Winter 2011 - 65° Magazine

Free Falling
by Andrea Stuart
STAY
Nestled in the southern crux of the Austrian Alps lies a suburb of Klagenfurt known
as Viktring. This is where creative mind Richard Koscher was born: to a world
where winter snow blanketed the ground and salted the trees. Where frozen lakes
transformed into icy playgrounds, and Christmas was celebrated with firecrackers
as well as visits from St. Nicholas and Krampus.
Koscher grew up knowing no less than his childhood experiences afforded. And for
a child who hails from a large family—many of his relatives owned local businesses
including the bakery, the hotel, and the carpentry and flooring business—it was as
though his family stamped their legacy onto the world. “My mom ran a B&B until my
sisters and I got old enough to need our own rooms,” Koscher’s Austrian accent
slips through English syllables like pearls rolling between folds of silk. “The people
who lived there helped care for us.” Koscher’s extended family also included outof-town
hockey players that stayed at his aunt’s hotel, in part, sparking his interest
in hockey and other sports.
At age 16, Koscher’s admiration for movie magazines—his collection began early,
upon the discovery of his sister’s Cinema Magazine—translated into a magazine
apprenticeship with a local reproduction engineer, beating out 80 other applicants.
“That was back when we did things the old fashioned way,” Koscher recalls.
While he was an average student in most areas, he received honors in his
apprenticeship. When the mid-1990s approached, Koscher found himself in
Vienna working as an information graphic designer. There he was, coming along
in his craft, perfecting the art of design in all mediums when he was emotionally
catapulted into the sport of skydiving. Post-breakup, Koscher thought a freefall
might assuage the heaviness he felt. With a parachute strapped to his back he
took to the sky. And upon that first fall, he discovered clarity. Something about the
ground whirling toward him at 160 miles per hour while being able to see past the
horizon opened up his eyes.
“Skydiving feels like another family. You all have common goals, though you
come from different places. You get a glimpse into other people’s lives,” he says.
“Skydiving made me realize how easy it would be to have world peace.”
After completing the Accelerated Freefall Program, Koscher upped the ante of
his adventurous side, traveling to the U.S. for skydiving, adopting skysurfing (in
which snowboard-like equipment is strapped to the feet), competing for Team
Austria (gaining 14th place worldwide), and serving in media relations at the 2000
X Games. Life became his sport of choice. Then, Koscher’s career and personal
life met at the first major intersection of his life when he made a permanent move
to the San Francisco Bay Area and started a family—daughter, Ella, and son,
Nikolas—amidst building upon a portfolio that currently includes 13 awards for Art
Director and 10 American Graphic Awards.
“I had two dreams as a kid: own my own magazine and have lunch with George
Lucas,” a grin shoots across Koscher’s face. In 2003, he published his first
magazine, which led to starting 65° Magazine in 2005. Once the publications
were mature enough and he landed a job offer from his childhood icon, George
Lucas, he handed the magazines over to new publishers. Koscher’s legacy
continues on as both publications are thriving in an environment where industry
giants like Condé Nast are shutting down some print operations.
Koscher describes watching Lucas descend from his office at Skywalker Ranch
as things movies are made of. “There was that ‘there he is’ moment,” Koscher
recalls. “And working with him was a little like the Wizard of Oz when I finally ‘looked
behind curtain’ and saw who he really was…” In 2009, after a divorce and after
Lucas closed the doors to the print version of Edutopia Magazine—Koscher’s
project—Koscher found himself in a virtual free-fall of uncertainty. Questioning his
career objectives and lifestyle, he took up acting, film, editing, and scriptwriting
classes, eventually finding himself again.
Koscher is now an art director for Future U.S., the parent company of over 180
publications worldwide including Nintendo Power, Mac|Life, and Official Xbox
Magazine. “I’m re-energized,” he says with a spark on his tongue. “From picking
models, to scouting, and designing projects, I’m excited again.” Despite the trials
of the last half decade, San Francisco has proven itself a home away from home
to Koscher. In addition to providing roads in which he can wind around on his
Ducati 620, and providing inspiration for completing his screenplay The Snow
Queen, for which he is now seeking literary agents; the City’s European-spiced
persona exudes an essence of Vienna that helps him defeat homesickness.
“There’s comfort in knowing that I can simply stroll down the street for my favorite
home dishes, Kärntner Käsnudl and Wiener Schnitzel,” he shares. Sometimes
those creature comforts are all it takes to get a rock like Koscher to float again.
Puttin’ on the Ritz
Ritz-Carlton
San Francisco
by Charleen Earley