Adrenaline Rush: Alex Reeves on His First Week at LBB

For the first time in five years I’m the new boy again. This week I landed in the Little Black Book office to take up my new position as Co-Editor and it’s exhilarating. I think that’s the sort of thing you say when you start a new job, but it’s not an entirely pleasant feeling. It’s that evolutionary, fight-or-flight exhilaration that’s programmed into Homo Sapiens to help us stick spears into woolly mammoths. Half way between fear and wide-eyed excitement.

The adrenaline is unnecessary in this case, of course. None of my new workmates have tusks and I’m not about to starve any time soon due to my lack of hunting prowess. But I do have to prove myself as a valuable part of this new tribe. LBB have been smashing it for years, pumping out reams of fascinating reading material for the world of advertising to devour. They’re definitely in the ascendant and now I have to make sure I contribute to that world-beating spirit.

As Editor of The Beak Street Bugle, I sat on my own in a quiet corner of the APA office, keeping my head down and squirrelling away, writing and commissioning thoughtful features. I loved finding the human side of the ad industry, telling quirky stories and championing those who don’t get a voice elsewhere.

Now I find myself part of a dynamic, often noisy newsroom, with thoughts flying around the office like paper planes and a to-do list piling up with interviews and features I’m excited to sink my teeth into. 

I sense my day-to-day will be more hectic and more varied here. I’ll be writing about creativity from around the world, and much more broadly than during my time on Beak Street. I get the feeling that just being in the office will help me stay up to date with the industry’s big ideas through osmosis. So many of them end up being discussed on the LBB site every day. How will I cope without the soothing presence of APA Chief Executive Steve Davies to ease my nerves?

I’ve got a lot to reassure me though. Let’s be honest, my job is pretty similar. I’m basically writing about advertising - a greasy, largely amoral industry I’d never expected to fall in love with but which has somehow managed to enchant me through its brilliant people. I’m excited that I still get to hang out with those people and hear their bright ideas. And I’ve moved a whole five minute’s walk to the east, so haven’t left my comfortable Soho bubble.

There’s loads to get on with, once my new tribe have accepted me. I can’t wait to spear a mammoth or two soon.