Farhan is the Editor-in-Chief of Augustman Singapore and Malaysia – his discerning vision for style, passion and business aids him in creating the list of elite individuals featured in the title, whether through events, key content, or on the cover. As Editor-in-Chief, he is responsible for leading well-established initiatives for the brand, such as The A-List campaigns in both territories, Men of Tomorrow for Singapore, and Men of the Year for Malaysia – offering an inspiring impact for the community through an impressive showcase of style, substance and success.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and your journey to becoming Editor-in-Chief for Augustman Singapore and Malaysia?
I majored in journalism in University and have always been interested in journalism. I got my big break doing trade publications, but have always been drawn to Augustman as it’s been around for a while. I remember when I was 18-19, I saw the title on a newsstand and was so attracted to the cover, I told myself one day I’d like to be the Managing Editor of this title. Fast forward to a couple of years, I got to know a few editors in the lifestyle space during my time as a freelance writer, and they passed by number to the previous Managing Editor saying ‘if you’re looking for a good writer, you can reach out to this guy,” and that’s how I came in.
Technically, it is my second time at Augustman – I joined as Associate Editor in 2015 and rose up the ranks as Associate Deputy Editor and then Managing Editor, but I left in 2019 to pursue something a bit different, having been in editorial for 8 years. I left to join the Government for a few months and worked with national broadcasts, but eventually returned to Augustman last year to oversee both Singapore and Malaysia as Editor-in-Chief.
What advice would you give to someone who just started their editorial journey?
I think that a lot of people in the industry join because they are seduced by the lifestyle, the lights, the glamour, and the celebrities, but the real hard work and the reason why you get to enjoy all this is really because of the people behind the unseen work. Also, now with AI, you have to double-down on telling and sharing stories because ultimately AI is a tool, it creates content and articles, but the way you differentiate yourself from AI writing is to insert yourself into your stories, whether it’s your opinions or your thoughts. I think that’s what I would advise young writers.
How would you describe the editorial landscape currently in both Singapore and Malaysia?
There are minor differences, and I think it’s really more about the interests in topics and trends – in Malaysia, [readers] are more interested in coffee raves, whereas in Singapore, it’s not that big. Some trends are bigger in one country, but might not catch on so much in other countries, for example: pickleball is huge in Malaysia, but in Singapore, padel is the main hype. I think it’s more age specific too – younger people definitely are more online thus they have a much shorter attention span. Every swipe gives you fresh dopamine and if they’re not immediately captured in the first five seconds, whether it’s an article or a video, you lose their attention. With that, stories would have to be sharper, and a bit more dramatic, I guess, whereas for older folks, they still consume content and watch videos, but you can go a bit more in depth.
With Augustman Singapore’s A-List 2025 approaching soon, could you give us a sneak peek into this year’s curation and what you’ve done differently from last year?
The venue and entertainment is different. As the theme for this year’s A-List Malaysia and A-List Singapore is ‘Unforgettable’, we made sure to align our entertainment to make the night unforgettable. Held among such a beautiful location in Singapore that oversees Marina Bay Sands, we might even have some fire and some contortionists…
With the launch of A-List: The Call earlier this year, what sort of impact did you wish it had leading up to the A-List event itself?
Since the A-List has been around for a long time, the idea of The Call is to search for men with style, substance, and success. In the past, it used to be done through word of mouth, through our friends who we’d ask “Do you know anyone with style, substance, and success?”. I think what I wanted to do was to use The Call to democratise the search, so we would push out the campaign on social media, of course, we’d still ask our past A-Listers if they know anyone they’d like to nominate, but The Call really ensured we reached out to as many people as possible. It helped gather our potential A-Listers into one space, where we were able to record, and ask relevant questions. Although, for me, an A-Lister tends to stand out naturally, and people will gravitate towards you, so that’s what I was looking forward to seeing when I was at The Call. Also, it’s always fun to see men compete with each other, right?
What’s the biggest takeaway you want the audience to take from A-List 2025?
For the A-List, we look to celebrate success in all forms, whether you’re a businessman, an entrepreneur, or a creative. The idea is that we empower and strive to create a community where the gentlemen can tap on this community for their own personal and business pursuits. We also want to create aspirations in a sense where men don’t feel like success is out of reach. When they see Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, it’s like seeing someone that’s way out of your stratosphere, but what we want to do is show that success is defined by your own means through the people within close communities. You can be someone in those circles and make an impact without having Rothschild as your last name – so delivering this message, I hope inspires people to realise that they can reach out to something big and push boundaries to create a better community, while being stylish at the same time!
What are some of your favourite Augustman covers and why?
Wow. It’s like choosing your favourite child. I’d have to say my favourite Augustman cover is the next one.
What makes a good cover?
A good cover captures the personality in a light where he/she is not normally seen in. For example, Win Methawin is always seen as very beautiful and polished, but if we capture him in a completely different light, where he’s still recognisable and is seen differently, for me, makes a good cover.
What are some future plans you’re looking forward to implementing in the next coming year?
This year was the first year for A-List to be run across Singapore and Malaysia, and what we did started with the help of several sponsors, three of them to be specific, who sponsored A-List campaigns in both Singapore and Malaysia. What we did was we actually connected the class of 2025 Singapore and Malaysia A-Listers for one evening in Kuala Lumpur, to showcase a cross-country collaboration. As it was our first year, and it was such a success, what I’m planning to push for next year is also for our past A-Listers before 2025, who are still very active in our current events and community in both Singapore and Malaysia to be able to meet as well. I want to build this whole database of influence, filled with so many incredible men who do great things, whether it’d be in the environment, business, or entrepreneurship. I think they should connect with each other and it’s even more pertinent with this age of AI, where we’re always on our phones and forging human connections are more scarce and valued.
What life event has inspired you most to date?
Getting married for sure. I’m sitting in front of my wife now, actually. I think it sharpened my focus. I want to work hard for her and give her a better life. I definitely worked hard in the past, but I guess sometimes I wonder where my purpose is. Now, I feel that I have a more intrinsic purpose.
Three words to describe BurdaLuxury
Dynamic. Flexible. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Why BurdaLuxury?
I think it’d be the same reason I gave you the three words, right? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
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Note: The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
