Discovering Mathieu Lebreton’s routine

We meet with Mathieu Lebreton in Paris, in a café in the capital city’s 3ème arrondissement. Mathieu lives in Los Angeles and is in town for a few days. “I’m covering the Paris Fashion Week for Thom Browne” he explains. He was kind enough to take the time to tell us about his day-to-day life.

“I don’t think I can really explain what I do for a living”. As a proper jack-of-all-trades, Mathieu Lebreton does a bit of everything. On his business card he amusingly describes himself as a “tourist”. Strangely enough, the title suits his variety of activities pretty well. Mathieu is a photographer, consultant, and entrepreneur. “These days, most of my activity revolves around the creative studio I launched in June with my best friend”. Consulting, photo, event and even clothing production are on the menu, straight from L.A.

Mathieu first started working more than 10 years ago, in Paris. “I had a keen interest in new technologies, so I decided to study marketing and management, with a multimedia specialisation at the Léonard de Vinci university”, he tells us. He simultaneously launched his own company, and his blog, which he called Materialist. This all happened in 2004. “Social networks were taking their very first baby steps”. During his third year at university, L’Oréal invited him to the launch of a new Diesel fragrance by L’Oréal, where he met the company’s Head of Sales. This kick-started his career. “I joined his team and worked on the launches of Viktor & Rolf, Maison Martin Margiela, and Diesel fragrances, as all three brands belonged to the L’Oréal Group.” His job title was officially Social Media Manager at a time when the position wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is today. “It is true that it is much more commonplace now than it was back then”.

“The idea was to deal with bloggers back when they weren’t half as professional as they are now”, Mathieu explains. From there came the idea to create his own agency - Ykone - which he launched in 2008. “The aim was to act as a middleman between bloggers and brands”. A very successful idea, as it turns out. “We did a first round of fundraising which saw investments from French TV personality Arthur, and French bank BNP-Paribas’ CEO, and then raised two more million euros in a second round”. Ykone set up shop in New York, and counted up to 60 employees, divided between the agency and its editorial website (“we considered it as a sort of fashion encyclopaedia”). The experience would end in 2013 for Mathieu following irreconcilable personal and professional differences with his associate.

“I needed a break. I travelled a lot and took plenty of pictures, for pleasure more than anything else”. He hosted these pictures on a site he created in 2008 which could be considered as a diary of sorts: Daaamn. This has remained the case, as to this day, he refuses to monetise his website or post sponsored articles. Shortly after coming back from his travels he accomplished a dream he’d had for a long time by moving to the US.

He landed in Los Angeles in December 2014, with the aim of launching a French concept store. “Think of it as a souvenir shop with the best possible selection of French products”. A project that never saw the light of day, but which he hasn’t given up on yet. “Currently my best friend and I are running Spring Summer Studio”. The creative, consulting and production studio we mentioned earlier. Their first client is bison-leather brand Parabellum. A fantastic professional relationship, as Mathieu himself puts it. “What was only meant to be a short-term consulting assignment quickly became a full-time job, and I have even invested in the company”. Parabellum recently opened its flagship store in L.A. In parallel, he manages photo projects for fashion brands: “I shoot the social media pictures for the Thom Browne and Lanvin men’s fashion shows”.

Mathieu’s daily routine varies depending on whether he’s in L.A. or Paris. “It feels like I have a much healthier lifestyle in L.A.”, he explains. While he wakes up around 7:30 in the US, early mornings are a bit more difficult in Paris. “I go to bed late, I stay up watching TV shows… all the stuff I rarely do in Los Angeles”. In California, the first thing he does in the morning is take his one-year-old Beagle, Médor, for a walk. “He’s very popular in my neighbourhood, so I’m constantly getting stopped by people. Walking him can take anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes”. After that, it’s breakfast time: an almond milk, coconut milk, ginger, red berry, and cocoa bean smoothie, as well as a bowl of porridge. “I take time in the morning to read the French papers and browse my social network accounts”. All of this takes place on his balcony, facing east. “I can really enjoy the sunrise, as I have a completely unobstructed view”. Which makes sense given his flat is on the 18th floor.

After his breakfast comes the shower, during which he almost exclusively uses Baxter of California products. “I’m a long-time fan, and I own close to the entirety of their range, from the shower gel, to the face wash, and the clay mask. I even own their safety razor although I only rarely shave”. As Mathieu himself admits, shaving makes him look 10 years younger. He prefers to use an electric razor for his occasional needs. “I often wear a beanie or a cap. When I’m not, I style my hair with the Clay Pomade, or Hard Water pomade ». Baxter of California again, not that we really needed to specify. In terms of fragrances, Mathieu is a Dior die-hard, with a few exceptions. “I use Dior’s Bois d’Argent and Eau Noire in winter, and Astier de Villate’s Eau Chic or Guerlain’s Cologne Royale in summer, because I love lemony scents, and anything with a touch of citrus”.

“I live in Downtown L.A. because I wanted a flat, had no particular desire to live in a house, and I wanted a central location, so as to avoid spending entire days in the car”. Quite understandable in a city where the car reigns supreme and most Angelenos spend 50 hours a week in traffic jams. Mathieu lives neighbourhood life to the fullest, always with Médor by his side. “I walk him a second time in the morning for 40 minutes or so, in the area of the neighbourhood which is really thriving, with plenty of shops”. He makes a final stop at The Verve, his favourite coffee shop. “Either I’ll directly start working in there, or I’ll drink an Iced Coffee before making my way back home to start my work day”.

Most often Mathieu works from home or at the Parabellum offices, not too far from Melrose Avenue. “I either cycle there, or get an Uber. I really love cycling, I used to do 10km every day, but that’s slowed down a bit since I adopted Médor.” Mathieu confesses cycling in L.A. is a bit of a dangerous hobby due to the heavy traffic, even if it’s slightly better in Downtown, a human-scale neighbourhood.

Thankfully cycling isn’t the only form of exercise Mathieu enjoys. “My best friend and associate is a fitness freak, and he’s always keeping me busy”, he admits. He goes boxing with him twice a week, in the City of Angels Boxing club, south of Downtown, where one might run into Usher. “It’s super physical. I go at 11:30am on the days I’m working in the afternoon”. He also runs, in Silver Lake, an area located in the north-eastern part of the city.

“I find that harder because the weather is always very hot, and it takes the enjoyment out of it. But I try to make it a habit to go three times a week, even if I have to force myself”. Thanks to his flexible working hours, Mathieu is free to take on plenty of activities. While he readily concedes that he finds it more difficult to exercise in Paris than Los Angeles, he’s also quick to point out that his diet is much more healthy in L.A. “I think the environment is simply more suited to that kind of lifestyle. Everyone is a bit of a health nut in California”.

Avid traveller, sometimes frustratingly difficult to get in touch with when it comes to organising a photo shoot in his flat, Mathieu Lebreton seems quite at home in Los Angeles, where he has his bearings and daily routine, far from the French capital. All of which is well documented on his Instagram, which he (very) regularly updates.

Photos : Camille Denoix