Men's Health (magazine) - History

History

Launched by Mark Bricklin in 1987 as a health-oriented service magazine, Men’s Health has evolved into a lifestyle magazine for men, covering areas such as health, fitness, nutrition, relationships, travel, technology, fashion and finance. Bricklin, along with Rodale editors Larry Stains and Stefan Bechtel, initially produced three newsstand test issues. The results led Rodale to launch Men's Health as a quarterly magazine in 1988 and begin to sell subscriptions. Bricklin, who was editor-in-chief of Prevention magazine, appointed Mike Lafavore as editor of Men's Health that year. In his subsequent 12 years as editor-in-chief, Lafavore grew the circulation from 100,000 to more than 1.5 million, took the publishing frequency to 10 times a year, and expanded the magazine's brand to a number of countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Russia. He created the editorial formula still in use today, brought aboard Steven Slon, a veteran of the service journalism category, imported Greg Gutfeld from Rodale's Prevention title and worked with longtime staff editor Denis Boyles, a former Playboy contributing editor, to develop the magazine's influential and distinctive "regular guy" voice. Lafavore left Men's Health in 2000, the same year Capell's Circulation Report named the magazine "Circulation Performer of the Decade." He appointed Greg Gutfeld as his successor. After a year, Gutfeld was replaced by David Zinczenko.

As of 2012 Men's Health publishes 39 foreign editions across 46 countries, up from 20 editions in 2001. The magazine does not run ads for tobacco or liquor companies; they also do not run ads for supplements and herbal remedies.

David Zinczenko has been the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health since 2000. Ronan Gardiner is the publisher. During this period, the magazine’s circulation has grown 30 percent, and ad pages have grown 80 percent, from 700 pages to 1150. In 2000, they had 21 international editions. In 2001 they were consistently selling 400,000 copies at newsstands and overall circulation was 1.6 million. In 2001, the magazine started the annual list of cities with the healthiest men based on twenty "live-long parameters, including death rates (both homicide and disease); illness rates (high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, etc.); body-mass index; fitness training; even environmental factors like number of parks, golf courses, etc." In 2003, the circulation was 1.7 million. In 2006, the circulation was close to 1.8 million.As of June 2011, the circulation was 1.89 million.

Men's Health magazine has been criticized for its relentless focus on developing the perfect body, which can increase men's anxieties about their bodies, making them more prone to eating disorders and compulsive over-exercising. Says The New York Times, "Since its debut in the late 1980’s, the magazine has surpassed traditional men’s books like Esquire and GQ by following the formula of best-selling women’s magazines — by catering to men’s anxieties about their bodies and sexual performance." Columbia Journalism Review stated the magazine "deals overwhelmingly with self-care and, in fact, exaggerates the possibilities for autonomous personal transformation." Zinczenko argues that the magazine works towards "overcoming the resistance of the 86-percent male audience to health as a subject" and redefining health as "inclusive of everything that could improve a man's life. Great sex. Great food. Endorphin-boosting exercise. Looking and feeling your best. We turned health into a concept every guy would want to embrace, starting with the healthy guy on the cover."

The magazine has also been criticized for reusing cover taglines. In response, Zinczenko explained that the majority of magazine sales—80 percent—are subscription and those covers vary from the newsstand version. Says Zinczenko, "Twenty years of Men’s Health has certainly produced several lines that have proven themselves effective at newsstand, which makes up about 20 percent of our print run. We plan to keep using the most effective marketing tools to reach the largest market we possibly can." In July 2010, the magazine was criticized for including tiny credit lines on the cover rather than inside as a possible quid-pro-quo for advertisers. Zinczenko explained the lines were a service to readers, saving them the need to dig for the information, and that Men's Health had been including the lines across the board for over a year, regardless of advertiser status. A spokesperson for American Society of Magazine Editors confirmed that no rules were broken and the director for print strategy at a media planning and buying firm said the mention was "too small of a plug to get brands excited."

In 2004, Zinczenko began putting celebrities and athletes on the cover, such as David Beckham, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, Gerard Butler, LeBron James, Josh Duhamel, Dwyane Wade, and with their shirts on—a big departure from the cover look of the 1990s. In 2004, Rodale filed suit against Men's Fitness for its redesign which makes it "a copycat version--one that is obviously intended to confuse consumers." In May 2006, the magazine published a limited edition color cover of Josh Holloway. In the first half of 2006, newsstand sales for Men's Health rose from 492,000 to 544,000 during a price increase from $3.95 to $4.50. In 2006, the magazine and the Rodale's other properties made extensive efforts to increase online content including adding video to each section, enlisting every major section editor to blog, and adding an online ad sales director.

In fall 2007, Men’s Health launched the FitSchools initiative to combat childhood obesity. The magazine sends health, fitness, and nutrition experts to selected schools each year to remake the physical education programs and school lunch offerings. Gettys Middle School, in Easley, South Carolina, was the first FitSchool. In spring 2008, the magazine launched The FitSchools Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission to help end childhood obesity and get America’s kids interested in healthy, active living.

The January/February "2008 The Year of You" edition became the all-time single-copy sales issue in the magazine's history with 750,650 copies. Also in 2008, the magazine partnered with Google to make back issues available. In July 2008, "Men's Health" became the first to "create the first fully interactive advertising magazine in America," where users snap a picture of an ad and an immediate promotional bounce-back will be sent to their phone. For its 20th Anniversary issue in November 2008, Men's Health featured an interview and photo shoot with future President-elect Barack Obama. In 2010, Obama was again featured in reference to the health-care debates of the time and his proposed health plans. In 2011, another politician, Congressman Aaron Schock of Illinois, graced the cover baring his chest to promote fitness. The cover was released on May 9th on the Today Show with Matt Lauer where Congressman Schock encouraged people to form healthy eating and fitness habits, and join the Men's Health "Fit for Life Summer Challenge" to shed pounds. Within minutes, the Congressman's 6-pack abs caught the attention of multiple publications and went viral.

In 2009, Men's Health published the Belly Off! Diet book, based on the popular weight-loss testimonial column in the magazine. The popular column, "Eat This, Not That!" (ETNT), also became a book series in 2007 and later developed different versions (children, supermarket, restaurant, diet book) and free iPhone applications. EatThis.MensHealth.com was the most highly trafficked section of MensHealth.com in 2009 with 1 million unique visitors and 15 million page views a month. In September 2009, the column "Ask Jimmy the Bartender" was turned into an iPhone and iPad application.

In 2010, Men's Health became one of the first consumer magazines to enter the iPad market. The magazine's first application, "Men's Health Workouts," has maintained a position at or near the "Top 10" in the Health & Fitness category since its debut.