''Maxim'' is an international
men's magazine
This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as Adult magazine, adult ones. Not include ...
, devised and launched in the
UK in 1995, but based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
since 1997, and prominent for its photography of actors, singers, and female models whose careers are at a current peak. ''Maxim'' has a circulation of about 9 million readers each month. Maxim Digital reaches more than 4 million unique viewers each month. ''Maxim'' magazine publishes 16 editions, sold in 75 countries worldwide.
History
''Maxim'' was founded by
Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis (27 May 1947 – 22 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times ...
in 1995 and expanded to the United States in 1997.
''Maxim'' has expanded into many other countries, including
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In 1999, MaximOnline.com (now maxim.com) was created. It contains content not included in the print version, and focuses on the same general topics, along with exclusive sections such as the "Girls of ''Maxim''" galleries and the "Joke of the Day". "Maxim Video" contains video clips of interviews, music videos, photo shoots, and original content.
On December 2001,
Editorial Televisa published the
Spanish-language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
edition of ''Maxim'' magazine for Latin America and the
Hispanic communities of the United States, its first cover was Colombian model and actress
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020. . In 2002, it expanded to the film industry with a first look deal at New Line Cinema.
On February 5, 2005,
Maxim Radio
Sirius XM Indie, formerly known as Maxim Radio and Stars Too, was a talk channel heard on the Sirius and XM satellite radio platforms. The channel is a spin-off of its sister station Sirius XM Stars.
History
Maxim Radio (2005–2008)
On Februa ...
, featuring male-oriented talk programming, debuted on
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially lau ...
. Following the Sirius-XM merger in late 2008, the ''Maxim'' brand was dropped, and the channel is now known as
Sirius XM Stars Too
Sirius XM Indie, formerly known as Maxim Radio and Stars Too, was a talk channel heard on the Sirius and XM satellite radio platforms. The channel is a spin-off of its sister station Sirius XM Stars.
History
Maxim Radio (2005–2008)
On Februa ...
.
Since 2005, in Argentina, the Argentinian edition of ''Maxim'' magazine began to adapt and approximate the styles of the American adult magazines
''Penthouse'' and ''
Hustler
Hustler or hustlers may also refer to:
Professions
* Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a:
** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks
** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs
** Male prostitute
** Pimp
** Business man, more gener ...
'', publishing photos of Argentinian models in thongs and topless.
On June 5, 2006, the magazine announced plans to build a casino on the
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...
north of
Circus Circus, but the casino plan failed after local condominium owners complained that the proposed casino would ruin their view. The land was sold to
MGM Mirage
MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...
.
On June 15, 2007, private equity firm
Quadrangle Group
Quadrangle Group is a private investment firm focused on private equity. The firm invests in middle-market companies within the media, communications and information-based sectors.
The firm, which is based in New York City, was founded in 2000, ...
, along with long-time media executive Kent Brownridge, announced the acquisition of the parent company of ''Maxim'', ''Blender'', ''
Stuff
Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to:
*Physical matter
*General, unspecific things, or entities
Arts, media, and entertainment
Books
*''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly
*''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...
'', and MaximOnline.com in the United States, under the name Alpha Media Group. As of April 23, 2009,
Dennis Publishing has announced that it will no longer produce a print edition of ''Maxim'' in the UK, though the website for the UK version will remain.
In July 2009, ''Maxim'' partnered with the
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
for the first-ever ''Maxim'' UFC Octagon Girl Search at the UFC Fan Expo; 40 girls participated in the contest, and the winner was Natasha Wicks.
Quadrangle Group gave up on its investment in Alpha Media Group in August 2009, making
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
the majority partner. In 2013, Alpha announced the sale of ''Maxim'' to the newly created Darden Media Group, but Darden was unable to raise the money. Calvin Darden Jr. was later charged with fraud relating to the transaction.
Between 2010 and 2012, ''Maxim'' eliminated two issues, going from 12 issues a year to 10, and decreased its circulation numbers by 20%, from a reported 2.5 million to only 2.0 million.
