Hello October meet Eugene Kan from Hypebeast.

HNC: Hello Eugene, please describe yourself using three adjectives.

EK: Extreme, silly, quasi-intellectual

HNC: What do you do and how long have you done it?

EK:  I’m the managing editor at a blog/online magazine called Hypebeast. I’ve been at it for about three and a half years.

HNC: What is Hypebeast?

EK:  Depending on how you look at it, Hypebeast is essentially a culture magazine with a strong focus on men’s fashion. We cover everything from art, electronics, design and cars but as mentioned it’s mostly about menswear. It’s progressed a lot from its start as a streetwear and sneaker focused blog.

HNC: How many emails do you receive a day from Hypebeast?

EK:  Approximately 150 but I get a lot of general emails that I don’t or choose not to respond to.

HNC:How do you filter through your emails and decide on what to feature?

EK:  Essentially it comes down to 2 and ½ things: 1) Whether we actually like the content itself; 2) Whether we feel that our readers want to see; and the ½) Whether the visuals are good.

HNC: Are there any current projects we can expect?

EK:  At the start of 2010, our biggest change was the implementation of hypebeast.tv. Going forward, video is probably going to be a platform we will focus a lot on. Among the plans are to develop more comprehensive series’ but right now we are still developing that side of the things.

HNC:  I know you have your own blog site (www.eugenekan.com) are there any tips to us bloggers out there?

EK:  It’s funny because the rules I give you aren’t the ones I follow myself. Generally, I would say try to update on a relatively frequent basis. Ideally every day, but if you have a day job than it is probably pretty hard to do. I wish I could update more often. Your tone and voice are ultimately extremely important because at the end of the day, they are your most unique assets and nobody will be able to replicate your opinions or your insights. Also, in this day and age, the proper balance of text and visuals are pretty important. Given that we live in a pretty visual culture where without any imagery, it is hard to captivate your reader.

HNC: Noted. Do you travel? And if so, is it for work or play?

EK:  I think I travel a decent amount but less than you would assume. Most of the time it is work related. I usually take quick trips that last under a week but since we have a pretty broad base of contributors, my need to travel is sometimes limited.

HNC:  Do you have any favorite brands?

EK: To be honest, I don’t really have a favorite brand. When you see so much stuff, you tend to like a lot of things, but rarely do you like everything from one brand.

HNC: I gotta ask…what camera do you shoot with?

EK:  Mostly I use my Canon S90, I do have a Canon 50D that I am using less and less.

HNC:  Are you planning on staying in HK or moving?

EK:  Probably not for the next few years. My girlfriend just moved here so I have no reason to leave. It’s an alright place, but I wouldn’t want to raise a family here.

HNC:  Interesting…so what is a normal day for you?

EK: Wake up at around 7:30am to go to the gym. Check RSS on the way to the gym. Come home and start work at 10:00am and do Hypebeast stuff until 6:00pm and then start working on my other projects until about 12:00am, then pass out. Pretty boring haha.

HNC: Any shoutouts?

EK:  There have been way too many people to thank and that have contributed to my development. There’s no way I could list them all.

Well said. Thank you so much Eugene for taking time out of your busy schedule. It was a pleasure. Please check out Hypebeast and Eugene’s personal blog.