THE HOME OF WATCH CULTURE

NEWS: Meet the CEO (Community Engagement Officer) NEWS: Meet the CEO (Community Engagement Officer)

NEWS: Meet the CEO (Community Engagement Officer)

Andrew McUtchen

** A NOTE FROM ANDREW & FELIX **

There’s been a lot of shifting about in watch media in the last week and it’s no different for us. Get ready, world. We have a new CEO. In fact, we have our first CEO.

Andy-Green-Ambient
Meet the newest member of the Time+Tide team, our Community Engagement Officer (CEO for short) Andy Green.

Pretty young looking buck for a CEO, right? That’s because he’s our Community Engagement Officer. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Andy Green, one of the most ‘passionated’ watch guys (that’s how Swiss people say passionate, it’s so cute) we’ve ever met. If you’ve had the pleasure of talking watches with Andy, or life in general, you’ll have picked up that he’s into both, in a big way. Like all members of staff he’s also been Time+Tide since day one. Before day one in fact. Read the bromantic reason for that below.

We’ve invested in a new position at Time+Tide because our community – you, reading – is the reason we’re here. We want to do a better job for you. We want to meet you, in real life. We want to make it easier to get your name on the list for events. We want to know what brands and what watches you’re into. Then we want to help connect you with those brands so you can have great experiences with them and get better access than you do now.

We also want to know what skills you might want to bring to the table. Writing skills, filming skills, songwriting skills, you might be able to tell that nothing is really out of the question for us. We get more unsolicited offers than we can keep up with and that makes Felix and I feel bad. Andy is the team member dedicated to finding all of these things out and letting us know who’s out there. Think of him as a VIP Concierge at Hotel Time+Tide. But don’t order room service at 2am because you will be disappointed. And you might also be bench-pressed….

Say hi, congratulations, and ‘let’s have a coffee’ to Andy (who has more coffees than anyone in Melbourne) at [email protected] Follow his caffeine intake on Instagram at @andygreenlive

5 MINUTES AND A FLAT WHITE WITH TIME+TIDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER, ANDY GREEN

We sat down with Andy on the afternoon of his first day to find out some things about him that we didn’t know. What we’ve also learned since (after a brief Googlestalk) is that he can powerlift 24okg. So keep that in mind if you don’t turn up to a Time+Tide event after telling him you’ll be there. We weren’t joking about the bench press thing.

How did you come into the Time+Tide fold?

In January last year I got busted checking out a fellow passengers Rolex, on a flight home from Basel. We got talking, and it turns out he was returning from SIHH, and began telling me about this platform he was about to launch, called Time+Tide, and that I should check it out when we land. Time+Tide was live a few weeks later, I wrote in with a follower review (it was so long ago we couldn’t even find it on our Insta feed – AM) and the rest is history.

What was the first watch you had real feelings for and worked up to purchasing?

I get feelings when I look at all sorts of watches, whether they be good or bad, but the first watch I fell in love with was the Tudor ‘Blue Bay’. It was truly love at first sight – in fact I wanted it before I’d even tried it on. It took a few hard months of saving (and convincing when it came to my better half), but I made it my business to buy the first Blue Bay on stainless steel that came up for sale. I haven’t looked back since.

Andy-Green-Coffee
The force is strong between Andy and his Tudor Heritage Black Bay, which he calls his ‘Blue Bay’

What do you enjoy about building the Time+Tide community? 

Watch people tend to be an extremely friendly bunch, who a lot of the time, don’t realise that there’s a real life community out there. It’s cool to see a spill over from online forums, to real life get togethers. It’s great to be able to get out there and meet like-minds, and chat about things we love. We have some amazing supporters, that have been along for the ride since early on, and it’s fantastic to be in a position where we can include them in events and follower reviews etc. It’s also great to put a face to the Instagram tag, over a beer/coffee and a #sexpile.

What sort of culture do you want to develop?

I want to develop a community culture where each member appreciates, understands and respects each other and the brands involved. That being said, I believe that watches, like any other hobby should be fun, so maximum enjoyment is also important.

Bell-ross-boutique-open-9
Maximum enjoyment is important at T+T events. And it’s very often had.

What’s different about ‘watch people’ as opposed to other interest groups that you’ve noticed?

Watch people are one of the most diverse interest groups you will find, as it’s a club that accepts all kinds of members. And while the interest may start with watches, you quickly discover shared interests. I’ve found a lot of watch people are also into coffee, cigars, cameras, etc. The best part is that the only thing that matters is what’s on your wrist. Age, gender, ability – all that is secondary. And it allows you to meet people from all walks of life, and from all over the world. I find that most fall into a few different categories, mainly avid collectors, or keen observers. Your avid collectors tend to love a brand/watch for its history and can talk reference numbers and transitional movements for days. Your keen observers, will have a good knowledge of different brands, and tend to be more interested in the overall design of a watch.

What sort of things can we expect from you as our first ever CEO?

It’s an exciting time in Australia for the watch community, and brands are really starting to appreciate the value of the community on a whole another level. There’s a few special things we have in the works, including our own Time+Tide non-brand events at a really great, unusual venue, as well as branching out our Aussie Watch Week Friday knockoff drinks to Sydney. You can also expect a more events, and more community involvement. That means you, our readers, followers, and ‘likers’, will have many opportunities to be in amongst it all.

What makes watches and talking about watches so addictive?

To me, I find it fascinating how watches bring people together. Two strangers might find themselves chatting on a train, after awkwardly staring at each others wrists. It’s truly amazing to see the relationships that can start, after the ice has been broken by “hey, nice watch”! The history of someone’s watch is also interesting to me, why does someone choose one watch, out off all the countless brands and designs to wear? They’re fascinating objects and once you get into them the topic is endless.

_MG_3158-Edit
Welcome to the team Andy!