Men's Health Magazine
February 29th, 2008
History. Men's Health began in the United States in 1987 as an annual, before becoming a quarterly and then bi-monthly magazine, and is now published ten times a year. Its UK edition (with a separate editorial team) was launched in 1995, and it now publishes 36 editions worldwide, distributed to 48 countries. In the U.S., its 1.8m circulation (as of 2005) exceeds that of GQ and Esquire combined.
The content of the US version of Men's Health in the year 2000 was analysed in Stibbe (2004). The findings of this research suggested that Men's Health magazine at the time gave some useful health advice but included images of masculinity which were counterproductive for health promotion. In particular, the form of hegemonic masculinity promoted by the magazine had the potential to promote negative health behaviours such as excess alcohol consumption, excess meat consumption, reliance on convenience food, unsafe sex, and aggressive behavior. The scope of this study did not include how the content of the magazine has changed over time, or how the content of the UK version differs from the US version.
In addition to the "Men's Health" magazine, a website can be found at http://www.menshealth.com/ , which was instituted into the Men's Health portfolio in January of 1998. With the help of the web designer James Thoroughgood, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Men's Health has increased its profit margin by 9%, a number that continues to grow. Currently their website continues to provide information to subscribers between issues concerning fitness, sex & relationships, health, guy wisdom, weight loss, nutrution, and style.
Cycling Team. In 1999 Men's Health sponsored a British UCI Division 3 professional cycle racing team, the team's Director Sportif was Sid Barras, himself a former professional cyclist. Although the team achieved numerous successes during the year, sponsorship was not renewed in 2000.
Team members included Welshmen Matt Beckett and Huw Pritchard, a medal winning Commonwealth Games competitor.
Cover model. The front covers are usually depicted with images of attractive professional male fitness models and 'on brand' celebrities. However in 2002, the UK edition started what became a yearly competition in order to find a Men's Health reader with the body seen fit to front the magazine cover. It is hoped that the image of a 'normal guy' will spur other Men's Health readers to obtain the 'look' and also remind them that this kind of physique is obtainable to the "average guy".
First winner of the UK Cover Model search was Graeme Peacock, who secured a sponsorship contract with supplement manufacturer Maximuscle. There was no contest in 2003, but in 2004 the contest went annual, with the second winner being Neil Laverty, now represented by Compton Model Agency. Winners of the UK Cover Model competitions for 2005 were Ollie Foster (United Kingdom) and Manuel Mera (Spain). In 2006, 21 year old Mike Fawkes won the 2006 UK Cover Model competition.
To further strengthen the idea of achievability, the staff of the magazine often try out the health and fitness programmes themselves and write about their experiences alongside pictoral evidence. In March 2006, one of the UK writers, Dan Rookwood, appeared on the cover of Men's Health having transformed his body shape while working at the magazine. The staff of German Men's Health have also appeared on their cover, and UK fitness editor Ray Klerck has appeared on the cover as well as within the pages of the magazine as a model.
