One of my favourite things about Social Media is that it gives you a platform to connect with people across the world. When running our clubs Instagram account daily, I get to see what the majority of Abarth Clubs are up to and what inspiration we can take from the various photos and videos being posted.
Once we had become an official affiliated club with Abarth themselves, it allowed us the foot in the door to speak to the other clubs on a more personal level. My guest today was one of the first to speak with us and she has been fantastic in providing her knowledge and sharing experiences to what has made Abarth Club Como (Italy) what it is today.
Today, I had the pleasure in speaking to Club President of Abarth Club Como, Lisa Cassandro. Lisa gave me the run down about her personal experience running the club, the clubs plans for 2020 and what her passion for Abarth is really like.
Photo Credit: @mjc_photography_official
Hello Lisa, can you tell me a bit more about yourself, your current Abarth that you drive and how long you have been part of the Abarth family?
Hello! I’m Lisa and I’m 28. I live right in the heart of Como and my passion about Cars was born from my ex-boyfriend because he was so into them. You can say it kinda rubbed off on me and the rest is history. I’ve been involved with Abarth Club Como since November 2016 and at the beginning, I didn’t think that a club could become something as special and as important to me.
During my involvement with the club on a personal level, I went through a difficult period in my life but I always find within the club to have the strength to carry on. Basically, I love this club!
My current Abarth is a 595 Turismo with some aesthetic modifications and some mechanical adjustments.
What is your role within Abarth Club Como and how long have you been going as a club?
In Abarth Club Como, I’m the Boss! Haha, no I’m joking. I’m the Club President. The member of team that has the responsability of the club and members as a whole.
The club was born during 2012 starting off just a gathering of friends with the same passion.
In 2016 we were able to enter the official Scorpionship community. The official community for Abarth that unities all of the affiliated clubs around the world.
What has been your biggest achievement so far with the club?
Hmm, this is a difficult question... I think I can answer that in two different ways.
My personal achievement is being the Club President. One of the reasons being is that for me as a woman, this a world purely of the male passion. At the beginning it was so difficult because a lot of our members and those outside of the club couldn’t understand how a woman could lead a car club here in Italy. But since May 2017, I’ve been running this and for me it’s a personal goal and long may it continue.
As for the club, our biggest achievement to date is winning the biggest club in attendance for the Abarth Days 2019 event in Milan. We had over 100 cars attend the event with 200+ members across the 2 day event. It was a proud moment for us.
I remember speaking to you before the end of 2019 about club membership within Abarth Club Como and how it works for you... How do your members feel about having something like this in place and by having this, why does it make your club better?
One of our club values is that it is a simple club so we have everyone stick together and have as much fun as they can.
We have a welcome pack that changes every year. So for example, the welcome pack for 2020 included the official membership card with your information on it. We also include a few gadgets such as club wristbands, keyrings, backpack, calendar and some stickers. With your membership card our members can receive discounts from our club sponsors. As of today we have 20 businesses who support us.
Our club members have embraced this and they love it! For me, I think the welcome pack is a nice thing to give back to our members as they enter the club family.
What events are you looking forward to during 2020 and can you tell me a bit more about them?
The one we are looking forward to the most is Abarth Days 2020. Even though we don’t have any information about this event as of yet. If it is anything like it was in 2019 it’s going to be amazing!
We are currently in the process of our official meeting in May 2020. The name of the event is The Lake Tour 3.0 where everyone will get a chance to do the full lap around Lake Como. It is so beautiful and relaxing but the drive with a long convoy of Abarth’s is something really special.
Last year we managed to have over 50 events during our year calender such as local meetings, road trips, visit to club sponsors and to Abarth HQ.
This year I think it’ll be the same with some added extras. We love to stay together and make the events more interesting each year for our members.
The North East of the UK and Como are very different in terms of picturesque views. What is so special about the Como area and if any of our members were to visit, what would you recommend checking out?
The best thing about Como is the our Lake. The roads that run near is can offer beautiful landscapes. Near Como, you can find some incredible mountian roads where you can have some real fun with your Abarth.
Another place I’d recommend is a lovely venue called Balcone d’Italia: It’s a natual terrace above the Lake of Lugano where you’ll be able to see a lot of mountains between Italy & Switzerland.
From our experience the UK Abarth scene can be mixed in terms of friendship. Some clubs get on great and some not so much. What are your thoughts on this within Italy?
In Italy it’s pretty much the same. We have over 40 official clubs and I think this can complicate the situation.
One of our club goals is to be able to attend the Abarth Headquarters in Turin. Could you give us an insight to what the HQ is like and share your experience?
Photo Credit: @mjc_photography_official
I’ve been to the Abarth HQ around 2 years ago and it was at the time in it’s organizational restructuring phase. Now in Turin, Abarth have opened their HUB. It’s a brilliant industrial area where they show the history and the majoirty cars that shows what Abarth is all about.
The HUB is really special so I’d urge any Abarth owner to attend it if they can!
Are there any plans to attend a UK event in the future with the club?
Sure why not! As of right now we don’t have any plans to do it but you can never rule it out.
What has been the best advice you've had since running the club?
I’ve found the best advice I received as from the clubs former Vice President. He was a guy about my age who unfortunately is no longer involved with the club.
He was always very calm and peaceful. He told me that I shouldn’t get angry, that if people didn’t appreciate our work, time and effort that we put into this on a daily basis. That it’s their problem and not ours.
We have to ensure we are having fun first and foremost and this will then filter down. I think if everyone can see you’re happy then they will be too. This advice gives the strength to keep calm even when I’m on fire inside.
Lastly, what is your favourite Abarth within the history of the brand and what is your dream car?
I don’t have one favourite car within Abarth. I think the history is full of stunning cars which helps make the brand amazing.
As of today, I don’t have a dream car. Sure, I love Ferrari, Lamborghini, Zonda and similar. But now I don’t see myself in any other car except my Abarth. I think this is true love!
A big thank you for Lisa for taking the time today for this.
A great insight to what Abarth Club Como are all about and I feel that I can relate to a lot with what Lisa has said today. The values seem to mirror what we do here in Abarth Club North East and also my personal involvement with the club.
If you would like to see what Lisa and Abarth Club Como get up to. You can follow them both on Instagram under the following accounts:
@Lisaaa_2192
@AbarthClubComo