This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
As a famous saying goes, “Make your passion your job and you won’t work a single day in your life”. For how obvious it sounds, however, it isn’t always easy to follow this great advice – having the courage to pursue your dreams and trying to turn them into reality. For this very reason, the personal stories of those who did are often extremely inspiring.
A Passion Thing Magazine, co-founded by Karin Novozamsky and Sandra Reichl, tells exactly this kind of stories, narrating the path of successful entrepreneurs who committed to a vision and chased their dreams, transforming a passion into their own way of life.
Before founding A Passion Thing Magazine, could you share a bit about your personal background and career journey?
Karin: I come from an advertising background, having worked at agencies across Austria, Germany, and Switzerland before moving to the company side. At some point, I also trained to become a professional Feldenkrais teacher – which, I know, sounds like a completely different world. It’s a movement-based learning method, and while it might seem unrelated, it actually gave me a fresh perspective on everything I do.
Eventually, I started my own studio as a brand and design strategist. I had always worked as an account manager, account director, or on the strategy side, so running my own studio allowed me to collaborate with different designers. One day, I was looking for a new designer and asked a mutual friend for recommendations. He immediately said, “Why don’t you call Sandra?” And I was like, “Who’s Sandra?”
That’s how we met – through a job. From the start, working with Sandra was an absolute joy, and the results were amazing. Everyone was happy. Then, in her studio, I spotted this beautifully designed, English-language print magazine that I had never seen before. I asked, “What’s that?” And she casually said, “Oh, that’s the magazine I do.”
I was completely intrigued. “What do you mean, the magazine you do?” I asked, and that’s when she told me the whole story. First, I became a contributor. Then, I became a partner in the magazine. And three years ago, we officially launched our agency together.
Sandra: My background is quite similar, except I come from the design world. I trained as a classical art director for traditional advertising, studying in Vienna before working at several agencies. But after a while, I got bored. I had to get out. So, I left Vienna and lived in all sorts of places, freelancing both alone and with different teams.
After a few years abroad, I came back and founded my own studio. What set me apart from other art directors in agencies was my strong strategic backbone – I wasn’t just focused on execution; I had a deep understanding of the bigger picture. I ran my studio for almost 11 years, and while it was going great, I started feeling like something was missing after seven or eight years.
Then, we were expecting our first daughter, and that shifted my perspective. I realized I wanted to create something for myself – something that came from my studio, rather than just being in service to clients. The idea for the magazine had been floating around for over a decade, inspired by the incredible entrepreneurs, business owners, and creatives I’d met along the way. I wanted to dig into their mentality, find the common threads, and maybe even uncover a set of golden rules.
So, before my daughter was born, I told myself: Enough waiting. Time to act on this. Since my business was in a stable place, I treated the magazine as a side project, slowly chipping away at interviews, one by one, until I felt like I had enough to fill a full issue. When my daughter was born, the first issue was printed – just 10 long-form interviews, with an editor’s note at the beginning and end. That was it.
I had no idea how to publish or turn it into a business, but with my background in advertising, print, and production, actually making the magazine wasn’t the hard part. I knew how to lay out pages, work with photographers (many of them were friends), and get the thing printed. I didn’t put any time pressure on myself – no “this has to be done in two months” kind of deadlines. But once it was out, the response was overwhelming.
That’s when I realized: Okay, I need to do a second one. And that’s when the real work started – figuring out publishing, distribution, and how to actually get the magazine into people’s hands. By the time Karin came on board for the second issue, it was clear that the stories and design were just the tip of the iceberg. The real work? Administration, relationship management, emails, meetings, making sure the magazine found its audience.
And from that point on, it’s been a wild ride ever since.
What was your initial vision for A Passion Thing Magazine?
It was always clear: to uncover the stories of inspiring people who have turned their passion into something bigger – a venture, a career, a sustainable business. It was never meant to be just a hobby magazine. The idea was to explore how passion can be transformed into a way of life, not just something you do on the side.
From the beginning, the goal was to feature individuals whose stories hadn’t been told a hundred times before. Instead of interviewing well-known entrepreneurial figures who appear in every magazine, the focus was on discovering people from around the world who sparked something new and inspiring. That’s why it started purely as an interview magazine – just conversations, no extra content.
Of course, like any creative project, it evolved over time. Feedback, collaborations, and new ideas started shaping it into something bigger. While the core mission remains the same – telling the stories of those who have built a life and a business around their passion – the format has expanded. Interviews naturally led to new layers: people would recommend places, share insights, and recurring themes started emerging. That’s when essays, sub-stories, and expert contributions found their way into the magazine.
