We were just finishing our Summer issue when we got a call that our beloved fashion editor and friend, Laurean Ossorio, had passed away. To say that the wind was knocked out of me would be an understatement, especially since I had spoken to him the previous day. If anyone had told me that we would be producing a Memoriam page for Laurean, I would never have believed it.
What do you say about someone who rarely complained, worked hard, loved fashion, and had a heart of gold who always brought joy to the set and made us laugh long, deep belly laughs? We are at a complete loss.
Ashley, Laurean, Chloe
“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” —Elsa Schiaparelli
Whether we had 10 people on set or two he would always bring more clothing, jewelry, shoes, and bags than any other stylist, but he always had a vision for where each item could be used. “I always have options,” he would say. It was always true. Sometimes I would look at the things he selected and think they were completely outlandish, and somehow, he would always make it work.
Everyone loved him. When planning our cover parties, we would have a list of about 150 people, and then Laurean would send the invite to his list and that number would suddenly be 250.
Downtown Fall 2018 Cover Party STK
The staff of Downtown will miss Laurean dearly, he was a joy to work with and to know. During this time of grief, we have all lost so much, and we have been prevented from finding solace in the company of our friends and loved ones. Our hearts and prayers go
out to Laurean’s family and especially his mother, who brought such a beautiful soul into the world.
Model Jonathan Normolle and Laurean Ossorio
I miss you so much already, and we will miss you forever.
His storied career as an acclaimed journalist, iconic newspaperman, editor of both the New York Post and the New York Daily News, best selling novelist, superb essayist, respected educator, lecturer, and screenwriter leaves behind a rich and enduring legacy that the journalism world can only hope to emulate. For many, he was the living embodiment of New York City who chronicled the life of New Yorkers more than anyone of his generation.
Pete Hamill served as my major influence and inspiration in pursuing a writing career. I loved his newspaper columns, novels, nonfiction, memoirs, and countless magazine essays.
He never forgot his Brooklyn roots and wrote powerful pieces that identified with working-class men and women including the suffering and downtrodden in our society.
Mr. Hamill’s writings are filled with honesty, real nostalgia, not sentimental drivel, and never syrupy sweet. He was proud of the writing craft and served it with great honor. He was immensely proficient as a hard-hitting tabloid columnist reporting on international and national events, local city politics, America’s urban riots of the 1960s, murders, strikes, the 1966 civil rights march, the Vietnam war, conflicts in Nicaragua, Lebanon and Northern Ireland, and the September 11, 2001 terrorists attack at the World Trade Center, as much as he was an equally skilled generalist in writing and conversing about the likes of Jackie Robinson and his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, New York City history, Diego Rivera and painting, jazz, Ernest Hemingway, Jackie Gleason, Madonna and Howard Cosell, a love of newspapers, newsrooms, typewriters and deadlines, Milton Caniff and comic-book heroes, famous women in his life: Jacqueline Onassis, Shirley MacLaine, and Linda Ronstadt, talking boxing while mentoring Jose Torres, the education of Mike Tyson in prison, Greek coffee shops, the Great American Songbook, Paul Sann, editor extraordinaire, the indispensability of public libraries, drinking at the Lion’s Head, Billie Holiday and the blues, life on the Brooklyn stoop and playing stickball on streets empty of cars, the artistry of Bob Dylan and John Lennon, living in Mexico, Ireland and Rome, friendship with Robert Kennedy, the Knicks, sobriety, the art and cultural treasures to be found in museums, and the voice and tenacity of Frank Sinatra.
Pete Hamill
I had the good fortune of knowing Pete Hamill since 2001.
Our association resulted in five published interviews and book reviews for Downtown, My Manhattan, a memoir (2004), a required reading in certain New York City public schools; the best-selling novels, North River (2007) and Tabloid City (2011); the short story compilation, The Christmas Kid, and Other Brooklyn Stories (2012), and the national best-selling book essay, Why Sinatra Matters (1998 and re-released 2015). His masterpiece novel, Forever (2003), has taken its place among the great works of historical fiction, with New York City as the centerpiece. This tome is destined to stand alongside his most famous best-sellers, A Drinking Life (1994) and Snow in August (1997).
At the time of his passing on August 5, 2020, Pete Hamill, age 85, was writing a memoir about growing up in his native Brooklyn, where he had recently returned to live after achieving fame and notoriety in Manhattan and becoming a legendary journalist. It was to be titled, “(Returning to) The Old Country.” Mr. Hamill’s affinity for New York City, his proud Irish-American heritage, and proclivity to be the best possible newspaperman one could be, were only surpassed by the love and devotion he had for his wonderful and supportive wife, Fukiko Aoki Hamill, and the large, close-knit family that adored him.
Pete Hamill will be remembered best by those who knew him as a regular guy, a kind-hearted gentleman, who was always patient and giving of his time to young writers. I have never known anyone who disliked the man.
His politics differed from mine at times but that never mattered to me.
It was all about the writing, friendship, and respect. Mr. Hamill had a long list of friends and admirers. He was someone with whom you felt an immediate connection, whether meeting him for the first time on the Lower Manhattan streets or from reading his books and columns. In many respects, he personified the everyman, but we all knew he was so much more. When final days came calling for certain celebrated individuals who received high marks in various fields of renown, their greatness was sometimes embellished and exaggerated. That is unquestionably not the case when considering the merits of Pete Hamill. He is truly an American gem, whose contributions as an outstanding journalist and an admirable man will always be cherished.
