The American Dream
Esquire Singapore|Summer 2021
From touring with The Beatles to reviving the Renaissance— Ed Freeman has done it all.
Ishan Singh
The American Dream

Aeroplanes looked different in the 1950s—the golden age of flying, as we now know it. Back then, travelling through the skies was nothing short of a grand affair. In fact, almost 70 years on, Ed Freeman still remembers his first journey. It was 16 hours from Boston to London. That’s almost 10 hours more than it’d take today—I imagine because we no longer need to stop at Nova Scotia, Iceland and Ireland to refuel. “Pretty primitive,” Freeman describes. “Of course, we didn’t know any better. We thought, right, I can fly to London instead of taking a boat, wow!”

He was 16 at the time when his parents handed him a passport and a bit of cash and sent him off to see the world—in hindsight, an experience which he’d wish upon every teenager. The experience of a lifetime. “It affected me profoundly,” Freeman shares. “I went to France and Spain, which, of course, was more challenging back in those days. No one spoke English, there was no internet, no international phone calls. I was pretty much on my own. It was...” he pauses in search of the right words. Panic attack-inducing, I think to suggest to him but instead, he proffers: “...exciting.”

That reveals why Freeman set off on a third trip across the ocean while enrolled in university. “Just curiosity,” he reasons. “I wondered what Burma looks like, what Borneo looks like.” At this point, photography was still a hobby for him—he’d have a career in music and contemplate linguistics before making it a profession. “I probably shot like three rolls of film, so 36 pictures [that entire trip]. Nowadays, I shoot 36 pictures before I get out of the airport.”

Denne historien er fra Summer 2021-utgaven av Esquire Singapore.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra Summer 2021-utgaven av Esquire Singapore.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ESQUIRE SINGAPORESe alt
THE MILD HANGOVER
Esquire Singapore

THE MILD HANGOVER

Hangovers get a bad rap. We know. If you’ve gotten this far in the magazine, you’ve surely divined that we’re mildly hungover most of the time.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2022
AN ELECTRIC FUTURE
Esquire Singapore

AN ELECTRIC FUTURE

Polestar, the minimalist electric Swedish car brand, turns the voltage up on its competition.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2022
LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON
Esquire Singapore

LET'S GET REAL (ESTATE): LUXURIOUS LONDON

Royalty, shopping, the best tea and scones the world has to offer, and a lifestyle worthy of what you're working for. Here's why London is ripe for your next investment

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022
NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA
Esquire Singapore

NEXT UP....ZARAN VACHHA

As Co-founder of the events and talent agency Collective Minds and Managing Director of the Mandala Masters, Zaran Vachha is definitely not new to the culture scene, but he's certainly shaping what comes next.

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2022
WHAT I'VE LEARNED...
Esquire Singapore

WHAT I'VE LEARNED...

I DON’T WEAR SOCKS except in January.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2022
The Body Is a Language
Esquire Singapore

The Body Is a Language

A bad handshake is such a turnoff; we feel irked when someone rolls their eyes at us; we can't stop pacing when we're nervous-ever wondered how certain body language has the power to change how we feel instantly? We explore why.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022
EYE OF THE TIGER
Esquire Singapore

EYE OF THE TIGER

Hailing from Singapore, Japan and Brazil respectively, Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes Darren Goh, Hiroki Akimoto and Alex Silva are proof that the ring demands as much from mind as it does from matter.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
THE ADONIS COMPLEX
Esquire Singapore

THE ADONIS COMPLEX

With the rise of superhero culture making a return and bringing with it the celebration of the classically ‘masculine’ body type, can men really overcome the pressure to conform when culture keeps getting in the way?

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2022
FUNNY BUT TRUE
Esquire Singapore

FUNNY BUT TRUE

A comedian, an iconic Singaporean, and now a man much evolved. After overcoming two years of pandemic limbo, unlocking career milestones one after another and undergoing a life-defining physical transformation, Rishi Budhrani is ready to emerge into the world renewed-and anew.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2022
LIKE NO OTHER
Esquire Singapore

LIKE NO OTHER

With its horological triumphs, Hermès has truly come into its own as a watchmaking maison. In this exclusive interview with Esquire Singapore, CEO of Hermès Horloger, Laurent Dordet sheds some light on his timepieces' rising stardom and the importance of being different.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2022