Whatever semblance of taste or cool I acquired came via my two older sisters. Nadine and Susie taught me about Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, and Run-DMC. They explained that That Guy Keanu in Speed was, actually, The Guy. They demonstrated an unreasonable number of ways to style a pair of Doc Martens. They were my source for newness. They knew about everything that I didn’t know to look for.
One day, my sisters brought home the Australian edition of GQ. On the cover was Pharrell Williams, then the frontman of N.E.R.D. It was a special issue devoted to music. They thought he was hot. I thought he looked cool.
The issue began in Los Angeles and then zigzagged around the world: a profile in New York, a scene in Paris, a feature in Perth. From suburban Melbourne, I was transported to, well…everywhere.
After that, I became a God-fearing GQ reader. I bought the British edition. I bought the American edition. I read and read and read. Thanks to GQ, I learned why this fella Mitt Romney was so robotic. I learned how a bunch of exotic animals came to be roaming the streets of Zanesville, Ohio. I came to know and admire writers like Wells Tower and Caity Weaver. It taught me about Zegna suits and Hermès ties, and why Bottega Veneta’s intrecciato leather looked so opulent. It taught me about money and flirting and hedonism and political theater.
Me and my sisters, circa Christmas 1995.Courtesy of Adam Baidawi
As soon as I finished high school, I began incessantly pitching the editor of GQ Australia. Eventually, I got a yes. GQ took me around the world as a reporter: rural Australia, Cape Town, Atlanta (where I walked onto a Marvel set with a very young Tom Holland), Baghdad, Tokyo, and Marrakech (to stay at La Mamounia—still the greatest hotel in the world). I was never—not for a single, fleeting moment—bored.
Eventually, just traveling for GQ wasn’t enough. So I became the first editor in chief of our Middle East edition. After three years in Dubai, I went to London, where I led British GQ for five years. A few weeks ago, GQ brought me here, to New York City. I am, proudly, the sixth person to lead this brand.
