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  • June 11, 2025 5 min read

    A legend in her own right in Goa, I interviewed Katja Grew for my inspirational woman part 2.

    Her love of all things pink and glittery started as a small child, as well as her independent streak and the knowledge she wanted to see the world. Born in Denmark she knew early on she was made for a life of travels and adventures. After her first stint working in Italy, she donned a backpack in 1993 and went on her travels to India, Thailand and Nepal. At a time when far less people travelled, and journeys were done by bus and train. There were no mobile phones or computers, communication was via poste restante, or pre-paid phones. The Lonely Planet was then the bible, and all travelers carried one to plan their trip. Hearing of Goa, it’s beaches, parties, good food and fresh juice she made her way there by train and bus. Turning up at the infamous juice bar Scarletts, in Chapora she saw her first Goa freaks and immediately fell in love with the vibe, ending up staying until now. 

    Her first venture as a trader and designer was in the early nineties, selling some stylish, party pants she had commissioned on her travels in Bali. She got her own stall on the Anjuna, Wednesday market and was thrilled to find that she could sell enough to live on, as well as working the winters in Denmark. At that time the market was a hub for creatives from all over the world and people would congregate there to buy, sell and even sit and get a tattoo or a haircut from another traveler. This was her first introduction to the psychedelic scene and Katja partied hard, along with everyone else, at an instrumental time in the Goa trance scene. To find out where the parties were for the week you only had to ask around at the market. At that time the parties were all by word of mouth, and the party goers would jump on scooters or even walk, cross country, when you started to hear the noise of the music you would know you were getting close.
    Being part of the whole Goa trance scene, until now although not as frequently, Katja loves nothing more than dancing the night away, most often to her favourite Dj and old friend Tristan. The party and festival scene has and always will be a big part of who Katja is, the original Goa party girl she says, “I love the fact, that there is still a place in the world, where one can live out their fantasies, or maybe, for one mind blasting week, they become the ones that they were supposed to be.”  

    Katja gave birth to her son Ace in 1999, and her life changed drastically to include a baby. Juggling work, a baby and making cakes. She decided in 2005 to become resident in India and embraced every part of her life living in Goa. Opening her small boutique Mermaids , which at the time was unique in that they sold pretty, colourful, flamboyant designs and styles, which were not available anywhere else. When a new Market emerged called Ingoes Saturday Night Market, Katja got a prime position, and her trademark flamboyant style was shown to full advantage on her large and colourful stall. Sadly, the Saturday Market came to an end although never forgotten by those that once had a stall or visited there. After a few years Katja was head hunted by Asha Rao to join her in creating a new space and Bazaar for Goa. This led to the forming of the Friday Night Market, where Katja spent six years, allowing all her passion, creativity and knowledge to come into play. 

    Katja’s various homes in Goa over the last thirty years have always been a talking point, for their exquisite interiors. A natural interior decorator, Katja’s fantastic eye for colour and textiles shows itself off best in her sumptuous style of decorating. On reaching her house the other day, I couldn’t help but look at everything with wide eyes, the pinks, turquoise and white walls, along with embroidered cushions, elaborate furniture and a collection of pictures and brass from a lifetime of travels. Each item telling the story of Katja’s life and journey. Her last home is currently now the amazing Sublime  and she loves to go there and have dinner in her former office. The previous house is now Gratitude Cafe and she also enjoys going there. Her current home is on a quiet road with lots of jungle and garden and has many monkeys, snakes and peacocks roaming around, which is just as she loves it, as being in nature is one of her main core values for happiness. Something in recent years that has been a new passion for Katja is gardening and she is often to be found with her pink watering can in her Goa garden.

    At the age of 53 life threw Katja a huge curve ball and she had a breakdown, realising she had to change her life drastically to survive. She had to reevaluate her values and realised that after 32 years of doing markets and shops this was something that no longer brought her joy, or enough money to live on. Managing to get through the whole covid time, with no financial support practically broke her and she knew no matter what it took she needed to start afresh and see what opportunities would come her way. Picking herself up off the floor like the true Danish Viking she is, she stopped crying and made some hard decisions. Deciding to close her shop and leave the market were hard but necessary changes and her breakdown gave her the realisation this had to be done. Suddenly a great weight came off her shoulders. Making that space in her life, led to finding a job she loved in Denmark. Now Katja is managing a Danish restaurant and loves working for someone else, spending the Summer in Denmark. Not having the stress of her own business has brought a lot of relief to her life. She says she works as though she is an immigrant in her own country and takes nothing for granted, not even taking a day off as she prefers to work as much as possible whilst there. 

    Katja strongly believes success is not measured by money, but rather by being a good person, parent, helping in the community, and living a life of freedom. She is a vegetarian, as hates the way profit comes above animal welfare. Funny, loyal, creative and independent Katja Grew who now as much as ever loves everything that glitters. She is now open to any opportunities that come her way and we all also look forward to the next chapter in this Goa Girls life. Her slogan was and always will be “It’s better in Goa”