Will Welch (born 1981) is an American magazine editor and writer, who is currently the global editorial director at '' GQ'' and editor-in-chief of ''GQ U.S''.

Biography

Welch was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and grew up in

Buckhead Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...

. His mother was a clerk for Georgia State Supreme Court, and his father was a lawyer. He attended

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, graduating in 1999. For college, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to attend

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he majored in English and graduated in 2003. In college, he interned for

WKCR-FM WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the fir ...

. He began his journalism career at the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based music magazine ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

,'' where he wrote

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's first cover story and profiled musicians such as

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

and

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. He was eventually promoted to deputy editor of the magazine. He also worked one night a week as a bartender to make ends meet. Welch joined ''GQ'' magazine in May 2007 as an associate editor after he was approached by

Adam Rapoport Adam Rapoport (born 1969) is an American former magazine editor. After serving as a Style Editor at ''GQ (magazine), GQ'', Rapoport was the editor-in-chief of ''Bon Appétit'' magazine from 2010 until his resignation in 2020. Early life and ed ...

. He was promoted to senior editor in 2012, style editor in 2014, and named editor-in-chief of its spinoff, ''GQ Style'' in 2015''.'' He is own profiles included

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. B ...

, designer Christophe Lemaire, and

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

. In 2018, Welch was named creative director of ''GQ,'' and in September 2018, was named editor-in-chief of ''GQ U.S.,'' succeeding Jim Nelson. Under Welch's helm, the magazine underwent a stylistic overhaul by placing less emphasis on articles and increasing its online presence including website, social media accounts and video features. His first six months of editorship saw a significant increase in the magazine's site engagement, online-related revenue, and advertising. As editor-in-chief, Welch also began to redefine the 88-year old magazine. He championed the concept of "New Masculinity" and explored of how traditional notions of masculinity are being challenged, evolved, and overturned. ''GQ'' had since then featured a number of celebrities, including

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

, and

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 1 ...

, in cover shoots that defy gender stereotypes. He also said that the magazine has been moving from giving general style advice to offering examples of self-expression. In December 2020, Welch was promoted to global editorial director of ''GQ.'' He is also a producer for the upcoming

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

movie ''The Great Chinese Art Heist,'' directed by

Jon M. Chu Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's ''Crazy Rich Asians'', the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asi ...

.{{Cite web , last=D'Alessandro , first=Anthony , date=2021-02-25 , title=‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Filmmaker Jon M. Chu To Direct ‘The Great Chinese Art Heist’ For Warner Bros , url=https://deadline.com/2021/02/crazy-rich-asians-filmmaker-jon-m-chu-to-direct-the-great-chinese-art-heist-for-warner-bros-1234700568/ , access-date=2022-12-25 , website=Deadline , language=en-US

References

1981 births The Westminster Schools alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Atlanta American magazine editors American film producers Condé Nast people American music journalists American fashion journalists Living people