Sad to say that the May issue of Flex will be the last. Just got this in the mail..[ATTACH]191480[/ATTACH]
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Sad to say that the May issue of Flex will be the last. Just got this in the mail..[ATTACH]191480[/ATTACH]
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Not a surprise.
I remember buying a B&W TV and a cable subscription just so I could enjoy MTV.
The first MTV video was Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles.
Well, [i]the Internet killed print [/i]to a large degree is a safe statement.
What big chains is Flex sold at? I would like to buy the last one. The first one I bought was with Mohammed Benaziza on the cover.
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[QUOTE=Curt James;2175334]Well, [I]the Internet killed print [/I]to a large degree is a safe statement.[/QUOTE]A very true unfortunately, Curt ...is this the last of the big players (I came a bit late to the mags) or are there a few more to go?
After [I]Flex [/I]is gone[I], Muscle & Fitness [/I]is the last general issue bodybuilding mag on the stands. Wal-Mart is still carrying [I]Train[/I], which is more of a crossfit mag.
Flex UK was taken over 2 issues ago so it'll keep going here.
MMI, Ironman now Flex.......there is only one of the big 4 hardcore bodybuilding magazines left standing. (Muscle & Fitness was never hardcore)
M&F is basically a clone of AMI's other publication Men's Fitness. In the 80s, M&F was a legit bodybuilding magazine but has morphed totally into a fitness one with a celebrity or cardboard cutout male fitness model motif. So expect either M&F or MF to go by the way of FLEX sooner than later.
The problem with magazines like FLEX and MD is that they needed to find a niche or angle once the Internet took away much of their appeal. They never adapted; kept going with the same old shit & expected people to still plunk down money for it.
My only surprise is that it would have made more sense to merge the two fitness titles & keep FLEX running, albeit at a smaller and less frequent publishing cycle.
[QUOTE=Joe Pietaro;2175382]M&F is basically a clone of AMI's other publication Men's Fitness. In the 80s, M&F was a legit bodybuilding magazine but has morphed totally into a fitness one with a celebrity or cardboard cutout male fitness model motif. So expect either M&F or MF to go by the way of FLEX sooner than later.
The problem with magazines like FLEX and MD is that they needed to find a niche or angle once the Internet took away much of their appeal. They never adapted; kept going with the same old shit & expected people to still plunk down money for it.
My only surprise is that it would have made more sense to merge the two fitness titles & keep FLEX running, albeit at a smaller and less frequent publishing cycle.[/QUOTE]Yea honestly I would have continued Flex and incorporated some of MF content into it. Flex is such an iconic name in the industry, Joe you should try and buy the name from AMI and continue to publish!
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Please look at recent issues of M&F. It has run a lot more bodybuilding features, including solid coverage of the Olympia & the Nationals this last year. Yes, it has the mainstream features, but it is closer to the mag it used to be now than it was a few years ago.
Good one, guys!
[QUOTE=EvanL;2175383]Yea honestly I would have continued Flex and incorporated some of MF content into it. Flex is such an iconic name in the industry, Joe you should try and buy the name from AMI and continue to publish!
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Hey, Evan. What's up, bro? I think that Pecker's numbers would be a wee bit out of my price range. LOL. I'm quite content with MuscleSport Magazine & use it as a mere portion of the entire operation, print and digital versions alike. It's literally a video game now & FLEX has never had an online presence; that was their worst mistake.
[QUOTE=Joe Pietaro;2175401]Hey, Evan. What's up, bro? I think that Pecker's numbers would be a wee bit out of my price range. LOL. I'm quite content with MuscleSport Magazine & use it as a mere portion of the entire operation, print and digital versions alike. It's literally a video game now & FLEX has never had an online presence; that was their worst mistake.[/QUOTE]Yea, flexonline was a complete joke, they had so much potential with the likes of per bernal taking photos and the power of a multi huge organization behind the helm and for some reason they couldn't grasp the online segment. Just strange that they would lose flex and keep muscle and fitness. I would put it the other way around.
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[QUOTE=EvanL;2175403]Yea, flexonline was a complete joke, they had so much potential with the likes of per bernal taking photos and the power of a multi huge organization behind the helm and for some reason they couldn't grasp the online segment. Just strange that they would lose flex and keep muscle and fitness. I would put it the other way around.
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Exactly. Men's Fitness and M&F are similar. I get the 'mass monsters are not as sellable as the cardboard cutouts,' but it's redundant to have two titles that are in the same exact genre. And over on the MD boards, their members are posting that they are the last bodybuilding magazine standing. Sorry, cunts. mSm blows your fuckin' doors off. How many cookie cutter ghostwritten articles can "Rear Window" Harris churn out a month and a few horrible features written either in the first person or Q&A style by him?
[QUOTE=EvanL;2175403]Yea, flexonline was a complete joke, they had so much potential with the likes of per bernal taking photos and the power of a multi huge organization behind the helm and for some reason they couldn't grasp the online segment. Just strange that they would lose flex and keep muscle and fitness. I would put it the other way around.
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I disagree. It became something less but started out ok. They were THE go-to source back when they started out. Others fell by the wayside. However, sites like MD (when John and Dave were there and after) and RX now (as well as various YT channels now) took up where Flex was ands carried it on beyond where they stayed.
When sites like Bodybuilding.com and later Amazon started doing webcasts Flexonline didn't. As I say - good start but dropped the ball.