ModMod started in January 2022 as an online lifestyle platform for Dutch men. But the blood of magazine makers Arno Kantelberg (formerly Esquire) and Willem Baars (formerly JFK) is thicker than water. And that is why Kantelberg and Baars are launching the first edition of ModMod Magazine on paper on March 29, 2023.
In ModMod Magazine, Arno Kantelberg and Willem Baars bring together their many years of experience in the field of lifestyle journalism. ModMod isn’t just going to be a leaf. The gentlemen announce that they are making a ‘double-thick coffee table magazine’. Four times a year, ModMod appears on 228 glossy pages full of inspiration in the fields of art, culture, fashion, cars, architecture, design, grooming and accessories.
Crackling paper between the fingers
“ModMod Magazine will be a showcase of aesthetics”, reports Arno kantberg, “specially intended for men who want to put their lives in the spotlight.” It was a great wish of Kantelberg and Baars to make a paper magazine again. And not just any leaf. Kantelberg: “An incredibly beautiful high-quality product made of paper. After a year and a half of screen work, I want to feel the crackling paper between my fingers again.”
Reach is growing steadily
ModMod as a brand started as an online magazine brand, published by Pilot Studios, known for other digital platforms of former magazine makers, such as Franska.nlby former Libelle editor-in-chief Franska Stuy, and Amayzine.com, by former editor-in-chief of Marie-Claire, May-Britt Mobach. Logical, because that’s how you build up reach and brand awareness. The reach figures of modmod.nl are also starting to grow seriously, according to Kantelberg. “We now have 23k unique. Online traffic growth is slow, and too slow for me, but people tell me to be patient. With Google Search finally taking ModMod seriously, it’s finally starting to gain traction. That line has been going east since mid-December, but also more and more to the north.”
Resurrection of the paper magazine
ModMod will be a ‘coffee table magazine’. Kantelberg explains the meaning of this: “So a thick magazine, with thick paper. It will be something to be proud of.” He argues that in many magazine publishers, cutbacks have gone so far that the product has eroded. ModMod is distributed in an edition of 10,5000 copies. Expectations are high: “I expect a complete sell-off, of course. Or maybe not completely ? But ModMod Magazine will herald the resurrection of the paper magazine in the Netherlands,” concludes Kantelberg.