Men and Freshmen are iconic brands in the gay adult market; the latter was founded in 1991, and the former is celebrating its 25th anniversary year.
Their final monthly editions will carry a November 2009 cover date. Starting in December, all current subscriptions will be folded into affiliated publication Unzipped.
"We're pouring all of our resources into Unzipped magazine and our online premium brands. These properties have the most growth potential in our company," Unzipped Media Group Publisher Dustin Tyner told XBIZ.
"We'll be increasing Unzipped magazine's page count and retaining many of the most successful elements of Men and Freshmen in those pages. We're also really focused on producing new media content for Unzipped.net," said Executive Editor Rick Andreoli.
"Our site traffic is growing tremendously so it made sense to continue the Men and Freshmen brands online and with the special editions."
The affiliated websites for both magazines are also set for a revamp.
The reorganization has been in the works for some time. In a related move, Unzipped Media ceased publication of its seven-year-old bimonthly adult mag [2] with its March/April 2008 edition.
"This isn't a matter of the magazines not doing well," Tyner said. "But if you look at the number of pages we currently put out per month, we're producing more than Vanity Fair. So we are taking a long view of the market and adapting the properties in order to keep these brands alive for many years to come."
"We're folding the best of what Men and Freshmen have to offer into Unzipped."
The current Men magazine newsstand special edition focused on fetish sexplay is another example of how the brand will continue, Tyner said. The next Men special edition is set for publication later this year, to be followed by a Freshmen special edition in the spring.
"These will be curated by our editors with photo sets shot exclusively for us," he notes.
A hardcover Men magazine book touting its quarter-century history will be published through Alyson Books in November.