As you might know, Reverse has recently celebrated our first year in the business. First of all, we wish to thank all of you for your support over our inaugural year, as well as everyone who got personally involved in any of our projects.

Since young and passionate board lovers run the magazine it seems legit to take you behind the scene to meet the minds that created Reverse.

Interview with Nicole Antognini aka Nicki

First part

Nicki has been in the game since the early days of the magazine. Who could have imagined that things were going this big at the beginning? She believed in her concept and put all of her energy into chasing her passions.

For those who don’t know anything about Nicki, here is a little portrait:

Multitasking and multilingual, why do you speak so many languages?
I’m originally from Ticino – the southern part of Switzerland – and both of my parents speak Italian. We moved to the French part because of my dad’s work when I was still a kid, which forced me to do all my schoolwork in French. Once my design studies where over, I got accepted to a Master’s program in Manchester. By then, I was fluent in Italian, French and English. I’m still working my way through German, with my bad combo of High-German and Swiss-German.

At the age of 26, you’re the proud owner of a Master’s degree from one of the most famous communication universities. What did you study? Where did your studies take you around the world?
I’m as surprised as you are, to be totally honest. I’m really not a studious person usually but I’m a hard worker, which paid off. Hyper Island is a worldwide program offering many courses in the field of communication. I chose the Master’s in Digital Media Management that is hosted in Manchester UK – and believe me, that city is far from fancy. This MA introduced us to big companies like Skype, Greenpeace, Samsung, and many others. Our job was to group skilled teams able to develop strong ideas for creative problem solving.

While we were writing our MA theses, we were allowed to go wherever we wanted in the world. I was sick of the rain, so I left for Sydney, where I met with some of best creatives in communication during my research at Google, Droga5, Ogilvy, and others.

The experience was amazing but our Swiss mountains are priceless, so I came back home. Okay, fine, I admit that after 3 months I got kicked out of Australia because my Visa expired…

How did you get into board sports and where does this love come from?
The mountains have always been part of my best memories. My dad is a big winter sports lover and taught me to ski, and then he introduced me to snowboarding. As we live pretty far from the mountains, going shredding was always like a big expedition and a great adventure that excited me. Unfortunately since I started university I haven’t had the chance to spend as much time on the snow.

Apart from the love for board sports, do you have any other passions?
Actually board sports are as important to me as design is. I’m media designer first and I’m more aware of the creative scene’s development. I can spend hours checking out other artists’ work and impressions. I think that sometimes in the board sports community we forget that all of the pictures and video we watch are so beautiful not only thanks to the rad riders, but also because there is an epic artist who captured the moment. The board sports are visual sports and that’s where both parties create the balance: the creative and the athlete.

Second part

Nicki’s background is full of different experiences; let’s dig into her personal path:

Where did you get the inspiration to create a whole magazine by yourself?
It first started while I was working in Zurich as an Art Director, I had it all: fancy flat, good job, living in a great city. And yet I felt like I was spinning my wheels instead of actually doing something. During my free time at work, I was watching the Legs of Steel movies and episodes and I thought, “What the fuck am I doing stuck in my office when there are people out there living — I mean, really living.” The office work was not who I was.

I started during summer season joining Sina Candrian at the summer park in Saas Fee. She gave me the opportunity to film and shoot the Swiss Snowboard Team. During that time I researched the Swiss boardsports industry and realized there was a lack of communication when it came to the lesser known riders and boardsports lovers. There was a need for a platform to promote and share the passion of young riders. After many months of development, Pierre George (one of the growing leaders of worldwide web design) and I designed a user-centered website and built Reverse.

Why the name Reverse?
Because I don’t consider Reverse to be in competition with other magazines, we don’t talk about the latest news and results of the scene. Instead, we reverse the usual pattern; we flip under the surface to hear new experiences and adventures.

Why did you choose to go against the tide in a time where the economic crisis is taking the whole industry to its knees? (From the slow death of print magazines to the continuous cuts in budgets for events and sponsorships.)
That was a pretty bold and risky move, I admit. And the only reasonable answer I can give that I love challenges and I’m pretty stubborn; when I believe in a project I will work my ass off to make it happen no matter what. And here we are, one year later, after so many hard times that I can’t even count anymore, but Reverse is still standing and rolling. But of course there are ups and downs and Reverse is still finding its way to stability.

Managing time is the key to success. What’s it like to be a mag’s big boss?
Reverse represents a lot of hard work. It seems like we all shred all day long but that’s only a small part of the job. Our tasks range from managing the online content on our social networks, to writing articles, organizing shoots, taking pictures or shooting film, editing, many hours writing emails, attending meetings, and going to events. All this would not be possible without the help of many outsiders and especially without the support of my best friend and colleague, Alessandro Pellanda, who is Reverse’s motor. We are what we call in the communication industry a “creative team,” where Ale is the copywriter and I am the art director; neither of us can complete a project without the other.

The key to make such a project work is to surround yourself with people who share your vision.

