Ben Mezrich

American author

“Interviewing Hans is crazy! Hans is just wild.

You’re in a room with Hans, and there are moments when he gets very paranoid that someone might be listening. We were at a meeting, and for some reason the lights went out, and he was like: ‘What’s going on!?’ The tension in that room was insane.

We had a meeting with Hans in Paris. At some point we walked into a room where Danny Rensch was sitting. The moment Niemann saw him, you could tell Hans really hates Danny. Hans’ fury toward Danny was something that was wild to witness.

We don’t know what level is performative and what level is not, but I believe Hans believes a lot of what he says. And he thinks Danny is the devil. He really thinks that Danny is evil and out to destroy him.

That’s fascinating to see in person. Because I could go from an interview with Hans where he is so furious about what’s being done to him. And then you go to an interview with Danny and Eric where these guys literally cried.

Danny, in my opinion, always wanted to help Hans, wanted to be a mentor to Hans, saw a bit of his own kid in Hans and saw a bit of himself in Hans. I genuinely believe that Danny attempted to help Niemann resurrect himself and have a second chance. He believed Hans could be a Top-10 player.

So, that hatred is so much more powerful to me because I know from Danny’s point of view — he’s trying to be a father figure to Hans.”