There鈥檚 seismic news in the media, outdoor, endurance, and tech industries today.听Pocket Outdoor Media (parent company to OBJ, Backpacker, and nearly 30 other active living brands) announced news that will catapult the Boulder-based company into a powerful position in these industries: It has purchased听国产吃瓜黑料 Magazine,听国产吃瓜黑料 TV,听Gaia GPS,听Peloton Magazine, 补苍诲听athleteReg.
Additionally, Pocket Outdoor Media is rebranding to 国产吃瓜黑料, effective today.
鈥淎dding these businesses to our portfolio and rebranding Pocket is a transformative moment for us,鈥 said Robin Thurston, CEO of the all-new 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淭ogether with our other category-leading properties鈥SKI,听Yoga Journal,听Backpacker,听Trail Runner,听VeloNews,听Climbing,听Warren Miller Entertainment,听Roll Massif,听FinisherPix, OBJ, and more鈥攖hese brands make our new company the world鈥檚 leading creator of active living content, experiences, travel, and services. We now deliver content to almost every home in America across every platform, screen, and device.鈥
Creating and Building the Platform
Under Thurston鈥檚 leadership,听Pocket Outdoor Media听(now 国产吃瓜黑料), has been scooping up brands and talent from all over the active lifestyle market, all in an effort to build the world鈥檚 best consumer product in the category and to reach a larger audience with his core message: 鈥淲e believe that a hike, run, ride, or yoga practice can change your day and change the world.鈥
Last summer, the听founder and past CEO of MapMyFitness听acquired a听suite of brands from Active Interest Media, including听Backpacker, SKI, Climbing, Yoga Journal, 国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal, and 13 others.
Then, in October,听the company acquired Big Stone Publishing, which includes听Rock & Ice, Gym Climber,听补苍诲听Trail Runner.
And when听A360 Media abruptly shuttered听Powder, Bike, Surfer听补苍诲听Snowboarder听in December 2020, Thurston immediately picked up the phone and started recruiting talent. The result:听Sierra Shafer and Micah Abrams came on board听to lead听SKI听and Warren Miller Entertainment. And听Nicole Formosa and several others from听Bike听were brought in to听launch a brand new mountain bike brand:听Beta.
There were several other acquisitions during the fall of 2020, like听Paleo Magazine听补苍诲听FinisherPix, a global event photography business, that are all part of the team鈥檚 master plan to build the ultimate consumer experience for the active lifestyle participant.
Larry Burke Moves On
Thurston then set his sights on what many consider the crown jewel of outdoor media:听国产吃瓜黑料, which reaches 38 million people a month across all platforms. Founder, chairman, and editor-in-chief of 国产吃瓜黑料 Integrated Media, Larry Burke, has had countless opportunities to sell over the years, but he never found the right fit.
鈥淟ike Robin, I鈥檝e always believed in the power of great storytelling,鈥 said Burke, who will be retiring from his day-to-day duties at听国产吃瓜黑料听to work on his memoir.听鈥淲hen we published our first issue of听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别听magazine in 1977, we helped give birth to what is now an听$887 billion outdoor industry, and we鈥檝e been pioneering the art of adventure ever since. Our stories have won awards in print, video, and film, and we鈥檝e inspired millions of people to 鈥榣ive bravely.鈥櫶齀t鈥檚 everything I could鈥檝e wanted to do with my life,听and I鈥檓 delighted to find such a good home for听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别听among Pocket鈥檚 outdoor brands.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 deeply honored to help write the next chapter for these iconic businesses,鈥 said Thurston.
All employees of听国产吃瓜黑料听(as well as 国产吃瓜黑料 TV, Gaia GPS, Peloton, and athleteReg) will receive job offers, and no relocation will be required.听鈥淚t’s a marriage made in media heaven,鈥 said听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别鈥s听Scott Parmelee. 鈥淲e can’t wait to start bringing this new energy to our partners in the outdoor and active lifestyle industry.鈥
Inside the New Brands
国产吃瓜黑料 Magazine has been delivering award-winning journalism to 675,000+ monthly subscribers for more than 40 years, while 国产吃瓜黑料 Online sees 4.1 million unique monthly visitors. This broadens the scope of Pocket鈥檚 existing 30 million monthly reach with a new pool of active lifestyle participants.
With 国产吃瓜黑料 TV, Thurston鈥檚 company gains an instant and substantial footprint in the world of cable, satellite, and streaming television. 国产吃瓜黑料 TV reaches more than 30 million homes across the country with 24/7 programming focused on a wide variety of activities: skiing and snowboarding, surfing, climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, and more.
Gaia GPS and athleteReg bring complementary assets to the toolbox. As the world鈥檚 leading backcountry mapping app, Gaia GPS will provide mapping, route finding, and navigation across the 国产吃瓜黑料 platform, benefiting readers of听Backpacker, Trail Runner, Climbing,听补苍诲听SKI.
AthleteReg will allow the new 国产吃瓜黑料 to interact with participants through all stages of their event experience, and will also provide event directors with access to a range of services across the 国产吃瓜黑料 platform.
And听Peloton Magazine听(no relation to the exercise equipment company) complements the company鈥檚 family of cycling titles. 鈥淎s a lifelong cyclist, I鈥檓 personally thrilled to welcome听Peloton, one of my go-to reads for its evocative celebrations of the sport,鈥 said Thurston.
Active Pass Membership Ties Everything Together
But perhaps what excites Thurston the most is how these brands will come together to fortify the powerful value proposition of its membership program,听Active Pass. Launched in 2020, the Active Pass program was designed to create a hub for members to receive exclusive access to premium content, education and training, access and discounts on gear and events, and innovative platforms and services to improve access to and quality of people鈥檚 active experiences.
鈥淎s we bring these brands onto our platform, our customers will see new benefits added to the membership: advanced navigation tools that鈥檒l keep people safe while skiing and backpacking; exclusive access to first-run documentaries; access to member-only adventures; expanded gear discounts; and鈥攐f course鈥攖he option for members to select an annual subscription to their favorite print magazine,鈥 said Thurston. 鈥淭his is all in addition to hundreds of dollars in value in the form of premium digital content, magazines, event entries and photography, training plans, recipes, books, a personalized feed, and interactive experiences with editors, pro athletes, coaches, and other experts.鈥
Behind the Rebrand
A rebranding project has been underway at Pocket Outdoor Media since summer 2020, when Thurston made it clear that his company was much more than a traditional media entity. Thurston鈥檚 vision is to build what he calls the Amazon Prime of the active lifestyle: a connected, holistic ecosystem of resources鈥攊ncluding content, experiences, utilities, community, commerce, education, and services鈥攖hat can be uniquely customized for each active lifestyle enthusiast.
It鈥檚 big, heady stuff, and the new company name had to reflect that. When the听国产吃瓜黑料听acquisition was confirmed, the lightbulb went off. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to imagine a more succinct, impactful, and inspiring name than 国产吃瓜黑料,鈥 said Thurston. 鈥淏eing outside, being active and healthy, and conducting business in an environmentally responsible way is at the center of everything we do here. So not only did we acquire two amazing brands, we also found the company name that we had been searching for.鈥