In tribute to Pete Hamill, the name of my website, “Piecework Journals,” www.PieceworkJournals.com was borrowed liberally from the book title of his excellent work, Piecework(1996), a collection of brilliant essays. Thank you. Pete.
Byline:John Esposito is a freelance journalist based in New York and New Jersey. His work has appeared in various newspapers and magazines including USA Today, The New York Times, The Star-Ledger, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate, The Record, Downtown-NYC, New Jersey Newsroom, The Irish Echo, UNICO, and Rosebud. Mr. Esposito maintains a website at www.PieceworkJournals.com
Grace A. Capobianco Founder of Downtown and Kirk Myers before DOGPOUND early 2000
It’s no secret that we, the staff of Downtown Magazine, are big fans of Kirk Myers and The DOGPOUND. That friendship stretches back to before the founding of Myers’ now-famous franchise. Our very own CEO, Grace A. Capobianco, has been fast friends with Myers since Downtown’s second year in publishing.
For years, Myers acted as our fitness editor, sharing hard-won insights with our readers. He left to follow his dream of starting his own gym, and we are happy to announce that we now have the best of both worlds: The DOGPOUND thriving, and Myers coming back as our fitness editor! In honor of his return, Grace asked him a few questions so you can get to know your new online personal trainer.
Grace A Capobianco: You’ve always talked about starting a personal training gym and how you wanted to give back of your time and training expertise, what do you hope people will get out of the new fitness column starring the DOGPOUND trainers?
Kirk Myers: Our hope that we can spread the DP mindset to everyone – not just our clients who work out with us in the NY and LA gyms. Our intention is to arm people with this positivity and help empower them so they can make their own impact on the world. It’s a sort of domino effect on the community — elevating health and fitness to the next level.
GAC: You didn’t even have two nickels to rub together (exaggeration) when you were starting out training in New York City, but yet the first thing you said to DTMag’s founder your client Grace A. Capobianco, was that you wanted to work with kids, giving back of your time. The first charity you came up with was the great youth movement the G.Y.M. Which came about with your original team Christian, Pawel and Jenny. We called on our Editor in chief at the time Mike Hammer who has a special needs youth. That youth was Hammertime and his best friends. The purpose was to help special needs children to understand fitness and healthy habits as well, to believe that they could be a superhero.
KM: It’s actually super cool that the Great Youth Movement and the original objective for it has come back full circle. Hammer is a rock star at DP and he actually inspires all of us each day. I strongly believe in giving back to others and helping people achieve their goals. I have always wanted to have a non-profit, giving back component to the gym. It’s who we are and who we will continue to be.
Mike Hammer former Editor in Chief Downtown and Kirk Myers early 2000
GAC: You wanted to start your own personal training gym, that specialized in one on one training, why what was missing from this industry?
KM: What I’ve found is that people need something to look forward to, something that makes working out fun. Our trainers have a natural contagious positive energy that flows to all of our clients. There is a secret sauce that makes us different, and something that the industry didn’t really have before. DOGPOUND isn’t just a gym, it’s a movement. The movement is a community of people who are sharing positive energy and uplifting each other to get to the next level.
Dogpound NYC trainers. Left to Right: Matt Tralli, Walter Savage, Sadiq Abubakar, Lalaina “Lala” Duncan, Christian Castano, Jin Zhen, KC McLaughlin.
GAC: Since the DOGPOUND’s inception you’ve constantly worked with different charities giving of your time and raising money, why is this so important to your core value and now the core value of DP?
KM: As you’ve already mentioned, there has always been a charitable part, starting with the Great Youth Movement with Brian Hammer. This was created by a handful of us before DP, and it has stayed a core part of the business. We’ve also teamed up with a number of non-profits over the years — from my mom’s work in Malawi (We Are One Malawi) to training local kids (Community of Unity) to LGBTQ Youth (Ali Forney Center) to worldwide stages (Global Citizen). This is one of the most important aspects of our gym — giving back. It’s at the core of what we believe and do.
GAC: You and Grace always laugh about how you never know what being an entrepreneur is like until you are one. Share just one thing that you’ve learned over the last few years about being an entrepreneur?
KM: What I have Learned is having your own business is truly like having your own baby. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions and give tough love, and this is not because you are trying to be mean, it’s because you are protecting your child and others involved.
GAC: What can our readers expect on the print pages of DTM?
KM: You’ll have special insight into our trainers and the different styles of working out. You’ll learn about different approaches and find one that works for you! We want this to be an interactive platform between the trainers and the community.
GAC: Where do you see the DP in 5 years?
KM: DOGPOUND is a global lifestyle brand. We hope to be internationally crushing it, attracting and spreading positivity like wildfire. It’s a global community and we want to keep growing it to other platforms. In just 3 years we’ve been able to open 2 gyms on both coasts and have attracted almost 1/2 million followers on Social Media. We want to keep crushing our goals and dominate globally.
GAC: What impact do you feel DP has had on the fitness industry?
KM: The community aspect of DP is the biggest impact. DP is a playground for people of all different kinds of professions to come and just be themselves, create relationships with trainers and other clients; we offer a space where people just find what they need and they just come out stronger – whether mentally, physically or otherwise. People who may not know each other but have the DP hoodie or sock already have a connection. We just want this community aspect to spread further, and we have loads of ideas that are going to do just that!
