Rob Lowe Knew Brat Pack Moniker Was 'Designed to Belittle,' But Says Fans 'Didn't Get the Memo' (Exclusive)

In a new PEOPLE cover story, the beloved Hollywood icon looks back on his journey from Midwest kid to Brat Pack idol to sober family man with 'no regrets'

When New York Magazine splashed "Hollywood's Brat Pack" across its cover in June, 1985, an enduring moniker was born. The feature focused on a crew of white-hot actors in their 20s at the time, including Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson, as they and other young stars like Demi Moore and Andrew McCarthy rode a wave of newfound fame.

The article, and the Brat Pack nickname, didn't sit particularly well with the group at the time.

"The article was horrible," Lowe tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that celebrates ten transformative moments in the Hollywood icon's life.  "It was a hit piece, there's no doubt about it. It was designed to belittle us, make us look small, with that journalistic trick of plausible deniability."

Related: Rob Lowe Marvels at Enduring Power of the Brat Pack with Andrew McCarthy: 'We Were So Lucky' (Exclusive)

"This is the Hollywood 'Brat Pack,'" journalist David Blum wrote as part of his piece. "It is to the 1980s what the Rat Pack was to the 1960s — a roving band of famous young stars on the prowl for parties, women, and a good time."

Lowe, who skyrocketed to superstardom with St. Elmo's Fire that year, says the aftermath "was no fun," but allows he got off easy in the story by comparison. "I actually came out okay in it," he says. "It was the one night I went home early. What a rarity. So, somebody was looking out for me."

Lowe was able to glean perspective early on, even though he says the "Brat Pack" association "probably didn't help our credibility... in the industry." Most important, he adds, is that "the public — at the end of the day, that's all that matters — never got that memo. They're like, ‘That sounds cool'."

Related: St. Elmo's Fire Came Out on This Day in 1985; See Photos of the Brat Pack in Action on Set

"I think I realized that probably quicker than the rest of the [group of actors], that it was a good thing," says Lowe, who has long made peace with the nickname and that transformative period of his career.

"The Brat Pack is having a moment... Andrew McCarthy's documentary [Brats] has a lot to do with it, and it couldn’t make me happier," he says. "It was a seminal point for me becoming comfortable in the space I occupied as an actor, for lack of a better term, and the beginning of a real rocket-ship ride."

Now 60, Lowe fully embraces his early professional journey, which began with a star-turn in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic, The Outsiders, in 1983, and exploded with St. Elmo’s Fire. "We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time, as the movie business was beginning a transition to where it landed and still exists, which is movies made almost exclusively for 18-to-20-year-olds," Lowe shared with McCarthy in Brats. 

Related: BRATS Trailer: Andrew McCarthy Reunites the Brat Pack to ‘Clear the Air’ in Documentary (Exclusive)

"Every summer movie that's out is geared toward that audience. It wasn't always like that... But we were there at a time when that began."

He added: "Not only being in the Brat Pack, but being around at that time, it not only changed all of our lives — it changed what entertainment is."

For more from Rob Lowe’s revealing PEOPLE interview, please pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.

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