First Issue Review – ZM
ZM – Front Cover“Pile driver, rod, master of ceremonies, magic twanger, little general, John Thomas, third leg, upright citizen, pud, quarter master, coral branch, dangus and… wait for it… gap stopper.” Oh yes, NatMags’ ZM has adorned the first twenty pages of its first issue with as many willy-words as the editorial team and a pile of thesauruses could muster. And some damn fine ones there are too; far too numerous to mention them all here. In fact the ZM guys have pretty much exhausted their supply of penis-puns for the next few years (mmm, where to next I wonder…).
So opens the first (sort of trial) issue of the magazine ‘for the man fit for everything’. Following the success of NatMags’ Zest, the health, fitness and lifestyle title for women, ZM (originally Zest For Men), dishes up advice on keeping your mind, body, soul and woman happy. Editor, Paul Colbert, opens the first edition with a refreshingly unpretentious and honest introduction – one of very few first issue editor’s pages in which the magazine does not claim to be unlike any other before it. Which is just as well, because ZM isn’t unlike any other mag before it, although that’s not to say it’s a poor read.
In fact, Colbert is quite unassuming in his approach, claiming that the magazine is by no means perfect and allowing a few months for readers’ feedback before launching proper next year. The first issue has pretty much covered all bases for this kind of title: relationships, sex, fitness, diet, sport and fashion. It’s a relatively untapped sector, however, with only Men’s Health, XL and GQ Active providing any real direct competition. Perhaps ominously, Condé Nast recently drew GQ Active back alongside the parent GQ title, reducing its frequency from monthly to quarterly (see GQ Active Becomes Quarterly Alongside GQ). It is understood that this was due to fewer than expected sales.
This may not worry ZM too much, though, as it intends to publish quarterly from the outset. The next issue, out in January, will lend a hand for all the guys wanting to burn off the results of a period of festive gluttony – lose those pies. The current issue is sprinkled with advice on diet (Detox Your Body…), physical fitness (Yoga: not just for hippies with backache) and very bravely offers the revelation that women like to be touched on the anus during sex – put that one out for the vote in your office. There are psychological helpers with such articles as How To Turn A Bad Mood Good and 50 Ways To Make Life Easier and there’s also the ‘action man’ material covered – an area in which XL specialises. In this area, ZM takes a look at hang gliding, ice climbing and, strangely, bull-riding Rodeo style. Much more appealing to me than all that, though, is an article telling you how to sleep for longer and more effectively – I’m still searching for medical confirmation that the body absolutely requires thirteen hours sleep.
Throw in a little fashion and an article on the best racing car games available on the market and you’ve ZM. It’s quite an interesting read if you’ve never read anything like this before and it could help you to shape up your general fitness if you actually bother to do any of the things the magazine suggests. The title’s design is fairly run of the mill for consumer magazines these days – a lot of inset info-boxes and a three-colour scheme. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the look of ZM is very similar to most women’s health/fitness/lifestyle magazines.
If it were published monthly, ZM would be very samey and probably become boring quite quickly. Having a few months to research articles and developments, though, should give the writers scope to keep it fresh and interesting. A warning though: don’t bother with ZM if, like me, you’re a sedentary, burger eating slacker who’d rather go down Club Duvet for twelve hours than eat veggie and hit the gym. Otherwise, definitely worth a try.
So how does ZM stand in the market? Out of the three titles mentioned above, Rodale Press’ Men’s Health is by far the market leader with a current circulation of 245,000. GQ Active sells about 65,000 copies and XL about 54,000. ZM has an initial print run of 160,000 copies, but NatMags would not be pushed on an expected settle-down circulation.
The magazine is an A4 glossy perfect-bound, with an ad:ed ratio of 25:75. First issue advertisers include L’Oréal, Tommy Hilfiger, Gillette and Reebok.