Mr. Hyphen 2008

On October 4, 2008, six Asian American male contestants battled for the title of Mr. Hyphen 2008. With talents like slam poetry, singing and hip-hop dancing-- not to mention the sleepwear segment-- the six contestants wowed the audience. Contestants represented charities such as API Legal Outreach and the Asian American Donor Program, At the end of the night, Aristotle Garcia was crowned Mr. Hyphen, taking home $1000 for his chosen charity, the Filipino American Arts and Exposition.

While Mr. Hyphen was a fun event for the community, it’s also a smart move for Hyphen Magazine. Subscriptions were sold to attendees at the price of $5 for three issues, and in the lobby there was a booth selling Hyphen T-shirts, stickers and other paraphernalia. (Free advertising!) But those were only the most obvious benefits that Hyphen received from throwing the event. One of a magazine’s most valuable assets is the sense of community it provides. Magazines are extremely tailored to a narrow demographic, and readers feel as though the magazine “gets” them and often identify closely with their magazine of choice. The Mr. Hyphen event brought together the magazine’s community-- in their case, young Asian American artists and activists-- and allowed them to participate in an event that catered to their interests and passions, building the connection between magazine and reader. On the outreach side, Hyphen partnered with two up-and-coming Asian American designers to produce the fashion segment of the show, and community leaders were brought in as judges, including Louisa Liu (Miss Asian America 2008) and Vincent Pan of Chinese for Affirmative Action. Add to that the friends and family of the contestants (who mostly fall within the target demographic, but may not be Hyphen readers) and all those people who are just interested in seeing hot Asian American men strut their stuff, and you have the perfect opportunity to showcase Hyphen’s energy and creativity to people outside its immediate pool of subscribers. The event brought together art, activism, famous faces and just plain old fun, and created an opportunity for Hyphen fans to connect with each other over their favorite magazine.