BART-JAN BROUWER, MASTERS

De Kruiwagen Van... is back, this time featuring Bart-Jan Brouwer, editor-in-chief of LXRY Magazine, in the lead role. LXRY Magazine #26 will be released in March, and Bart-Jan has directed all its editorial content, photography, hotspots and trends since 2012. We have maintained a close relationship with LXRY for some time, so we wanted to know what drives him.

'De Kruiwagen Van…' is back with a vengeance, this time with Bart-Jan Brouwer, editor-in-chief of LXRY Magazine, in the leading role. LXRY Magazine #26 will be out on March 41 and Bart-Jan has been at the helm of all its substantive reports, photography, hotspots and trends since 2012. We have had a close bond with LXRY for quite some time, but who gave him the writing pen? Text: Mical Joseph
Image: John van Helvert

What was your very first job?

“My very first job, when I was 12, was as an actor in the historical drama series Dynastie der Kleine Luyden by Willy van Hemert. My mother was a director at TROS and had once shown him a photo of me. You wouldn't say it, but I was a lovely boy at the time with a head full of blond curls. During the recordings I experienced the craziest things. For example, there was a flood scene, recorded at the Wijde Blik in Loosdrecht, where I was rescued from the ice-cold water. It was storming and pouring, and the scene kept having to be over, brr. In a caravan I was kept warm with blankets and small sips of brandy. And in a German monastery garden I had to gallop on an unsaddled horse over sheets that were drying on the grass. In a riding school you can still steer a horse, but in the crowd of nuns and television people my horse bolted and whipped me away. The result was a bruised arm and a stand-in who took over for me. In the years that followed, I was a production assistant during school holidays on television programs such as Te Land, ter Zee and in de Lucht. What I especially remember are the recordings in the Beekse Bergen, where a singer took off in a hot air balloon and I had to get her back again. I just got my driver's license and sped onto the highway, not losing sight of the hot air balloon. At one point he dropped behind the trees. I enter a forest path. The balloon went lower, I went faster. The singer landed at a farm, where I pulled her out of the mud and lifted her to the car. When I graduated from high school, I went to Nyenrode Business University. I chose this because I could learn well, so I got the most out of it and after my studies I had a broad spectrum of choices.”Ice from the Iceberg Lake in Iceland

And then?

“After I got my MBA, I went into business. After sniffing around at Bührmann-Tetterode, I was hired at Siemens Data as a junior sales manager. I lived in Hilversum and drove back and forth to The Hague every day. Traffic jam every day, time to think every day. I had the nicest colleagues, but I didn't find the work satisfying. Is this life?, I wondered. I played a lot of music cassettes in the car. On The Doors' album American Prayer, Jim Morrison says: That got me thinking. I thought I was living in a boring script. Not an exciting movie. Another wake-up call was the documentary Koyaanisqatsi, 'life in imbalance' in the language of the Hopi Indians. Set to music by Philip Glass, you first see the untouched earth. The camera glides slowly over deserts, ravines and vast plains. Then humanity intervenes – the music moves at an ever-increasing tempo. You see how technology is changing the world – the images are moving faster and faster. Of buildings rising, crowded squares and endless flows of traffic. And every day I also stood in those endless traffic jams. This was not the life I wanted, I decided, and so my time as a businessman came to an end. During my search for what I wanted, I met an Englishman who temporarily had no place to stay. A creative, fun guy. I offered that he could sleep on the couch with me for the night. That one night turned into six months. When he left again, he gave me a camera as a thank you. I had never photographed before, but I enjoyed it! I took a course, invested in a professional Nikon and practiced in Amsterdam's nightlife with all its colorful and extravagant partygoers. I gave an exhibition in De Melkweg, had a regular image section in a Japanese magazine and became a reporter for various music magazines.”

How did you end up in your current job?

“I ended up at Patty Brard's private party through someone else. She had just started her own magazine and I thought it would be fun to photograph for it. I crept into her office and placed a two-line application on her desk. Patty and I connected after this evening and started working together. We roamed the red carpets and had the most fun. It was short-lived, but it marked the start of my journalistic career. I received very different assignments, ranging from a shoot for Playboy to a tour through Europe with a fisheye camera. I ended up staying in the Penthouse editorial office. That was unadulterated rock 'n' roll for ten years. When I started a family, I thought it was time to leave this turbulent existence behind me. In 2007 I joined Gijrath Media Group, which later became LXRY Media Group, as editor-in-chief of Miljonair and at the beginning of 2012 I became editor-in-chief of LXRY Magazine.

n a microlight above the Victoria Falls in Zambia

Dropped by helicopter on the volcanic island White Island in New Zealand

Feeding elephants in South Africa

Who was your wheelbarrow in that?

“I actually haven't had any real wheelbarrows in my life, rather they were sources of inspiration that took me further: Jim Morrison, Koyaanisqatsi. What also inspired me was my editor-in-chief at Penthouse, Peter Yeh. He was the opposite of me: I was always the hard worker, very disciplined; he was the cheerful creative bird who enjoyed life to the fullest. He pointed out to me the importance of joie de vivre, finding balance.”

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

“The nice thing about this work is that I meet so many fascinating people - entrepreneurs, chefs, artists and fascinating personalities such as Louis van Gaal, Daan Roosegaarde, Joost Zwagerman and Gordon - that I have such enthusiastic freelancers and colleagues around me that I see so many unique places in the world, including for travel reports: these are real gifts. Bringing in photography together with my regular photographer John van Helvert and gradually working on creating a beautiful article and ultimately a magazine that I am proud of from the first to the last page, that is my greatest passion.” 32 degrees in Finnish Lapland

Who else would you like to interview?

“My heart goes out to football, so I would like to speak to top football coaches such as Peter Bosz, Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.”

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

“At Penthouse, the editorial staff shrank from six to two over the years. Then you think: how can we make it? In such situations you discover that you can do more than you think. You shouldn't be afraid of the next level. At Penthouse I learned all facets of magazine making in this way. After an interview with Kane or Geert Wilders, I grabbed my camera for photography, after which I formatted the article myself. I just didn't do the distribution myself.”

What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?

“Believe in yourself and chase your dreams. So that later, when you look back on your life, you can say: I can make an exciting film about that!”