Josh Rubin has built Cool Hunting into one of the most recognizable websites and names within popular culture today. Since its creation in 2003, Cool Hunting has managed to reach a broader array of readers than almost any site I know, making sure to cover the spectrum; from fashion, to tech, to design, to streetwear, to art, etc. Cool Hunting spreads the “esthetically fly” gospel. There’s a lot more to Josh Rubin than just what you see on Cool Hunting, he's  a Senior Partner at Bond Art and Science (a digital services firm he founded). He's spent time at  Motorola, Razorfish and Upoc Networks. He even holds a  Master's in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University. Josh went from an interested blogger to a “mover and shaker” within the corporate branding empire.   Interview by Matthew Ross.

SXH: A Cool Hunter makes “It their job to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends. The word derives from the aesthetic of ‘cool’.”  Do you consider yourself to be the king of Cool Hunting?  Or just a Gospel?

JR: Here’s the deal: I started the site 5 years ago as a way to catalog things I find inspiring. As I was the original audience, I didn’t think twice about a name. I had read Malcom Gladwell’s New Yorker piece back in 1997 and the phrase Cool Hunt stuck in my head from then on. Except for me it was synonymous for seeking inspiration. So when it came time to name the site, that’s what I gave it.

To answer your question, I don’t consider myself the king of anything. I just know what I like and am happy to have a place online to share that with anyone who gets inspired by the same kind of stuff as me. And so far as the trend stuff goes, we don’t write about trends. Sure, there are patterns in the things that we cover but it’s up to the reader to see those and interpret them as they wish.


SXH: Initially when you started Cool Hunting, there wasn't much else available to Internet readers, what was your initial philosophy and motivation behind the site?

JR: Like I said above, I just wanted a catalog of things I find inspiring. As a designer I’m always looking for new and interesting things to keep my mind going. I love the collision of art, design, technology and culture. I’m fascinated by process and believe that there are no new ideas, just great executions. I used to have a mess of magazine pages, photos, notes, and bookmarks but they were totally disorganized. I’m much better at organizing digitally.

SXH: For all the regular readers of coolhunting.com like myself; there has been an amazing progression of the site, both in content and media… Where do you draw the inspiration? And what does the future hold for you and your site specifically, and the industry of cool?

JR: About two years in the site went from being a one-man show to a collaboration. Today we have 25 contributors around the world and there are three of us who edit the site. Everyone working with us has similar taste to me so it’s exciting to see what they come up with.

PAGE: