Brand Builder & Storyteller
I reinvented Playboy for a new era. I launched Time Inc.'s The Drive from nothing to 10 million users. I've led the teams behind Road & Track and DuPont Registry.
Whether a brand needs to be built or rebuilt, the work starts with the same thing: a story worth telling.
About
I build brands and I rebuild them. I've launched a media brand from zero to 10 million users and an acquisition. I've taken heritage names like Playboy and Road & Track and figured out how to make them matter again to audiences that didn't exist when those brands were founded.
The work is part narrative, part strategy, part gut. I lead the teams that bring it to life — whether that means creating something entirely new or taking something with decades of history and pointing it in a direction that actually makes sense for where media is going.
I don't do decks full of jargon. I figure out what's true about a brand, then help them say it clearly — and in the right places.
I'm also a musician, a former writer at Rolling Stone, and one-time assistant to Hunter S. Thompson. I've raced the Baja 1000 and somehow ended up in an episode of the Real Housewives of New York. My book on the marriage of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, All Our Pretty Songs, is forthcoming from St. Martin's Press in Fall 2027. I've lived inside the culture I now help brands speak to — which is why the work sounds like a person wrote it, not a committee.
Brand Reinvention
One of the most recognized brands in the world — but the story had gotten stale. I led the team that reinvented what Playboy meant for a modern audience, rebuilding the narrative from the inside out while preserving the cultural weight that made it iconic.
Reframed public perception · opened new revenue streams
Built from Zero · Acquired
Launched The Drive for Time Inc. from nothing — no audience, no brand equity, just a thesis about what an automotive media brand could be. Built the editorial vision, hired and led the team, drove the growth engine from day one through acquisition.
Zero to 10M users in one year · acquired by Recurrent Ventures
Editorial Relaunch
A storied enthusiast publication that needed to evolve without losing its soul. I led the relaunch of the editorial model for a digital-first world — new voice, new formats, same passion that readers had loved for decades.
Reached new audiences · retained loyal readership
Brand Repositioning
A luxury automotive and real estate media brand with serious heritage. I led the repositioning of the group for the next era — sharpening the editorial identity and rethinking how the brand connects with a changing luxury market.
Modernized brand positioning across the portfolio
Every project is different, but the questions are usually the same: who are you, who needs to hear it, and what's the story that makes them care? I work with brands and executives on a fractional or advisory basis — and I'm selectively open to the right full-time leadership role.
Legacy brands that need a new direction. I dig into what still resonates, strip away what doesn't, and rebuild the narrative for where the audience actually is.
Building something from nothing. I help define what a new brand is, who it's for, and why anyone should care — then build the editorial foundation and growth strategy.
The story that sits underneath everything else — the one that makes content, campaigns, and press actually hang together as a coherent point of view.
For founders and executives who know they need a public presence but aren't sure what to say. I help them find the honest version of their story.
Forthcoming
St. Martin's Press · Fall 2027
The marriage of Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love
A deep account of one of rock's most mythologized relationships — reported, intimate, and unsparing. Coming Fall 2027 from St. Martin's Press.
Whether you're building something new, rethinking something that exists, or looking for the right editorial leader — I'd like to hear about it.
mike.guy@gmail.comBased in Woodstock, NY · Available worldwide