Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Oleck.
Emma, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up competitively figure skating my whole life. After high school, I went to figure skate for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, so I was on an eight-month contract. When I got home from my contract, I decided I didn’t want to be too behind in school, and it was time to start college. My best friend went to Florida Atlantic University and happened to have her house open for the summer, due to her roommates going home, and it felt perfect. I stayed there for the summer and started at FAU, and loved it. My whole life, I have been between the fashion industry and the medical field, however, FAU offered nothing for those interested in fashion and I figured I could go to fashion school with a medical degree, but I can’t go to med school with a fashion degree. So I stuck it out and became a bio major.
One semester had gone by, and I realized I needed to be in the creative industry. There is nothing for that at FAU, not even a club (trust me, I tried). It was now spring semester and at this point, I figured I would transfer, although I saw the fact that such an amazing school in South Florida lacked anything for students created in the fashion and creative world problematic. I knew that FSU and UF both had a “Strike Magazine,” which is a fashion magazine solely based on students, and I reached out to the original founder at FSU (Hannah Kealy) and asked if I could bring this to Florida Atlantic University. She said yes, so I immediately applied for internships that would facilitate me in the magazine world and added a minor of entrepreneurship management to facilitate me in starting a business.
Come summer, I was in New York City for my internships, and by fall, I had started going full-effort into Strike Magazine FAU. I went into sorority chapters, random classes, etc. to speak about it and get the word out, hung posters to apply all over campus, and had nonstop interviews all fall. Spring semester, we had a full staff of 65, 5 local business partners to help support us, and since then, we have all been working extremely hard on our first Issue, which will be released at the end of summer. It has been the most wonderful experience and I am beyond grateful to have a team that shares the same drive and passion for the world of creativity as I do.
Has it been a smooth road?
Of course, everything has its up and downs. I think besides the usual staff complications, etc., the biggest setback we have had was coronavirus. We started working as a team in January and by the end of February, our time in person was up. To be honest, when COVID first arrived, I had no idea what to do with the team. We didn’t know if we were going to end up going back to school, etc., so I had the team kind of sit on hold until we had further information. We were supposed to launch our first issue at the end of Spring semester, but once it was evident that we were obviously not going back to school any time soon, I delayed launch till the end of summer and came up with a new team plan on how to navigate this pandemic.
It has been extremely challenging trying to create a full magazine with six photoshoots in the middle of this crazy time, but after hundreds of zoom meetings later, and extreme precaution at photoshoots, we have managed to pull it off better than I possibly could have imagined. Looking back, I actually feel extremely lucky that we ended up delaying our launch. If we had launched at the end of Spring, our magazine would look very different than it does now. We were so focused on high-fashion, cool, aesthetic photoshoots, whereas now after dealing with not only a world pandemic but going through the BLM movement and witnessing the power of our generation to stand up for what is right, along with care so much for politics and world-issues, our magazine has become much more intentional. Each shot carries so much meaning and so much power. We had the chance to create a fashion magazine in the craziest time of our lives and I am grateful for it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Strike Magazine FAU – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Strike Magazine FAU is a fashion and pop-culture magazine mad entirely up of FAU students. We are not a club through the school. We are a small business that is purely student-run. We specialize in high fashion. However, we address all arts, culture, and current issues. We run off of collaborations and partnerships with other local businesses, and we create a printed and digital 80 page magazine Issue. We have 65 staff members that fall into our graphic design team, fashion team, production team, beauty team, social media team, staff writers, public relations team, and marketing team.
I am most proud of the fact that I have created an outlet for so many students to express themselves creatively, along with learning the fashion and magazine industry in college. We are able to learn through professionalism, understand our own strengths and weaknesses, find our people that share our passions, and come out of college with amazing experience on our resumes. I love watching my team grow into their positions and blossom in the team. It has to be the most satisfying thing in the world. We are known for being the only fashion magazine in South Florida based entirely on students, along with actually printing our magazine. We are creating a tangible Issue, addressing all current issues, embracing diversity and standing up for inclusivity, and keeping it high-fashion.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love being in Boca Raton because I feel like there is absolutely nothing else like Strike Magazine here. We are the only fashion magazine in the area, yet we live in a city that is filled with amazing fashion opportunities, boutiques, styling opportunities, etc. Not to mention, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The location opportunities for photoshoots are endless here. I also love being so close to other cities such as West Palm, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. There is so much creativity within these areas and we have access to amazing opportunities with other local businesses living in South Florida.
Pricing:
- To put an ad for your own business in our magazine Issue we offer a full page for $200, half-page for $100, quarter for $50.
- Once we launch, magazine issues will be $5.
Contact Info:
- Address: 932 NW 18th Ave Boca Raton, FL 33486
- Website: strikemagazines.com
- Phone: 7273032815
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Bent over: by Emma Oleck
4 people laying down by Feliz
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