The rise of 'Lifestyle Guy'

Not long ago I was sitting with a friend at the rooftop bar of a hotel in Barcelona. A man walked past clad in dark designer stubble, Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses and Loro Piana Summer Walks. Upon his shoulder, a Bottega Veneta weekend bag with its hallmark cross-hatching and white Airpods lodged in his ears. A dark blue shirt was unbuttoned to his sternum; a Rolex hung loosely on his wrist. Once he was safely out of earshot, my chum looked at me conspiratorially and uttered: “Lifestyle Guy!”

I hadn’t heard the term before, but I knew what he meant. From San Francisco to Seoul, a stratum of men has arisen. We’ll call them lifestyle guys. Just as dogs come to resemble their owners, so this international cohort has come to resemble its consumer habits. I had no idea where he was from, which languages he spoke, but I could make some educated guesses. He read the Financial Times, owned an iPhone, and liked techno but also hip-hop. He used Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Instagram, possibly Twitter. He had seen or was at least aware of Chef’s Table and Money Heist. He followed football. He was not a stranger to business podcasts. He had recently eschewed skinny fit trousers for a more forgiving, wider leg. In the past year he had considered purchasing a pair of Adidas Sambas. He would own some basics from Uniqlo and some outerwear from the North Face or Arc’teryx. He drank tequila but also natural wine. He intermittently fasted. He exercised, routinely running at least 10k. He had an integrated speaker system at home and thought about watches beyond the one on his wrist.