Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Episode: GQ Editor Will Welch on masculinity, celebrities, and staying cool as he ages
Date: November 7, 2025
Hosts: Max Tani & Ben Smith
Guest: Will Welch, Editor-in-Chief of GQ

Overview

This episode delves into the evolution of GQ as a men’s magazine, masculinity in today’s culture, the impact of celebrity, and how an established publication adapts to rapidly changing audience habits. Hosts Max Tani and Ben Smith interview Will Welch, reflecting on his tenure, how GQ is navigating the end of the monoculture, its engagement with new digital platforms (like Twitch), and the modern landscape of men's media amid shifting conversations about gender, style, and influence. The discussion weaves through the challenges of staying “cool” as an aging editor, the rise of the manosphere, the business realities of magazine publishing, and what it takes to connect with young men in 2025.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The State and Identity of GQ in 2025

• GQ’s Modern Role

  • When Will Welch became Editor-in-Chief (2018), he gave GQ the tagline: "the global flagship of men's fashion." The aim was to reassert focus in a niche-driven, internet culture.
    • Quote:

      “In the era of the Internet, this is a very niche-driven culture. And it's very hard to be broad if you want to have a cultural impact... you need to find a way to be concise and be declarative and essentially to be niche.” – Will Welch [06:16]

  • GQ targets people who see the world “through the lens of taste and style,” encompassing both male and female readers, while classically and proudly being a men’s magazine.

• Adapting to New Audience Behaviors

  • The shift from massive print issues in the 2000s to today’s ongoing digital conversation.
    • Quote:

      “With that [digital shift] became just wildly different consumption habits… now we're obviously in dialogue with our audience all day, every day on all these platforms.” – Will Welch [10:10]

  • The rise of individual creators rivaling legacy brands—acknowledgement that feedback and data are instant and constant.

Editorial Boundaries & Brand Voice

• Selecting Stories
  • GQ doesn't explicitly sort content for “men’s magazine” suitability, but chooses stories by vibe: “Does this feel like GQ?” Is it "filmic," smart, funny, style- or taste-related, and exciting?
    • They seek "texture, electricity," with the guiding rule:

      “If people in the ideas meeting start fighting about whatever somebody has thrown out, then, like, you definitely need to assign that story and get it up.” – Will Welch [09:17]

  • Interest in subcultures, weird digital rabbit holes, wellness trends, etc.—reflecting the broader, more experimental scope of modern GQ.

The Shift Away from "Content Farms"

• Publishing Strategy
  • GQ resisted the era’s “massive daily digital content farm” approach, focusing instead on fewer, higher-quality, rigorously reported stories, even on "pants and stuff."
  • GQ sees itself as the "cool, more informed older brother"—a voice of trusted guidance in a noisy world.
    • Quote:

      “We have never invested in being a massive daily digital content farm... I think we're just nestled in a good place where we are able to focus on quality and storytelling we believe in…” – Will Welch [15:17]

Masculinity, the Manosphere, and Shifting Gender Narratives

• Responding to the Manosphere

  • GQ approached the rise of the manosphere as a "leadership opportunity," not just after the 2024 election, but starting with their 2019 "New Masculinity" issue.
  • When the cultural moment demanded men "shut up and listen," GQ sought to provide constructive guidance for self-reflection and evolution.
  • In 2025, GQ produced the "State of the American Male" issue, surveying nearly 2,000 men for insights on modern masculinity.

• Navigating Political Divides

  • Will Welch does not write off rightward-shifting young men as readers and aims to reflect a broad spectrum of voices.
    • Quote:

      “The shift rightward among young men is undeniable. But, no, we don't write them off as readers at all.” – Will Welch [20:28]

  • On whether MeToo/wokeism narratives drove young men to the right, Welch says if that's what men say, it's not his place to contradict and instead recognizes this dynamic shapes the editorial conversation.

The Evolving Business of Magazines

• Post-Digital Meltdown: Surviving & Thriving
  • GQ's business reality is “dynamic” (read: chaotic)—constantly shifting platforms and revenue streams.
  • The events business (not just the IRL party, but print, video, social, etc.) is especially healthy, as is GQ’s commerce arm ("GQ Recommends").
    • Quote:

      “Our events business is extremely healthy... GQ recommends, which is our commerce business, is also something we've been invested in for quite a few years and doing really well.” – Will Welch [28:05]

  • Welch insists he’s not “managing decline, or torniqueting bleeding,” but navigating a deeply disrupted industry.

