''Men's Fitness'' was a men's magazine published by

American Media, Inc A360 Media, LLC (branded a360media), formerly American Media, Inc. (AMI), is an American publisher of magazines, supermarket tabloids, and books based in New York City. Originally affiliated with only the '' National Enquirer'', the media compan ...

and founded in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series '' The Greatest American Hero''. The magazine's slogan was "How the Best Man Wins". The magazine targeted men ages 21–40 years and featured in-depth articles on fitness,

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...

, and sports, as well as sex tips, fashion advice, interviews,

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...

s, and surveys. Since its inception, ''Men’s Fitness'' became one of the fastest-growing titles in its category and licenses its title and format to Russian, Australian (readership of 119th. as of June 2018) and British editions. Circulation doubled between 1997 and 2003. , circulation was 700,000. As of 2009, the British edition is no longer published under licence from AMI.

Dennis Publishing Dennis Publishing Ltd. was a British publisher. It was founded in 1973 by Felix Dennis. Its first publication was a kung-fu magazine. Most of its titles now belong to Future plc. In the 1980s, it became a leading publisher of computer enthusi ...

acquired control of the complete publishing rights for ''Men’s Fitness'' in the UK and Ireland in 2009. In late 2017, the print version of ''Men's Fitness'' was folded into ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' is an American monthly men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenne ...

''.

Covers

People who appeared on its cover include

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Ander ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...

, Liam Hemsworth,

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...

, Joe Weider, Robert Marting,

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 mil ...

, Sebastian Siegel,

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...

, Karen McDougal, Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino, Carmen Electra, Tim Tebow,

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

, and

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

. Tennis champion

complained when he discovered his body had been altered in the May 2007 cover photo of the magazine. He wrote on his blog, "If you can manage to stop laughing at the cover long enough, check out the article inside." "Little did I know I have 22-inch guns and a disappearing birthmark on my right arm." Representatives of the magazine asserted that the athlete's arms had been enhanced, not replaced.

Controversy

In October 2011, ''Men's Fitness'' gained negative publicity across the internet after publishing an article written by Jordan Burchette. In the article, candid and unflattering photos of costumed attendees at

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...

were shown alongside seemingly mean-spirited captions. The jokes commented on the attendee's weight and physical stature. Web sites frequented by

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

and

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture ...

enthusiasts, such as iFanboy.com posted their own thoughts on the situation. In his column for iFanboy, Josh Flanagan pointed out the poor techniques used in the reporting of Burchette's piece, and commented on the lackluster response of ''Men's Fitness'' as well as Burchette, citing them as defending the article as a work of comedy. In response to the controversy, ''Men's Fitness'' removed the offending article on October 24, 2011. A similar derogatory article by Burchette written for ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' appears on his website. As of December 6, 2011, the ''Men's Fitness'' article is available online again.

References

External links

''Men's Journal'' website
{{Dennis Publishing 1988 establishments in California 2017 disestablishments in California Men's magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Fitness magazines Magazines established in 1988 Magazines disestablished in 2017 Magazines published in California