Matt
Hranek

W ho, exactly, is Matt Hranek? We’ll let him introduce himself.

“I’m the founder, editor of William Brown magazine, author of A Man & His Watch, A Man & His Car, Negroni, and Martini, and the world’s most interested guy. Not interesting. Interested.”

It’s a solid start, but when you start to get to know him, you realize that’s only scratching the surface.

He’s a photographer, at least that was his main job at one point, but it’s still both a passion and part of his profession. He’s an editor; of his own magazine and formerly the style editor at Condé Nast Traveler. To that point, he’s big on style. Style, though, not fashion, which he thought he might pursue until he dipped his toe in the water and found all the posturing to be cumbersome.

And he’s a sportsman. The kind who knows his way around an over-and-under and cleaning (and cooking) a pheasant.

He’s also a writer. A self-professed “accidental author,” he describes finding his way to the craft at the encouragement of his wife, Yolanda Edwards, an editor and writer in her own right, who convinced him to lean into his storytelling talents and just write the way he speaks when he’s telling stories.

He’s passionate about life’s experiences and the different forms they take, often eating and drinking. Whether he’s enjoying Champagne and caviar on the bow of a boat, or grilling burgers and dogs on the Weber and drinking cheap cold beer in his backyard hammock, he attributes equal value to these epic and everyday experiences.

We met up with Matt at his farm in Hankins, New York, to get to know the man who strives to live life with a healthy dose of both—as he describes it—“folly and elegance.”

The property began as an escape from crowded city living, a place for both physical and creative freedom for friends and family. What started out as an Airstream trailer and acres of open expanse is now home to a beautiful mod house that is a sanctuary for Matt, Yolanda, and their daughter, Clara.

The son of immigrants—Matt’s mother is Italian, his father with roots in Eastern Europe—it was also a landscape that connected him back to his upbringing in Binghamton, New York. It’s a place that frequently comes up in our conversation.

“I always qualify everything I say with where I grew up, and how I grew up, in Upstate New York,” he mentions.

He’s not exaggerating. He credits his obsession with timepieces to a watch his father left him when he passed. His appreciation of quality apparel goes back to the Italian tailors he frequented as a young man, and the family mentality that you should work hard “to buy the best version of one thing.”

While he’ll definitely concede that he’s ventured beyond the “one thing” part of that mentality, the quest to find the best, the most genuine, the most interesting, informs many of his life’s pursuits.

This was incredibly important as he sought out to establish his own publication. Being involved in the romanticized world of magazines has been a dream for him as far back as he can remember. And he succeeded in making a name for himself in the heart of their historic center in New York.

After a certain point, though, he just felt like his own diverse interests and passions were not being covered under the same roof, anywhere. With the surefire scrappiness and bon-vivant attitude that is innate in his character, from nothing, he began piecing together what would become the quarterly WM Brown magazine.

As much as he’s benefited from an open and robust presence across digital platforms, in his heart, he’s always been a print man. To Matt, there’s nothing that quite replaces the experience of holding something tactile in your hand that doesn’t require a charge or backlighting. It became imperative to him to contribute however he could to make sure that such a formative influence in his own life, and Yolanda’s too, did not fade into extinction. It was a courageous, visionary step in his wide-ranging career, and one that had lasting impact past himself. The move encouraged Yolanda to create the quarterly YOLO Journal, a like minded luxury travel publication where she serves as founder and editor.

Another thing—if you’re spending time around Matt, plan to arrive with an empty stomach.

“You do not grow up with an Italian family without some food obsession,” he says. “I remember finishing lunch and then talking about dinner. I remember all of the coolest connections I had with all of my family members were about their food traditions. You showed love and passion by cooking for somebody.”

He’s also a collector. Some things, like watches, he’s not alone in his pursuit. In what you’ll probably recognize as a recurring theme by this point, Matt finds the same type of emotional connection to a Casio F-7 as a Cartier Tank. This impetus was the inspiration for his first book, “A Man & His Watch”.

He pitched the idea to his publisher expecting them to reciprocate his enthusiasm, but they seemed confused by just another watch book. Matt has a special way of channeling his love of something into you, and making you feel it with the same intense passion as he does. It wasn’t about watches he explained, but the stories behind them.

And, he’s always searching for the next story, always ready to spring into action. Like the time he managed to secure entry into the Cartier vaults. While researching in Geneva, he was determined to photograph one of their seminal timepieces. Traveling through the streets with a makeshift photo kit at the ready, he approached the Cartier Archives about the opportunity.

Of course, this would certainly prove futile for most people, but through a deft mixture of that special Hranek charm, infectious enthusiasm and sheer determination, he was able to convince them. Five minutes they said. That was all he needed.

Part of the appeal of his publications is their ability to take seemingly straightforward objects and subjects and give them a bit of magic. This skill defines his subsequent book, “A Man and His Car”, which celebrates vehicles that range from everyday to epic, with backstories told by their respective owners. The work mirrors the way a skilled bluesman can make his basic licks scream and howl with feeling at the inimitable hand of a master.

As far as straightforward goes, the Martini and Negroni are about the most effortless cocktails in existence. With two and three ingredients, respectively, there wouldn’t appear to most people enough interest inherent in the drinks to dedicate entire books to them. But that’s what Matt is so good at—taking something a less curious person wouldn’t think twice about, and using it as a prism to explore places, people or feelings.

At the end of the day, he’s a man of many passions, and many stories. It might seem like a lot of ground to cover for one person, but it fits Matt to a T. He never felt the need to focus on one thing, and his life is more colorful for it. In the process of sharing his creative journey with the world, he’s also bringing people together.

“I like the idea of inclusivity more than exclusivity,” he says. “I think I’ve often been on the outside of things looking in and I find that to be a really uncomfortable and obnoxious place to be. The philosophy of William Brown is the amplification of a community of like-mindedness. That transcends race. It transcends socioeconomic sensibilities. It transcends everything if you’re collectively all on board with the same thoughts about how you navigate your life.”

His restless nature and passion for travel has taken him from Binghamton to Bordeaux to Bangkok, and back again. He can count fans of his work, often sporting his miniature target pins, and friends, across the globe.

And while he might not consider himself a craftsman in the same vein as a chef or woodworker, his unique path and sensibilities make it clear that he is creating something both artful and relatable.

In the simplest terms, he’s crafting a life. Thoughtfully and enthusiastically, with a side of self-deprecation, he’s inviting all of us to experience it with him.

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