Staying Cool & Connected with Youth Culture

• On Generational Relevance
  • Welch embraces his age but says hiring and empowering young talent is key to GQ’s ongoing relevance. The “GQ diaspora” is evidence of fostering future tastemakers.
    • Quote:

      “I love finding young people who... modify [GQ] or give it some weird, like, offshoot... that's what keeps GQ culturally relevant. It's certainly not my social calendar.” – Will Welch [31:15]

  • Example: Embracing Twitch streamers like Phantom, who brings charismatic energy and introduces GQ content to new platforms (like mukbang videos in chic restaurants).
    • Quote:

      “There are some streamers where I'll engage with their stream… but with Phantom, I just felt the charisma.” [32:05]

Behind the Scenes with Celebrities & Influencers

• Best and Worst Experiences
  • Worst: A (nameless) celebrity was nine hours late to a shoot (“What could you be nine hours late to that it would still be there when you arrived?”) [34:50]
  • Best: Robert Pattinson, who consistently brings creative, “freaky” ideas—collaborative and generative; even connected GQ to new rising photographers.
    • Quote:

      “Robert Pattinson is a great example. He just has really freaky ideas and is always pleasant. He just gets excited that we say yes…” – Will Welch [35:07]

  • Discusses the odd powers of celebrity today (“A celebrity will drop a napkin and five people will dive for it... some of those people are extremely successful and you’re like, ‘what is going on with this dynamic?’”) [33:53]

Fashion Details & Fun Moments

• Trump and Ties
  • Will Welch discusses the politics and aesthetics of tie length, striving for a look that's “long, but not Trumpian.”
    • Quote:

      “You know how the tie has the triangle on the end? I would like the line at the bottom of the triangle to hit my jeans or my pants so that the triangle is below. Basically, I’m saying the ties should overlap with my belt a little bit.” – Will Welch [37:28]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Voice in the AI Age:

  “These days it’s just the good stories that people are reading and the ones that have like a deep cultural connection or a personal connection or a strong voice, which I think voice is becoming more important than ever. As we all waken our boots about AI or whatever’s going on.” – Will Welch [14:27]

• On Surviving the Death of Monoculture:

  “We all remember the like really brutal clickbait era. That was not fun... but these days it’s just the good stories that people are reading.” – Will Welch [14:53]

• On GQ’s Enduring Relevance to Readers:

  “I do think I look at a lot of their content [GQ’s], I see a lot of the stuff and I think, wow, that is really cool. Like those are people who are all a part of a cool, interesting community that I do aspire in some ways… as a consumer to at least kind of look like.” – Max Tani [43:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• GQ’s Evolving Role & Niche Strategy – [06:16]
• How GQ Chooses Stories – [08:26]
• Digital Shift: From Print to Instant Feedback – [10:10]
• Editorial Voice, Clickbait, and AI – [14:27]
• Quality Over Content Farm – [15:17]
• Masculinity, Manosphere & GQ's Leadership Role – [17:19]
• Rightward Shift Among Young Men & Political Backlash – [20:15]
• Surviving the Media Pivot-ocalypse – [22:14]
• GQ’s Business Evolution – events & commerce – [28:05]
• Staying Cool, Hiring Young Talent – [31:15]
• Embracing Twitch Streamers (Phantom) – [32:05]
• Best/Worst Celebrity Encounters – [33:53]
• Trump, Ties & Men’s Fashion – [36:32]

Conclusion

Will Welch reveals how GQ has survived and adapted by returning to its roots as the leading men’s fashion authority, while also embracing a more dynamic, subculture-focused, and creative editorial voice. The magazine’s resilience comes from both its keen sense of its identity and a willingness to integrate new (sometimes bewildering) platforms and creators. Welch’s embrace of younger staff, openness to new forms of celebrity (from Robert Pattinson to Twitch’s Phantom), and willingness to address thorny questions about masculinity sustain GQ as a relevant, influential force for readers navigating a rapidly shifting cultural and media landscape.

End of Summary