In addition to writing articles and scheduling everything you film, edit and take photos at the same time. What is your favorite position? How do you keep the balance between your free time and work?
Free time? What is that? (laughs)

Actually, my favorite position is managing my time so I can do it all. I enjoy being on the mountain and filming a session as much as I do staying home for three days editing and planning future shoots. It’s important to be organized and to balance the work.. The hard part is remaining consistent and aware of the work that has to be delivered. As there is no one forcing me to post every week, so it’s up to me and Ale to decide to give up a nice shred day to finish writing or editing an article.

Reverse is my life and there is not one second that I don’t think about it. There is not one day where I’m not writing an email or taking out my camera to shoot a spontaneous session. Being able to do various tasks is the main reason I can work without taking a day off. Every day is different and I never get bored.

Not only you are a woman in a man’s world, but you also are just getting to know the scene and fighting to prove your skills in a very tough industry. How do you manage the pressure?
There are pros and cons about being a woman. The hard part is getting everyone to take me seriously, especially because at the beginning I wasn’t really aware of all the rules, and I had to learn how to frame a good picture and how to film while riding. Believe me, it was even harder than it seems because of the weight of the camera, me not being a next-level rider and not knowing the riders’ line and speed… Big time! (laughs) Luckily, I don’t care about being ridiculous. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Being a woman, on the other hand, excuses a lot of mistakes: “That’s the wrong trick name but that’s ok, you’re a chick.” It’s unfair but that’s the way it is. Of course, in this scene you get criticized for every single detail but I really appreciate feedback because it helps you grow faster.

Hard work always pays off. What are your best memories from the first year of full dedication to the magazine?
That’s a hard one. So many things have happened in just one year. I have met a lot of great people and experienced many great adventures. The Amsterdam shoot for Red Bull this summer was for sure one of the highlights, and the week at Les Deux Alpes with Alessandro and the sunrise wakeboard shooting. Damn, I could keep on with the list for hours!

What are the plans for the next few months? What can we expect?
If I tell you I’ll have to kill you!

So we have planned to participate at the opening in Stubai, then comes the period in Laax and traveling till the end of the season with the Nine Knights, followed by the Spring Session in Laax. We are still planning out the details of the winter season and hope you guys will enjoy our future articles.

Interview with Alessandro Pellanda aka Ale

It takes more than one creative mind to approach every angle in a unique way and to write with passion about snowboarding and skateboarding.

People come and go, and during the past months many people helped to raise the magazine’s profile with their articles. At the moment, two boardsports addicts are taking care of the weekly reports that are shared on the main site.

Alessandro Pellanda is Nicki’s right hand, and has helped shape Reverse with his epic writing, as well as being a massive help in the management of the magazine. Nicki is the artist, taking care of the visuals and the esthetic; Ale is the brain imagining the stories, who is able to describe every secret of the industry.

Ale, what is your connection to the board sports scene? What is it about this environment that you like so much?
Talking about myself in connection with the boardsports scene is still a dream to me; snowboarding has always been my passion. I’ve been spending most of my free time from school watching videos, checking sites daily and reading magazines.

I like the fact that snowboarding is not a sport but a lifestyle, a way of approaching life. That’s why I get stoked every time I watch all of my favorite riders!

How did you land in the Reverse world?
The story behind how I landed on Reverse is actually pretty fun. While I was checking pictures on Instagram, I found Nicki’s profile by chance.

We got in touch and had long talks about snowboarding during a meeting in Fribourg. Since my first article, my collaboration with the magazine got deeper each month till my actual position on the magazine was created.

How would you describe the approach and values of Reverse? In which way is the mag different from others?
The approach changes with every rider interviewed or place visited. In order to create a unique list of questions, we usually study the background of the rider. The most important side is the conscious choice to not interview superstars, but instead pushing locals and generally passionate people in the board sport scene.

What is special about Reverse for you and why did you decide to commit to the brand?
There are many things I love about Reverse: first of all, I should mention the trust Nicki gave me in everything I wanted to do. From scheduling the articles to picking up the different athletes for interviews and stories, her trust gave me the freedom to approach subjects by the angle I really wanted to focus on.

I’ve been dreaming about getting into the boardsports scene since my first interview was published; I slowly got introduced to the dream world of snowboarding.

The feeling of doing what I love, traveling around, meeting my heroes and being able to talk with them (not just watching their riding from a screen) is what keeps me alive.

What are your tasks and how do you match them to your studies?
Basically my main task is writing articles of different types: interviews, stories, product reviews, etc. Apart from the concrete writing, I manage the social media such as posting videos and pictures on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

I am currently studying English and business communication at the University of Fribourg, managing my work for Reverse and the studies is just a matter of organization. I don’t have any time to waste!

Where do you see Reverse going and how will it evolve in the scene?
Reverse is getting stronger every month. Big projects are getting shaped for the next season so stay tuned to find out what will happen next!

Again a massive thanks to all of you who dared to support the magazine and looking forward to spending one more year growing all together!

Love, Nicki & Ale