If you watch “The Drew Barrymore Show,” chances are you’ve seen Danny Seo, chief lifestyle contributor and member of “Drew’s Crew.” Perhaps you know him as the publisher of the home design magazine Rue or as the editor-in-chief of his quarterly sustainable lifestyle magazine Naturally, Danny Seo. Or you may know him from his product line, which is carried nationwide in stores such as HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
With such widespread success as a design, lifestyle and sustainability expert, one might assume Seo, 47, followed a carefully mapped-out career path, complete with formal training and strategic planning.
Well, not exactly.
“It was never a business plan,” says Seo of becoming a sustainability expert. “I actually left high school before I graduated.”
Photo By Jonas Jungblut
Environmental Activist
Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, Seo was a young environmental activist who started a nonprofit organization called Earth 2000 when he was 12 years old. It grew into a national association comprising tens of thousands of members.
“The internet was in its infancy at the time, and I was using a P.O. Box and working with newspapers and watching campaigns on TV, and other teenagers around the world found me,” says Seo.
As for the reason he called it Earth 2000, he says, “The year 2000 was on the cusp of coming, and I thought, by then, we could save the planet,” he says with a laugh. “You know, I was 12.”
Having become a vegetarian at that age, Seo also opened a recycling center at his parents’ home for their local community. “The newspaper had a listing of all the recycling facilities, and it included our house. People would just show up with stuff, and I’d be like, ‘I got it,’” he says.
Even though, as the youngest of three, he was not pursuing his brother and sister’s paths of attending Ivy League schools, Seo says his parents were supportive.
“They weren’t helicopter parents, but they would drop me off at the library so I could do all my research and read stories,” he recalls. The library became the place where he educated himself on business, marketing, writing and environmental issues.
Through Earth 2000, Seo was invited to speak around the globe during his teen years, spending time with acclaimed figures like Jane Goodall, Desmond Tutu and Mikhail Gorbachev, among others.
“I just spent a day with them,” he says. “But to me, those were my teachers.”
When he chose to leave high school, Seo became a lobbyist for a nonprofit in Washington, D.C. But he also wanted to continue his activism. Because he wasn’t paid a lot, he needed to figure out another way to make money. So, he pitched a book.
Random House bought his first book when Seo was 19. “Generation React: Activism for Beginners,” was a guide for teens.
“They paid me a $32,000 advance,” says Seo. “As a 19-year-old, I felt rich with that.”
When it came time to promote the book, a reporter came to Seo’s apartment. That story changed his life.
Photo BY David Engelhardt
Martha Stewart Living Meets Greenpeace
Instead of writing a story about Seo’s book or activism, the reporter took another angle. They wrote about the food he cooked, the way he decorated his apartment using found objects and how he was living a sustainable life with really good style.
“At the time, that world didn’t exist. It was just the way I wanted to live my life,” says Seo. “I wanted a world of Martha Stewart Living meets Greenpeace.”
When the story on Seo was published, the Los Angeles Times picked it up. Suddenly, celebrities who were living the way Seo was — often referred to today as “eco-chic”— wanted him to help them make their homes and their lives more environmentally friendly.
Seo says he can’t mention the actor’s name, but one of the biggest stars in the world had his assistant reach out to him because he wanted to figure out how to do what was right for the environment but still have style.
“I suggested that when he went to an awards show, instead of taking a limo, why not take a more fuel-efficient car?” Seo asked the celebrity if it really mattered if he were in a limo.
The actor agreed and went in a fuel-efficient car.
“It got so much press!” says Seo. Everyone was wondering what that car was doing in a line of limos.
His 'Aha' Moment
That experience was Seo’s “aha” moment. He realized that celebrities had massive platforms, and instead of focusing on what they were wearing or their fitness routines, they could influence people by showcasing their sustainable lifestyles.
And Seo was there to guide them.
He began helping celebrities incorporate sustainability into their red-carpet looks, encouraging them to wear conflict-free diamonds and vintage clothing. That soon evolved into advising them on eco-friendly home decor.
Although Seo told them he wasn’t a trained designer, the stars could see that he had an eye for style and they wanted his help.
The amount of press on the celebrities and on Seo himself grew. He began getting calls from magazines such as Elle Décor, and in the early 2000s he was hired by Rodale Press to help create a new title.
He began coming up with story ideas, like “How to make your holiday season sustainable” and “How to take care of your clothes sustainably.”
“I just became this expert in almost anything dealing with living at home, as this whole movement went from niche to more mainstream,” says Seo.
Naturally, Danny Seo
Seo’s career just kept growing. He was the first talent cast for a show on HGTV about sustainability. He was writing more and more books. He got involved with brand partners, as he had so many ideas for product lines.
But what he really wanted was his own magazine.
“I wanted a beautiful magazine on sustainability, covering home, wellness, travel — everything,” he says. “I also wanted to own the magazine, be 100% in control of the content and have full approval, cover-to-cover.”
He went to all the big magazine publishers. They all turned him down.
As he says, the 12-year-old in him made things happen. He conducted research and discovered that paper was the biggest cost in producing a magazine. So, Seo approached a paper company in upstate New York that was seeking a publisher to use a stock the company produced that was 100% recycled, sustainable and had a beautiful texture.
Seo offered them a deal: If they would give him the paper for free for the premiere issue, he would let everyone know it was the company’s paper.
It worked.
“When that first issue came out, it had like a 90% sell-through on newsstands, which is unheard of,” Seo says.
The magazine, called Naturally, Danny Seo, is still thriving a decade later.
The magazine led to a TV show on NBC with the same name. Although, as he had been told about previous projects, numerous networks said it wouldn’t work.
“They said, ‘Who wants to watch a show about someone who crafts things, goes on field trips and cooks healthy food? It sounds like something my grandmother would watch,’” recalls Seo.
So he raised the money, got the show on the air and won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Show.
“I don’t care about awards, but that moment felt pretty good because I knew my idea wasn’t stupid,” says Seo.
Photo BY David Engelhardt
Still Sustainable
Today, Seo, who is now vegan, lives with his partner, Kerry Thompson, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in a restored farm-style home. It was built with reclaimed wood.
Although CBS offered to send him a car to transport him to “The Drew Barrymore Show,” Seo told them he would prefer taking New Jersey transit because it’s better for the environment.
“It only costs about $13, and I’ll be in the city within an hour instead of sitting in traffic,” says Seo.
As for his home, Seo decorated it sustainably, using found objects and furniture.
“I love the personality, the patina and the quality of vintage and antique. Even today, if there’s something newer that I need, you can find everything lightly used,” he says. “I’m also thrifty. One of my mantras is that ‘quality doesn’t have to mean expensive.’”