The UK's biggest sports retailer Sports Direct is behind a new monthly sports magazine for men called Forever Sports.
The title is published under contract by Haymarket Network and has a cover price of £2 and initial distribution of 160,000.
It will be available on the newsstand and via 400 Sports Direct shops and 100 USC, Flannels and Cruise shops (which like Sports Direct are owned by billionaire Mike Ashley).
Forever Sports is edited by Nikki Wicks, who was nominated for PPA new editor of the year for his work on SPIKES magazine for the International Association of Athletics Associations.
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The new title is aimed at men aged 18 to 30 and describes itself as a “premium product” which “aims to challenge publishing convention by offering exclusive interviews with the world’s coolest sports stars and the best style and fitness advice for only £2”.
With an editorial team of ten, it claims to be the biggest paid-for men’s magazine launch since 2004.
The first edition includes features on boxer Floyd Mayweather, David Beckham in Miami, the European Footgolf championships and world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang on how he plans to beat Mo Farah in the London Marathon.
Wicks said: “It’s an exciting time, it’s not everyday you get the chance to work on a new launch. It’s going to be bigger than Pharrell’s hat, although I would say that.”
Editorial director of Haymarket Network Simon Kanter said: “It’s a fantastic challenge and one we are all relishing.
“Coming just a month after the launch of Porter magazine it’s also a further demonstration of the power that print still has in a modern multichannel, multimedia world.”
Porter Magazine is a paid-for title available six times a year and backed by the fashion website Net A Porter.
The first edition of Forever Sports is available from 15 March.
Sportsdirect.com magazine, which was launched by Haymarket Network last year, is no longer being published.
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