But, at the same time, I quite like the idea of having pictures that are very similar on various covers. “There are many different ways of approaching the cover and a lot of magazines are doing different covers these days so I was like oh, we’re not going to do that. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of doing a photoshoot that plays out in public on the cover,” the creative director explains of this issue’s beginnings. In turn the image-led covers are “a portrait story of a dialogue between those generations,” Jop explains.

Under the title of For Young and Old, the cover stars are either young, 14, 15 or 18 year olds, or much older, aged 71 and 78.

The story for the publication’s 27th issue explores the roles of men at different ages, and its covers do so using the device of contrast. “Communicating more things that allow us to think in a different way and to do different things, to tell a different story.” It could be the teenage boy who grew up next door or an older relative, or as creative director Jop van Bennekom tells It’s Nice That they’re “boys who were about to discover life and older guys, let’s say the grandpas, who have a little more life behind them already”.Įach issue of Fantastic Man is a built around a subtle theme, not always immediately visible in the magazine, but a factor of its personality which the team has recently “brought more into the foreground,” says Jop. The people featured aren’t those you would recognise in the context of a magazine cover, but boys and men you’ll identify with from everyday life. Over the last couple of days Fantastic Man has been teasing its readers by gradually releasing the eight cover stars of its 27th issue.

Fantastic Man by Jop van Bennekom