Outside magazine bought by Colorado company
Pocket Outdoor Media has changed its name to Outside
SANTA FE — Pocket Outdoor Media is not only taking over operation of Santa Fe-based Outside magazine — it’s taking over its name too.
In a news release Monday, Pocket Outdoor Media, with headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, said it is acquiring several companies, including Outside Integrated Media, the umbrella company for Outside magazine, Outside Studios and the travel business Outside GO. It also announced that Pocket Outdoor Media was changing its name to Outside.
“The incredible reputation and relevance of the Outside brands across multiple lifestyle categories made our decision to change our company’s name a logical choice,” Robin Thurston, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.
In the same release, the company announced it is acquiring Outside TV, subject to FCC approval, as well as Peloton magazine, the mobile navigation and mapping application Gala GPS and athleteReg, an event registration platform.
Within the last year, Pocket Outdoor Media also acquired Paleo Magazine, SKI, Rock & Ice, Trail Runner, Climbing and Yoga Journal magazines. The company already published Triathlete, Podium Runner, Women’s Running and VeloNews, among others.
The newly acquired businesses will continue to operate out of their present locations, the news release says.
“This is a transformational day for our company and our customers,” Thurston said. “Everything we do is driven by a belief that a hike, run, ride or yoga practice can change your life, and these new brands will help us fulfill our mission to build the world’s best customer experience across a wide range of activities.”
Larry Burke, who bought Outside
magazine in 1977 and moved it to Santa Fe in 1995, said Outside Integrated Media is moving to a “good home.”
In an interview with the Journal last year, Burke, 78, called purchasing Outside magazine from Jann Wenner, who also founded Rolling Stone magazine, “the best deal I ever made in my life.”
Burke already had a fledgeling quarterly magazine dedicated to the outdoors called Mariah — named after his boat.
“There were magazines about climbing, skiing, sailing. But I wasn’t inspired by the coverage,” Burke said. “I decided to start a magazine about all the things my friends and I were doing.”
After purchasing Outside, the next few editions were published under the merged name Mariah/
Outside. It has been published exclusively under the name Outside since 1978.
Burke said the magazine was all about inspiring people to go outside and be active.
“Outside is about one simple idea: To inspire people to participate actively in the world outside,” he told the Journal. “That’s good for friends, families and relationships, and it’s good for the planet.”
The Alliance for Audited Media lists Outside magazine as having a print circulation of 689,797. The online platform reaches more than 4.5 million viewers monthly.
According to its website, Outside Integrated Media employed about 80 people in offices in Santa Fe, Boulder, Denver, New York City and elsewhere.