As the vision expanded, so did the team. What started as a solo effort became a collaboration with a growing network of journalists and contributors. Writing an entire magazine alone was never the plan, so gradually, more voices and perspectives joined in. With each issue, the community around A Passion Thing has grown, and the goal has remained the same – to keep evolving, refining, and making an even greater impact.
It took almost a decade to go from the initial concept to the first printed issue of the magazine: could you tell us what happened in between?
For almost a decade, the idea for A Passion Thing was just that – an idea. Life went on, work kept me busy, but in the background, I had this ongoing list called “Inspiring People”. It was a collection of names – entrepreneurs, artists, people from completely different fields – anyone whose journey struck a chord with me. Some had found their passion in an unexpected way, others had made bold, 180-degree career shifts. Their stories fascinated me, and over the years, the list kept growing.
At some point, it had reached 80, maybe even 100 names. That’s when I realized I could keep adding to it forever, or I could actually take the next step and start talking to these people. So I picked 10 names and reached out for interviews. Not everyone said yes – some were hesitant, not wanting to be part of what they saw as a trial run. But seven agreed, and those first seven conversations became the foundation of the magazine.
Looking back, it all started with just a digital list. But once the first interviews were done, I knew there was no turning back. The project had finally taken shape.
How did you learn how to ask the right questions, and what do you think makes a great interview?
For me, it all starts with research. I dig deep into the person I’m interviewing – reading past interviews, understanding their work, and figuring out what’s already been asked so I don’t just repeat the same questions. We do have a few signature questions that we ask everyone, like their definition of passion or success, but beyond that, the approach is intuitive.
In a way, I think it helps that we don’t come from a traditional journalistic background. Instead, we come from a more commercial world, where we understand copy, storytelling, and design. And ultimately, I just ask the questions I would want to read as a reader. I want depth, not surface-level answers. A great interview flows like a real conversation – it’s not about rigidly ticking off ten questions, but about being present, following the thread of the discussion, and being open to unexpected turns. I’d rather have five meaningful answers that naturally emerge than force my way through a checklist.
And for me, the real mark of a great interview is when the person I’m speaking with walks away saying, “That was actually a really interesting conversation”. That’s when I know I’ve done my job right. We also avoid sending questions in advance unless absolutely necessary – our goal is always to have a genuine, in-the-moment conversation. That’s what makes all the difference.
A Passion Thing has such a distinctive editorial and visual identity. How would you describe the soul of the magazine?
If you look at the evolution from issue one to issue seven, you’ll see that both the tone of voice and the design language have shifted quite a bit. In the beginning, I assumed our readers would mainly be from the creative industries – people from my own bubble, so to speak. So, the magazine started out very minimalist, very design-driven, and quite restrained.
But as we grew, especially with Karin coming on board and the addition of more journalists and new formats, we realized that people wanted more than just a beautifully designed publication. They wanted a perspective. We got a lot of feedback from readers saying, “We want to hear your voice. We want to feel your opinions come through in the conversations”. That made us rethink our approach, and over time, we became bolder – both visually and editorially.
Because we come from a communication and design background, we’re hyper-aware of the magazine landscape. We know what’s out there, and from the start, it was clear that we didn’t want to look or feel like anything that already existed. It’s easy – especially for younger designers – to mimic others, intentionally or unintentionally. That’s how you refine your craft. But we’ve always been conscious about staying authentic, trusting our instincts, and not getting distracted by what others are doing.
What does being driven by passion mean to you?
For me, passion is a mix of curiosity, openness, and the constant drive to learn new things. That’s something we’ve seen repeatedly in our interviews, but it’s also something I’ve observed in life – passion isn’t something that just strikes you one day. You don’t wake up suddenly obsessed with something. It’s more like falling in love, but gradually, over time.
That’s why our work – both with the magazine and our studio – feels so natural. We’re completely in sync when it comes to this idea of passion being an ongoing process. For me, being able to wake up every day and do what I love is the definition of passion. But it’s not just about excitement or inspiration; it also requires a growth mindset.
One of the reasons we love working in advertising and communication is the variety – different clients, different topics, always something new to explore. The same applies to the magazine: every interview, every conversation introduces us to new perspectives. Passion, in that sense, is a day-to-day experience. It’s not about waiting for retirement to finally enjoy life. It’s about making every day meaningful, even the tough ones.
Because passion isn’t all light – it comes with struggle, with doubt, with setbacks. But that’s part of the process. Just because you have a bad day doesn’t mean you’re not passionate about what you do. In fact, true passion includes those moments of frustration. There’s no light without shade.
And passion isn’t always constant. It evolves. Sometimes, you have to move from one passion to another to truly discover what drives you. Or maybe passion is tied to different phases of life – something that once excited you might not hold the same meaning years later. That’s okay. Passion is a journey, not a fixed destination.
