RIP: Stuff magazine 1998 - 2007

As fully expected, sometime last night, the Reaper came down to take #2 men's title Stuff magazine, right after new owners Quadrangle Group closed their deal. Both the Reaper and Quadrangle don't waste time. And who should be on the cover but "the world's sexiest boss" Ivanka Trump.

Stuff was part of the lad magazine gold rush of the late 90s, and primarily directed at fending off the now deceased FHM and capturing money from advertisers who could not afford the big bucks of big brother Maxim.

FHM is gone and Stuff has gone through more identities than Peter Braunstein when he was on the lam. At various times it was a sort of Maxim clone, a "toys for boys" guide, a "lifestyle compass for young men," and a crazed subversive inner tour of questionable mental stability under Greg Gutfeld.  Despite its "in the shadows" status to Maxim, Stuff managed to land some big names on its covers in its heyday, like JLo and Amber from "Survivor."

The Quadrangle Group gets to keep the valuable "Stuff" trademark and the Reaper has a boatful of Stuff magazine b-list babes which is causing everything to rock back and forth. If I push away the cobwebs, the Reaper has a special dark bed under which we will keep our stack of Stuff magazines. There is now one less place in the world where slasher flick chicks and "don't blink" TV actresses can promote their latest roles.

Comments

[metroxing]

When MAXIM launched and then the dot com boom was just starting, it was heady days for MAXIM. It got so big physically that STUFF literally was started because the glue & binding couldn't hold any more advertisers - they clearly also didn't have time to come up with a real name or in actuality of course, they didn't want a name to diminish MAXIM so they picked something throwaway - STUFF. It really became irrelevant by 2002 and really, really irrelevant by 2004 but by keeping subs at around $5, at least you have circ numbers. There is virtually no editorial left except for airbrushed photos.

[tangerinedream]

Men's magazines are like television today. The best has never been better, the worst finds new levels of rock bottom. Stuff and its ilk had its heyday around 1999. Pre internet in everything. 12 year olds can still download raunchier stuff. The badder drives out the bad. Good observations again, Reaper.