was invited to the Grand Opening party of my new 'home HRC': HRC Amsterdam. It was great to be able to attend this "invited guests only" party where I met HRC CEO Jim Berk (who left corporate shortly after that party) and HRC Ambassador Rita again. 

Another great HRC experience was my 2001 trip to the hawaiian HRCs. The staff - especially at HRC Maui and HRC Kona - was so fantastic and the locations of these HRCs are so great. It's like being in paradise while visiting a HRC. I surely will visit these great HRCs again soon...

On March 21st 2002 I was able to attend my second Grand Opening party at HRC Munich, Germany. It was a blast.

In May 2003 I was able to attend the Grand Opening party of 'my home HRC' - HRC Cologne (I work in Cologne and live just a few minutes away). What a fantastic party it was... 

In June 2003 I was part of the Grand Opening party of HRC Lisboa, Portugal which is a really nice cafe.

I have visited 63 Hard Rock Cafes so far:

• HRC Amsterdam, The Netherlands

• HRC Antwerp, Belgium

• HRC Aspen, USA

• HRC Atlanta, USA

• HRC Atlantic City, USA

• HRC Austin, USA

• HRC Baltimore, USA

• HRC Banff, Canada

• HRC Barcelona, Spain

• HRC Berlin, Germany

• HRC Boston, USA

• HRC Calgary, Canada

• HRC Chicago, USA

• HRC Cleveland, USA

• HRC Cologne, Germany

• HRC Copenhagen, Danmark

• HRC Dallas, USA

• HRC Denver, USA

• HRC Edinburgh, Scotland

• HRC Gatlinburg, USA

• HRC Fort Lauderdale, USA

• HRC Hollywood, USA

• HRC Honolulu, USA

• HRC Houston, USA (old location)

• HRC Houston, USA (new location)

• HRC Indianapolis, USA

• HRC Key West, USA

• HRC Kona, USA

• HRC La Jolla, USA

• HRC Lake Tahoe, USA

• HRC Las Vegas, USA

• HR Hotel Las Vegas, USA

• HRC Lisbon, Portugal

• HRC London, England

• HRC Los Angeles, USA

• HRC Manchester, England

• HRC Maui, USA

• HRC Memphis, USA

• HRC Miami, USA

• HRC Munich, Germany

• HRC Myrtle Beach, USA

• HRC Nashville, USA

• HRC New Orleans, USA

• HRC New York, USA

• HRC Newport Beach, USA

• HRC Oasis, England

• HRC Orlando, USA

• HR Hotel Orlando, USA

• HRC Philadelphia

• HRC Phoenix, USA (old location)

• HRC Phoenix, USA (new location)

• HRC Rome, Italy

• HRC Sacramento, USA

• HRC Salt Lake City, USA

• HRC San Antonio, USA

• HRC San Diego, USA

• HRC San Francisco, USA

• HRC Stockholm, Sweden

• HRC Tijuana, Mexico

• HRC Vancouver, Canada

• HRC Washington DC, USA

• HRC Whistler, Canada