Gauchoworld has become one of the most on-point creational hubs in the UK over the last 5 years.
The platform was founded by East London creative Dean George at the age of just 22, inspired by the creatives behind the football team and creative agency Soho Warriors with one dream in mind: the desire to start a magazine. The rest is history.
Gauchoworld doesn’t buy into the term “emerging” – they want to celebrate a plethora of talent who have been doing their thing here and now. The team, consisting of Dean, Seun Areoye and Ellie Muir, shine a spotlight on those who wouldn’t normally get the time to speak about their passions outside of their professions. Gauchoworld is often the first to celebrate those who have gone on to receive plenty more flowers – just look at previous cover stars such as JYOTY and Nia Archives as cases in point to that fact.
To celebrate five years in the game, Gauchoworld are throwing a party at KOKO, with friends and family from the platform – and you can expect plenty of special guests set to roll through to toast up for the occasion.
Provided exclusively for Hypebeast, Gauchoworld shot an editorial at the iconic North London institution and provided a conversation between Dean and Seun about how the last 5 years have been. Below, the duo speak candidly about Gauchoworld’s beginnings, its all-inclusive worldview for celebrating talent and where Gauchoworld wants to take things for the next five years.
“I’m a very driven person who has a set of rules and principles in my life. I don’t bend those rules for anyone,” says Dean George, who talks about the ethos behind Gauchoworld, one of the best publications to come out of the UK in the last half-decade. Started from the humble beginnings of his bedroom, Gauchoworld is now multi-faceted platform, with a print publication that has featured the likes of Sainté, Iretidayo Zaccheaus and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Gauchoworld was formed out of very simple principles that still live true to everything Gauchoworld do: “I just wanted to make a platform that celebrates my friends, then I realised I could celebrate whoever I wanted to,” asserts Dean.
The publication is now firmly established as being ahead of the curve, providing nuanced insight into worlds of Music, Fashion and Sport in London, Paris and beyond, it’s through a precise understanding of the platform, with the focus placed on talent, and nothing else. “There’s no such thing as ‘emerging’ talent. Talent is talent. We’re not waiting around for someone else to validate talent. We’re not even validating them, we’re just celebrating them,” says Dean.
“Trusting people, letting go is so important. It can be scary, but it is vital for growth and progress.
With this steadfast individuality and drive, Dean has defied the status quo in the same way many of the talents featured in Gauchoworld disturb the norm in their respective fields. At age 22, he entered his first role in a creative agency as a Creative Director, due to his incredible ability to tell stories, get the best out of collaborators and “never viewing [himself] as an ‘aspiring’ Creative Director”.
Rhys Williams
Rhys Williams
Rhys Williams
“Being a creative is like a game of Tetris. If you line up the blocks perfectly, you’re going to clear a massive chunk of the game,” says Dean. Rather than rushing and doing things that didn’t align with his vision, he “chipped away in the corner” and entered the industry at the level he viewed himself, pushing against the restraints the industry can place on younger individuals.
Traversing into the industry without any previous experience or family to lean on, Dean found the guidance of Chris and Matt Dent, founders of East London creative football club Soho Warriors. Dean began playing football with the Soho Warriors after stepping away from the route towards becoming a professional footballer. At the same time, he was beginning to question the education system, as his view of the world always existed “outside of the box” the system often conditions you to stay within.
“Gauchoworld is called that because of Ronaldinho Gaucho. On a pitch with 21 other men, he treated it like a playground,”
Hitting a stark crossroad, where he was spending time around two very different groups, he realised a decision had to be made, and that’d set the trajectory of his life. It meant getting uncomfortable, making room for himself in a place he didn’t instantly feel like he belonged. “[Of the Soho Warriors] I used to think, these guys are so cool, they’ve done it. I can’t be anywhere near it. It was like looking up at a stage, and one on side were the Warriors, free and living their life, and on the other side, it just looked dirty, people constantly looking over their shoulders, I didn’t want to spend my life looking over my shoulder – I had to find something I could do, for myself,” says Dean.
Rhys Williams
Rhys Williams
Reflecting on the early days of Gauchoworld, Dean said, “I feel like five years ago, I had my first child. I had to be accountable for it.” For the first two years, he was a single parent, before trusting in others with his baby. “Trusting people, letting go is so important. It can be scary, but it is vital for growth and progress. Now, the most exciting thing about this all is doing it with people I love and care about.”
With sport playing a vital role in Dean’s entry into the creative industry, its presence within Gauchoworld sets the publication apart from others on face value. Where the intersection of music and fashion is often explored, bringing sport into the mix provides a unique dynamic, but one that Gauchoworld wouldn’t be Gauchoworld without.
“Gauchoworld is called that because of Ronaldinho Gaucho. On a pitch with 21 other men, he treated it like a playground,” says Dean. With not many who were able to emulate what he could do on the pitch, there were some that were able to bring that “feeling”, namely Allen Iverson and Thierry Henry. It’s celebrating that “feeling” that makes Gauchoworld’s sport coverage so special. “Our sports coverage isn’t forced. We’re not about regurgitating stories or jumping on trends. We look at athletes who have that the thing that Ronaldinho, Iverson, Henry had. All the athletes we love and document could’ve seamlessly been in a Joga Bonito ad.”
Reminiscing on the days passed of Joga Bonito, some might say that print magazines are also a thing of the past. “That’s just a construct” responds Dean, highlighting the importance of having a reason for putting something onto paper. On a more personal level, the print magazine serves as a physical reminder of how far he has to come, but also how far he has to go.
Gauchoworld is anything but a one season wonder, though – with the magazine still instilled with the same desire to create Dean had from the jump. “I started Gauchoworld on this tiny desk by my bedside. It’d keep me up at night, and my mum would never understand it. Every single issue we release, I put it on that same bedside table. Every cover is on that same desk that Gauchoworld started on.
“I just wanted to make a platform that celebrates my friends, then I realised I could celebrate whoever I wanted to,”
“I want to get to a point where we’re at Issue 10, and I can’t put it there anymore, because there’s no space,” Dean asserts, when thinking about the future of the mag, and print in general. “If that’s not proof print is powerful, I don’t know what is. They’re what I see when I wake up every morning, it’s what fuels me to keep going.”
It feels fitting, then, to take it back to a place that was so formative to his upbringing as a creative in London. “Five years. KOKO Camden. I remember going to parties in KOKO, and now being in a position where we’re celebrating there. I’m so excited to see the community we’ve built over the past five years under one roof, celebrating such a special landmark moment for us.
“There’s no place I’d rather share that moment than at KOKO, its cultural richness is a clear indicator for how we plan to step in the future. A massive thank you to the teams at KOKO, and mantra for their help in bringing this to life. Here’s to the next five years.”
Celebrate 5 years of Gauchoworld by buying tickets to their event at Koko, here.