Maximum Warrior debuted in 2011, as an online reality competition that tests 10 of America's most elite military operators in 10 military-inspired challenges. The videos are available online and on the Maxim app on Xbox Live. Several episodes feature
Dakota Meyer
Dakota Louis Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a former United States Marine. A veteran of the War in Afghanistan, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. ...
, ''Maxim''s military advisor. Maximum Warrior is produced by
Grand Street Media
Grand Street Media is an independent video production company located in the Flatiron district of New York City, United States. The company was founded in 2002. They have produced content for Maxim Magazine's Maximum Warrior show, The Doe Fund ...
.
The Argentinian edition of the magazine ''Maxim'' stopped circulating in March 2013 in Argentina and its last cover was the Argentinian model
Valeria Degenaro.
On February 27, 2014, entrepreneur
Sardar Biglari
Sardar Biglari ( fa, سردار بیگلری; born August 30, 1977) is an American entrepreneur and is the founder, chairman and CEO of Biglari Holdings, , the founder of
Biglari Holdings
Biglari Holdings Inc. is an American holding company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, founded by entrepreneur Sardar Biglari. Its major subsidiaries include Steak 'n Shake, ''Maxim'' magazine, First Guard Insurance, and Western Sizzlin'.
St ...
and Biglari Capital, purchased ''Maxim''. "We plan to build the business on multiple dimensions," he said at the time, "thereby energizing our readership and viewership." In September 2014, he hired
Kate Lanphear, former style director of ''
Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'' and ''
T: The New York Times Style Magazine'', as editor, in an attempt to remake it as a luxury, lifestyle, and fashion journal, at an annual salary that was thought to be more than $700,000. During Lanphear's tenure, the September 2015 issue featured actor
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor. on its cover, marking the first time that the magazine did not have a woman on the cover. Lanphear left the magazine in November 2015.
In January 2016, Biglari officially took over as editor-in-chief of ''Maxim'', though a ''Maxim'' staffer said that the new masthead title just formalized what had always been clear since Biglari's purchase; Biglari exercises full editorial control over ''Maxim''. At one point in 2015, the staffer said, Biglari decided to throw out a nearly complete version of the December issue to completely redesign the magazine. On January 13, 2016,
Gilles Bensimon
Gilles Francis Charles Bensimon (; born 29 February 1944) is a French fashion photographer and the former International Creative Director of ''Elle'' magazine. He has also been the photographer on the reality television series ''America's Next To ...
joined Biglari as a special creative director. "What drew me to ''Maxim'' was Sardar's vision for the brand," said Bensimon.
MaximBet
In April 2021, Maxim collaborated with international
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
operator, Carousel Group, to create MaximBet, a licenced iGaming and sports betting services provider.
In September 2021, MaximBet made its debut in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, when they partnered with Johnny Nolon's Saloon and Gambling Emporium.
In late September 2021, MaximBet expanded its operations and its brand launched in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.
In October 2021, MaximBet hosted a private event at the
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum featuring performances by
Fat Joe and
Cheat Codes
Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...
. In December 2021, MaximBet lend aid toward the Colorado wildfire relief by donating $10,000.
In April 2022, just after the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
lockout ended, MaximBet entered into an endorsement deal with an active MLB player,
Charlie Blackmon
Charles Cobb Blackmon (born July 1, 1986), nicknamed "Chuck Nazty", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2011, as a member of the Rockies. Blackmon thro ...
of the
Colorado Rockies, as a brand ambassador.
In May 2022,
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
was named as the creative director and global ambassador of MaximBet.
Events and controversies
![Black crowes-Newport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Black_crowes-Newport.jpg)
In 2004, the Gender Issues Centre, an on-campus feminist organization at
Lakehead University
Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
in
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...
, Ontario, protested an on-campus "Thunder Bay Boob Idol" event sponsored by ''Maxim'' and
Coors Light
Coors Light is a 4.2% (US) ABV light beer brewed in Golden, Colorado; Albany, Georgia; Elkton, Virginia; Fort Worth, Texas; Irwindale, California; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. The Canadia ...
. The Centre described ''Maxim'' as consisting of "sexist bravado and racist imagery". In 2006, Alok Jha of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' criticized ''Maxim'' for encouraging excessive
alcohol consumption
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
and
sexual objectification of women.