Your interviews feature people from diverse backgrounds, industries, and cultures – often with unconventional definitions of success. What draws you to a story or a person? What makes someone stand out to you?
When it comes to choosing who we feature, we do have a certain instinct for the kinds of stories we’re drawn to. Sometimes, it’s people who have always known exactly what they wanted to do – those rare individuals who seem to have had a clear vision from day one and followed it unwaveringly. Other times, we’re fascinated by family businesses, especially when one generation hands things over to the next. There’s so much complexity in those transitions – so many layers beyond just running a company. And then there are the stories of complete reinvention, which we love. One of the very first interviews I did was with a designer in advertising who dropped her pen one day and became a winemaker. That kind of bold shift is always inspiring.
But while those themes tend to guide us, there are always exceptions. From the very first issue, something interesting happened – people started to understand the kind of stories we wanted to tell. Interviewees would recommend other people, the community would reach out with suggestions, and over time, this whole organic network started forming around the magazine.
And then, of course, sometimes it’s just a feeling. A person sparks something – whether it’s in me, in Karin, or in one of our journalists. Even if it’s not immediately obvious why a particular story needs to be told, we trust that instinct and work to carve it out in a way that makes sense. Because in the end, if we’re interested in them, chances are, other people will be too.
Can you share a particularly memorable story or feature that resonated deeply with your readers?
It’s funny because, for me, it’s always the same story that stands out. It’s the very first interview I did, and that’s why Karin is smiling right now!
The interview was with a winemaker who had previously been a designer. Karin mentioned her earlier – she’s the one who, in her thirties, dropped her pen and became a winemaker. I knew her from the Viennese design scene, which is pretty small, but I loved her wine. At the time, I didn’t even know much about her background. It wasn’t until I started drinking her wine that I realized her story was so unique. Most Austrians didn’t even know who she was, but she had already made a name for herself as a winemaker, exporting her wines mainly to fine dining restaurants in New York.
She was the first person I asked to interview, and she was also the first one to say yes. The interview ended up being a three-hour-long conversation where, needless to say, I got pretty drunk because she showed me all of her wines. Four bottles in, I was sitting in a taxi, completely tipsy, and I thought, “How am I supposed to write this up?” The recording failed on my phone, and I didn’t write anything down, so I had to write the whole story from memory – while still drunk! It was a hilarious and unforgettable experience, but also super memorable.
To be honest, a lot of interviews have these wholesome moments; and then we get messages from people all over the world saying that they read a story that helped them decide which career path to take. It’s incredibly humbling, and it makes us realize how impactful these stories can be – both in small ways and big ones.
There’s also room in our magazine for those not-so-easygoing conversations. Because that’s life, right? It’s not always upbeat, and it’s not always cheery. Sometimes people struggle, and you hear it in the conversation. I really love that we can give space to those more authentic, raw moments too, and still pull so much value from them.
What are your thoughts on the enduring appeal of printed magazines in today’s increasingly digital and fast-paced world?
With everything moving towards the digital world, we feel it’s really important to have non-screen experiences in our lives. There’s something special about sitting down with a physical magazine, holding it in your hands. The pacing is different too. When you’re reading a book or magazine, you’re not waiting for instant gratification. You’re more relaxed, and you’re in the moment, really able to sit down and absorb the content.
I notice this every time someone opens a website – they’re just so impatient. It’s like if something doesn’t load within seconds, there’s this sense of, “It’s not working.” It’s not even necessarily about the content or the medium itself, but more about the way we engage with it. Digital media can sometimes encourage this urgency, whereas print allows for a more thoughtful, unhurried experience.
This is one of the main reasons why we personally love print, and why right now we’re print-only. You can’t read our magazine digitally, and that was a conscious decision. We do plan to transition into something else eventually, but the printed version will always remain.
What are your plans for the future of A Passion Thing?
For the future, we’re planning to do events – specifically Passion Talks. This will be a format where the interviews come to life in real time. We’ll invite people to join us for live interviews or smaller talks. For example, when an entrepreneur opens their store or studio, we’ll do a little interview in front of about 20 people who can come and join us. It’s a more personal experience where people can ask questions and interact in a way that’s different from just reading an interview. That’s one part of our future plans.
We’re also planning to release more book-like formats rather than just magazines because we’ve gathered so much incredible information along the way that it feels wrong to just keep it on our computers. We want to get it out in different forms that go beyond the magazine.
And of course, podcasts have always been in the back of our minds. They’re part of our long term plan, but right now, we’re not rushing to do that. We’re taking our time with it, as podcasts would be the most digital thing we could do – and we’re not ready for that just yet.
