Story & Text
I have worked for as journalist, editor, copywriter, editorial strategist since graduation in 1994 and have worked at all levels of print media from writer to editor in chief. I have also conceived, founded and led editorial projects in print and digital for media companies, brands and agencies.
My journalistic bylines include The Guardian, GQ, Esquire, Financial Times, Mail On Sunday, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times, Wired, Elle, Vogue, Wallpaper*, and others.
Agency and commercial clients include TikTok, This Place, Oakley, Kemmler-Kemmler, Snowden Design, BBH, Spin and Not Actual Size. Featured editorial works are listed below.
TikTok For You (2020-2021)
Business Stories From the World’s Hottest Platform
I was hired by TikTok For Business EU to conceive, edit and publish a new print title aimed at the the brand’s business audience. As both a brand and a platform TikTok has a million stories to tell, and it was thrill to work with the internal Creative Lab team to bring some of those stories together in a beautiful and engaging print product, in no more than three months from conception to launch. The design was led by Caspar Williamson, and the project led by head of Tiktok Creative Lab, Neil Boorman. Find out more here
Selected Commissions (2000–)
• How To Survive A Midlife Crisis – Men’s Health, 2020
• Bald & Proud Of It – Men’s Health, 2020
• On Being Short in a Tall Man’s World – The Times Magazine 2020
• How Facebook Saved One Man’s Life – Mail On Sunday, 2019
• The Strength Myth: Men And Mental Ill Health – Men’s Health, 2019
• The Vulnerability Industry – Esquire 2018
• UK Garage – The Face 2000 (republished 2018)
• Man down: why do men suffer depression in silence? – Guardian/Observer 2017
• Big Empathy – Made by Many/Medium
• How Twitter Made Handwriting Cool – Daily Telegraph 2010
• The Power Of The Hoodie – The Guardian 2012
• From Lad To 4D Man – The Guardian 2011
• Berlin Street Style – The Guardian 2011
Embedded Storyteller at Made by Many (2015–2017)
Helping Others Tell Their Own Stories, In Their Own Words
In 2015 I was hired by the leading digital product consultancy Made by Many to join as an “embedded storyteller” to assist the company and staff in publishing stories on their experiences, competencies and opinions. This involved writing and publishing stories and, more powerfully, assisting the designers, PMs and devs as an editor on their own stories (see here for some examples). I firmly believe that while everyone can write, all writers benefit from being edited, and finding a voice in which to tell the stories that are important to them. Writing is a great way of discovering what you actually think about something, a method for defining knowledge and experience..
The World Needs Magic for Abracademy (2019–)
The New Magic Culture
I worked with art director Sam Blunden to produce this 44 page print title for Rubens Filho’s Abracademy, an experiential learning company based in London which takes magic into business, schools, and organisations. Chris Floyd shot the fantastic cover story, to bring alive that most magical of feelings, wonder. The magazine also features contributions from Wired’s David Baker, the cardist Billy Menezes, magician Sonia Benito, Dr Matt Pritchard and much more.
Magic these days is so much more than rabbits in hats and people being sawn in half, and this magazine reflects the cool new culture of magic being practised today. www.abracademy.com
The Calmzine (2015)
Publishing for men’s mental health
I worked with Its Nice That's Jamie McIntyre, Bruce Usher and designer Silvina De Vita on a redesign of the quarterly CALMzine for CALM (The Campaign Against Living Miserably), which aims to prevent male suicide. We added some new navigation, sectioning and design and editorial craft, along with some fab illustration content from Braulio Amado among others. Neil bedford photographed Goldie for the cover feature, and the drum & bass progenitor spoke about his recovery from addiction through yoga to Shane O'Brien (one of my mentees). The redesign attracted some interesting comment, including from Fast Co.Design. (2015)
Sleek Magazine (2011-2014)
Creative leadership and organisational change
I was recruited to reformat and relaunch the respected 10-year-old fashion and art quarterly in Berlin, responding to a publishing brief to make the title more commercial, international and relevant. Managing organisational change alongside creative leadership with an international, multilingual team. Verifiable increase in revenue, awareness, and quality.
With Studio Anti and Bureau Mario Lombardo. From 2011–2014, as Editor In Chief.
Manzine (2008–2012)
A fanzine for men, by men, about man stuff
Reimagining the men’s magazine for the post-aspiration, post-lad mag era. Five issues in A4 print over three years. With Warren Jackson and Peter Lyle, from 2008 in London and Berlin.
Manzine was featured in the Cooper-Hewitt's “Graphic Design: Now In Production“ exhibition and in MagCulture/Jeremy Leslie’s “The Modern Magazine“ project.
Winter/A Mag For All Seasons (2014)
The feelings of a season, in print
A Mag For All Seasons is an independent print project documenting artistic responses to the emotional extremes of each season. The first edition, Winter, was published 2014 in Berlin. As co-editor, with Kati Krause and Ana Lessing.
Esquire UK/Selected Trend and Reportage (2010–)
Mankles: on the trend for men to show and decorate their ankles. The term was subsequently adopted by the Collins English Dictionary. 2012 (link)
Engraver’s Gothic: how the typeface became the Superfont of the contemporary era. 2014 (link).
The Vulnerability Industry – on the boom in male mental health (link)
The Face (1999–2002)
Youth Culture 1999-2002
Pictured, editorial cover stories for the defining fashion, music and lifestyle magazine of its era, where I was a writer and the Features Editor between 1999 and 2002.
While at The Face I interviewed Basement Jaxx, The Chemical Brothers, New Order, Air, Mike Skinner/The Streets, So Solid Crew, The Muppets’ Statler & Waldorf and others, and was published widely on youth culture, clubbing and dance music, travel, teenage discos, the return of the moustache, and the origins of the highly innovative “freestyle wheelbarrow” scene in Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain.
