For 15 years Dan Peres was the editor for Details magazine, a high-profile men's glossy magazine that attracted elite advertisers and was well-regarded in the publishing world. For half that time he was high — even at work — as he battled an opioid addiction that took hold of his life and professional career, according to The New York Times.
Peres would go to work high on Vicodin, he would pass out on the floor of bathrooms at black-tie events, and he would frequently stay away from the office and miss meetings. At the worst of his addiction, Peres would take naps on his office couch and at one point even fell asleep during an interview with a potential employee.
Now some are questioning the management of Conde Nast at the time, wondering how so little oversight was exerted and how the company could not have known what was going on.
Peres managed to get clean in 2007 but the ghost of his addiction would haunt him for years to come. So Peres took to writing. The result of his efforts is a tell-all memoir, "As Needed for Pain," which was published this week. He does not hold back on the details of that tumultuous time.
"I always set out to write a story about myself and my addiction and how intense of a grip it had on me, and in order to illustrate that, I had to touch on a number of elements of my life, including of course my professional life," said Peres, according to Times. "I really see Details as a character in the book."
Peres would reportedly swallow up to 60 Vicodin a day. Some days he would go into work high, other days he would sleep it off. He used the benefits of his job to fuel the addiction.
An assistant had to plan a trip to San Diego, where he rented a car and drove to Mexico to buy $6,000 worth of drugs, which he smuggled back over the border. Peres' assistant unknowingly became his accomplice. She was even given the name "the Rescheduler" because she so often canceled Peres' meetings because he was high.
When things were good, they were great, or so Peres thought, but when they were bad, he struggled. During one incident, Peres traveled to Milan to attend a series of fashion shows for work but instead, he spent four solid days camped out in the Four Seasons because he did not have enough Vicodin. He did not work once during that time.
In contrast, getting clean was the best thing Peres could have done for his family, personal life, and his career.
"I got sober in 2007 and I was there for 17 years, so the first half were the dark years; the second half were not and it felt really great to engage and plug back in and be a part of a team that I think did something really wonderful for 15 years," he told WWD in an interview earlier this year. He said his whole life changed when he made the decision to give up drugs and alcohol.
"I became super present and healthy. I became a father for the first time in sobriety. I now have three kids. Everything changed."
Details is no longer published.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.