Lives of Consequence
Savas Abadsidis '96
Writer, Editor and Media Strategist
As a writer, editor and media strategist, Savas Abadsidis has built a career that blurs the lines between entertainment and advocacy, provocation and education. His vision of communications and media is multidimensional and inclusive — both in terms of form, spanning traditional print and burgeoning digital platforms, as well as content, searching out new stories and imagining new ways of telling those stories, to connect with minority and hard-to-reach audiences.
Just a few months after graduation, he became founding editor of A&F Quarterly, Abercrombie & Fitch’s controversial signature magazine, and held that position through the publication’s seven-year run. As he developed the magazine’s advertising campaigns, scouted new talent, produced content, and managed staff and budget, Abadsidis shaped A&F Quarterly into a phenomenon that transcended traditional marketing and reached an audience of more than 1 million readers.
Since then he has been executive editor of the lifestyle magazine Complex, co-founded B magazine for gay youth, and served as chief media strategist for Connected Health Solutions Inc., a progressive new-media public health company. At CHS — which produces social marketing campaigns for the LGBT community, “at-risk” and minority teens, and other vulnerable populations — Abadsidis leveraged his media expertise to connect with these hard-to-reach demographics and raise awareness about HIV, trans-community issues, poverty, med-adherence and bullying.
This overlap of activism and entertainment, which Abadsidis traces back to his time at HWS, serves as the foundation of his current position as managing editor for Retrograde Communications. The modern editorial and content development agency services clients including the magazines Plus andThe Advocate.
As managing editor, Abadsidis is part of a team leading the country’s top LGBT journalists, writing and editing content, and devising the magazines’ digital identities to complement the print editions, all while promoting a progressive ethos aimed at outreach, destigmatization and education.
“We’re addressing important conversations that aren’t being discussed elsewhere — everyday. There’s never been a more important time for good, trustworthy journalism than now,” he says.
Abadsidis’s writing has also appeared in The Huffington Post, Maxim, Interview, The Advocate andFangoria, among other publications.
As a student at HWS, he majored in English and Comparative Literature and was a writer for Thelliterary magazine and Waves bi-weekly political newspaper. He served on the English Department Hiring Committee, lived in the Writer’s House, and was a member of the Hobart crew team.