The office of the Tampa Bay Magazine smells of books and the walls are lined with an array of framed artwork. Each frame offers a unique masterpiece, much like the attractions around Tampa Bay. Aaron Fodiman, the editor and publisher of the magazine, discovered just how much Tampa Bay had to offer when he moved to Clearwater in 1983. His magazine serves as an insight to all the gems around the Bay area.
Fodiman was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, a town he finds to be rather quaint. Understandably so, considering he spent much time in New York City, which is where his love of the arts began. He often traveled in to the city to see Broadway plays or visit the Metropolitan Opera.
“Art has always been near and dear to my heart,” he mused. “Some of the most creative people in the country lived in Stamford because they could go back to New York but could still live in the country, so to speak. So, growing up like that, I just thought it was an incredible opportunity to have access to that type of thing and still be able to live in your quintessential small town.”
He later returned to the illustrious city to study at New York Law School, graduating top of his class. It is no surprise that he was recruited by John F. Kennedy’s The Best and the Brightest program straight out of law school.
Most of the individuals recruited may chalk up their success to their remarkably rigorous work ethic, but not Aaron Fodiman. As he portrays in his two books, Life Is Not an Illusion, It Just Looks That Way and Happy Thoughts for a Happy Life, Fodiman lives his life where the wind chooses to take him.
Unlike most children in grade school, Aaron did not want to be a firefighter or a rockstar. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Aaron always told his peers and superiors he planned to be a doctor, just like his father. Whereas most teachers would look upon him fondly and praise him for choosing such an aspiration, Aaron’s teachers knew that he meant business.
Since he was young, Aaron was set apart from the rest of the class. He was blessed with a photographic memory.
Aaron attended college at a mere 15-years-old and graduated with degrees in chemistry and psychology. By the time he was 18, he enrolled in medical school. It was there he discovered that he faints at even the mention of grizzly medical procedures.
Returning to consciousness, he figured that maybe he was not meant to be a doctor after all. Though he always thought his fraternity brothers from Tulane University that majored in business were just chumps, Aaron found himself considering graduate business school. The trouble was, the undergraduate degrees he received for medical school did not possess the perquisites he needed for business school.
To bypass this hiccup, he went to law school where he excelled and ultimately landed his job in the White House. Not as the President, though undoubtedly he could land that seat if he so desired. Instead he worked closely with administrations from Kennedy all the way to Carter.
From the White House, Fodiman became the president of the Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken and next the owner of the Kapok Tree Restaurant chain, which is why he found himself in the beautiful, Clearwater, Florida.
While in Tampa Bay, a term that he heavily endorsed despite its previous unpopularity, Fodiman craved the artistic culture that he had been accustomed to his entire life. He desired art, theater and creative cuisine but did not know where to begin to look for it. His wife, Margaret Word Burnside, is a Clearwater native and assured him that she knew all the places to be.
Nonetheless, Fodiman was searching for a publication much like his frequent favorites Washingtonian and New York Magazine. Thus, the Tampa Bay Magazine was born.
Though the idea was his own, Fodiman hired people to run the magazine because he did not even know where to begin. After two years, Fodiman was not happy with the progress of the publication and handed the paper over to Margaret considering she majored in journalism at the University of Florida. They have always been on the same wavelength about things, so who better to run the magazine.
When Fodiman decided to sell off the last of his restaurant chain, he found himself searching for a new hobby. His wife told him, “You have a magazine right here,” and six months later he realized he had found his calling. The publication is now lovingly referred to as his swan song.
“I like to say I can write faster than anyone who can write better than me and I can write better than anyone who can write faster than me,” he said. “But if someone would have told me in school I would be perfect for working at a magazine, I would have written them off. You realize that even when people can give you the best advice, if you don’t inherently see it, it’s not going to do any good.”
Fodiman still writes everything out on canary yellow legal pads. He has completely immersed himself in the magazine, eighty percent of what is published are articles that he has written. He has always been a photographer, so if you look at some of the photos published, they are accredited to Noraa, which is simply Aaron spelled backwards.
In each magazine, amongst the plethora of culture-rich attractions to visit in the area, Fodiman writes his “Publisher’s Postulates” where he conveys his thoughts throughout his journey to find himself. These thoughts can also be found in his books, which, like the “Publisher’s Postulates”, are wrought with his quick wit and humor. His insights are thoroughly entertaining, even if they do not lead you on a path to discover your place in this world.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If Dos Equis is searching for a new spokesman to be The Most Interesting Man in the World, I strongly recommend to them Aaron R. Fodiman.