In June 2007, Israeli diplomat
David Saranga
David Saranga ( he, דוד סרנגה) (born February 18, 1964) is Israel's ambassador in Romania. He served as the Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President of the State of Israel, Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, and former Head of European Parliamen ...
invited ''Maxim'' to the country. In what came to be known as "beers and babes", the magazine did photo shoots of near-naked
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
women who serve in the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. The campaign drew an angry reaction from lawmaker
Colette Avital
Colette Avital ( he, קולט אביטל, born 1 May 1939) is a Romanian-Israeli diplomat and politician. She served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party and One Israel between 1999 and 2009.
Biography
Born in Bucharest, Romania, Avit ...
, a former diplomat who served as Israel's consul-general in New York City in the 1990s. Prof.
John H. Brown of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
described the spread as the first event in a new branch of
public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...
.
[Public Diplomacy Goes 'Pubic']
John H. Brown, University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
public diplomacy site, July 11, 2007.
In February 2008, ''Maxim'' was criticized by
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Geo ...
for rating their upcoming CD, ''
Warpaint,'' without hearing the entire album. Black Crowes manager Pete Angelus said, "''Maxim''s actions seem to completely lack journalistic integrity and intentionally mislead their readership." According to Crowes, the magazine stated in an email, "Of course, we always prefer to hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don’t want to ignore that aren’t available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It’s either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former." The magazine's editorial director
James Kaminsky later apologized, stating, "It is ''Maxim''
's editorial policy to assign star ratings only to those albums that have been heard in their entirety. Unfortunately, that policy was not followed in the March 2008 issue of our magazine and we apologize to our readers." Facing more criticism over rating albums without listening to them, ''Maxim'' magazine maintains it was previewing CDs in its March 2008 issue, not reviewing them, and the mistake was to include star ratings.
In December 2019, Presto Media Productions, criticized the "''Maxim'' Cover Girl 2019" competition with an independent documentary created by model, actor, and producer Valentina Lucia Faltoni. Her documentary is visible on Vimeo and it is titled: "The Ugly $ide of Beauty Conte$t$"
International editions
''Maxim'' has launched international editions of its magazines since 1995. Most recently, it has launched its 26th and 27th international editions in Serbia and Greece, where it is published by Attica Media. Notably, the magazine has been circulating editions in South Korea, Indonesia, India (defunct), Japan, Portugal (as ''Maxmen''), the United States, Thailand, France (as'' Maximal''), Russia, Turkey, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Argentina, Italy, Canada, Poland, Brazil, Germany, Australia,
Mexico, and the Philippines (defunct).
Celebrity profiles
''Maxim'' Hot 100
Each year since 2000, ''Maxim'' has released the ''Maxim'' Hot 100. The winners and their corresponding ages and the year in which the magazine was released are listed below.
From 2000 until 2015, ''Maxim'' released the rest of the Hot 100 in order. Since 2016, ''Maxim'' released the rest of the hot 100 in random order, so those lists are by default sorted alphabetically on this table. These are the rest of the Top 100 each year.
See also
*
Glamour photography
Glamour photography is a genre of photography in which the subjects are portrayed in erotic poses ranging from fully clothed to nude. The term may be a euphemism for erotic photography. For Model (person)#Glamour models, glamour models, body sha ...
*
List of men's magazines
This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as Adult magazine, adult ones. Not include ...
*
Maxim Radio
Sirius XM Indie, formerly known as Maxim Radio and Stars Too, was a talk channel heard on the Sirius and XM satellite radio platforms. The channel is a spin-off of its sister station Sirius XM Stars.
History
Maxim Radio (2005–2008)
On Februa ...
*
Dennis Digital
References
zimbio.com
External links
''Maxim'' U.S. site''Maxim'' U.K. site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxim (Magazine)
1995 establishments in the United Kingdom
1998 establishments in the United States
2009 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Men's magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Men's magazines published in the United Kingdom
Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom
Magazines established in 1995
Magazines disestablished in 2009
Magazines published in New York City
2014 mergers and acquisitions
pt:Maxim (revista)