Publisher’s Note

Shoot for the moon, wrote American author Norman Vincent Peale, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. About this time, twelve years ago, I shot for the moon and DAMAN was born. The question, then, is whether the magazine did reach the moon or whether it is now among the stars.

In a way, I think it did both, even if I do say so myself. DAMAN has now become the foremost men’s fashion and lifestyle magazine in Indonesia, and it has accomplished this as an original, homegrown brand. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel that DAMAN has also landed among the stars and grown far beyond what I originally envisioned. We’ve added the Style and Caliber special issues to our lineup; we’ve moved forward by leaps and bounds in terms of digital content; we’ve expanded our video creation capabilities to include campaigns for brand ... and that’s just in terms of content and media. Development of DAMAN’s event organizing portfolio is a whole other story.

Also, those are just the big changes. Smaller, more subtle improvements are also popping up regularly. For this anniversary issue, for instance, we’ve talked to six notable Indonesian news anchors as we look to once again expand our list of exemplary gentlemen that we look up to. That being said, there are also big changes in the works, and I assure you, you will definitely notice it when it comes.

Finally, my team and I often ask the figures we interview questions along the lines of: “If you could meet yourself from ten years ago, what would you tell them?” Now I find myself asking: “If I could meet myself twelve years ago when I was about to launch the first issue of DAMAN, what would I say to myself?” Perhaps it would be: “Shoot for the moon. You will eventually reach it and while doing so you will journey among the stars.”

For now, please join me in celebrating 12 awesome years of DAMAN and dreaming of another 12 years and beyond. Happy reading.