Should I intern at a magazine or just start my own?

This week, the BRICKS team speaks to 4 magazine founders about the challenges of navigating creative vision with financial reality, balancing freelancer and founder responsibilities, and whether skipping the traditional internship route is worth it.

For many trying to break into fashion media, the traditional path begins with an internship at a glossy magazine – as Recho Omondi’s recent pay scandal (S'ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre) reminded us, this often includes long hours, low pay, and the promise of proximity to prestige and industry connections. But in today’s landscape, where independent voices can carve out their own platforms with little more than determination and a good idea, is interning the only way forward? Or could starting your own magazine be the bolder, more rewarding route?

In this feature, we speak to 4 editors and creatives who took the leap and launched their own publications. They share how building something from the ground up shaped their careers, the obstacles they faced in sustaining their work, and the realities of balancing creative ambition with financial survival. Their experiences offer candid insights for anyone weighing whether to learn within the walls of a legacy title – or to create a platform of their own from scratch.