Andrea Casati, Overseas
This week we hear from Italian editorial director and basketball obsessive Andrea Casati as new magazine Overseas arrives in shops.
Despite its international reach, basketball is generally seen as a US sport. New launch Overseas seeks to change that impression by highlighting the game in Europe and beyond.
The three men behind the mag—Andrea, Francesco Bonato and Gianmarco Pacione—all work in and around the game and have created a magazine that celebrates the diversity inherent to it. ‘Basketball is of everyone and of no one, that makes it the best platform for any identity, race, or personality to feel welcomed,’ says Andrea as he shares his week and work.
What are you up to this Monday morning?
I try not to schedule meetings on Monday before 11am, as I usually like to get into my weekly rhythm by doing work instead of talking with people. However, this morning was a bit unusual: back in Amsterdam after a three-day shoot I had to get on the phone early to keep up with projects. That’s always the bill I pay after traveling (having fun) for work.
Describe your desk and your work space
My desk is wherever I feel comfortable at each time of the day. Might be my dining table, the train, a bench next to the canal and even when I’m at the office I like to vary. Having such a diverse workspace might not be recommended for your health but it’s inspiring.
Which magazine do you first remember?
I grew up with SuperBasket and American SuperBasket (above), weekly Italian magazines with over 40 years of history and a glorious past, and Forza Milan to satiate my two main passions: basketball and AC Milan.
Which magazine matters to you the most this morning?
I enjoy consuming Victory (sport aesthetic), Racquet (tennis), Franchise (basketball), Glory (football), but this morning I woke up with Rouleur (cycling) next to my bed.
Describe Overseas in three words.
Never seen before.
Describe your first encounter with basketball.
I had many first encounters with basketball: as a baby through my dad and brother, as a fan with Fortitudo Bologna, as a committed player thanks to coach Scappa, as an insider at Nike Basketball. It’s been unconditional love and a discovering experience all the time.
Why do you think basketball has always been a more diverse sport than others?
Basketball is where creativity meets rigid rules, a sport that in any part of the world has its own recognizable style. To me, what makes a sport global is not how many people play it, but how easily they can reinvent it and find meaning in the Game.
Highlight a story from issue one that sums up Overseas.
Overseas means a lot of different things to us, but for sure our first issue has been a synonym of flexibility. After pitching for months with no luck for a cover story with a female athlete, we decided to print the magazine without it when suddenly the opportunity to shoot Awak Kuier presented to us.
Without second thoughts we organized the trip to Ragusa, scripted the story and portrayed an incredible athlete with an intriguing past and a bright future.
Why did you produce Overseas as a print magazine?
Before we decided the name and after many changes in our bumpy road to the publication, one thing remained solid and constant in our mind: the role of paper for this project.
I think we’re all obsessed with quality in things that age well as a cultural currency: a shoe, a bicycle, a ball, a camera… and we applied the same care to our project which couldn’t be the same in digital. If done with passion and research, I believe that print magazines are one of the greatest and most irreplicable inventions ever: the touch, the smell, that feeling of creating something that cannot be edited are just fascinating.
Please share one piece of advice for somebody wanting to launch their own publication.
Start! Don’t be hung up too much into details. That was the most difficult part to understand for us. We wanted to make it perfect and with compelling stories, while curating the digital communication and organizing the distribution.
There’are so many details in magazines that the process is not enjoyable if you get stressed by every one of them at the beginning. Just fine tune your idea, go out capturing stories and figure out the outcome and the launch strategy along the journey.
What are you most looking forward to this coming week?
I look forward to going back to the drawing board and brainstorming on Overseas’ future with Francesco and Gianmarco, thanks to the motivation that this conversation provided.
Editorial director Andrea Casati
Managing editor Gianmarco Pacione
Creative director Francesco Bonato