In The Spotlight: Mathias Ottmann

In The Spotlight: Mathias Ottmann

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you find your way to GQ?
I took my first steps into journalism while working for a local radio station during my time at university in Munich. Following that, I held a trainee position at the German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1. From there, I joined GMX/web.de-Germany's largest news website-where I worked as an entertainment editor and later as a lead editor. I joined GQ because they were looking for a journalist with a broad expertise in lifestyle topics and a strong digital focus.

How do you describe your job to friends and family?
People often have a glamorous view of how journalists work, but the reality can be different. They see the whisky or wine samples I receive or an Instagram story of me fly fishing in Scotland or interviewing a famous football player. However, when I describe my job, I emphasize the down-to-earth aspects and the hard work in front of a computer screen that it actually involves.

In your role you not only oversee GQ Germany's website, you have also interviewed many athletes for the site - most recently Germany national football players Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller. And for last year's GQ Men of the Year awards you were one of the very few journalists who had the chance to speak to Colin Kaepernick. Which of these conversations stuck with you the most?
The interview with Colin Kaepernick definitely stands out, not only because it was incredibly difficult to secure but also due to the sensitive topics we discussed. He was practically shut out of professional sports and had many legal settlements preventing him from discussing certain topics. In addition, he postponed the interview three times while I was already in the Zoom meeting in the middle of the night in Germany, and I ended up with just 45 minutes with him three days before the article deadline.

When I finally spoke with him, he was charismatic, smart, and eloquent. The stories he shared were haunting. For example, his charity funds independent autopsies for families who have lost a relative in a police encounter. In one case, they discovered a bullet in a body that the original coroner had ignored in his assessment of the death. This was just one of many dubious deaths initially ruled accidental or natural where proof of misconduct by authorities was later found.

And who is still on your wishlist?
In sports, it would be an interview with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo where they finally settle who truly is the GOAT in football (my pick would be Maradona). However, on a personal level, I was very disappointed when an interview with Will Ferrell got canceled at the last minute almost six years ago. He's the one person I would love to finally meet for a conversation about everything and anything.

Recently, GQ Germany has been diving more into food and beverage with its Drink of the Season. What is your approach in presenting this topic to the GQ audience?
It's the same approach we take in many fields: give people the chance to learn about these topics without being snobby or arrogant. Everyone has their own taste-my job is to show the audience their options, what's trending, and why.

And last but not least: What will be the trending drink this summer?
People are increasingly choosing drinks with little or no alcohol, and they finally seem to appreciate well-made alcohol-free cocktails. For bartenders, it is an art to work with teas, homemade kombuchas, or alcohol-free infusions to create excellent drinks. For those who prefer stronger drinks, tequila and mezcal will be front and centre on cocktail menus this summer and in the years to come.