The UAE, with its conservative attitude towards media, may not seem to be the most promising market for men's magazines.
But those often-racy publications seem to be thriving in the Emirates, enough to inspire newcomers to join the market, despite the economic turbulence.
The UAE's first online men's magazine, Rex, quietly soft-launched last month, at about the same time the news leaked that Esquire, one of the oldest and biggest international names in men's magazines, plans a Middle East edition. It would be published by ITP in Dubai by November.
Jessica Kleiman, the vice president of public relations at Hearst Magazines, which owns Esquire, confirms that much of the rumour is true. "We do plan to launch a Dubai edition of Esquire, but the deal is still being finalised," she says.
Men's magazines were born out of hard economic times. Esquire was founded in 1932, in response to the runaway success of its longtime rival, GQ, which had launched the previous year under the name Apparel Arts. Initially focused on men's fashion, the magazines migrated over the years into the realm of lifestyle and literary publishing, with Esquire publishing writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald in the early days, and later helping to launch the literary careers of the likes of Raymond Carver.
Today, the rivalry between GQ and Esquire is as fierce as ever, and Hearst and ITP will be beating GQ's parent company, Conde Nast, to the Middle East in this market.
At the moment, Conde Nast publishes only one of its magazines, Golf Digest, in the region.
Hearst has been more aggressive when it comes to the Middle East, having launched its women's fashion title, Harper's Bazaar, with ITP in 2007. One company that saw opportunities for upmarket men's magazines in the UAE a year ago was the Emirates Neon Group (ENG). Primarily an outdoor advertising company in Dubai, ENG launched a raft of magazines last year. Among them was IQ, a weekly men's lifestyle magazine that gives a heavy nod in name, design and content to GQ. Graham Stacey, the group editorial director for ENG, remembers that before IQ launched, he and his friends had to rely mostly on imported magazines for a good lifestyle read. At the same time, men's luxury brands such as Hugo Boss and Armani did not have an obvious print vehicle for advertising.
"People here are relatively showy," he said. "They call it a rich man's playground. People have boats and they have nice suits. They're early adopters of gadgets. I do think it's relatively unique in that way. Traditionally, people have had more disposable income and they've spent it on looking and feeling good."
However, the past year has been anything but traditional. IQ launched in July last year, just about the worst possible time for a magazine, Mr Stacey notes. It suffered through an advertising market that was down 7 per cent for magazines in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the Pan Arab Research Centre.
But now he sees "a light at the end of the tunnel".
"Revenues are looking good for bookings later in the year," he says. "In terms of advertising, people have been holding onto their budgets. Towards the end of the year, we've seen a pick up in terms of bookings." But while the potential rewards of running a men's magazine in the image-conscious UAE might be many, so are the pitfalls.
"It's a fine line," Mr Stacey says. "I think self-censorship is a wise approach." To avoid falling foul of that line, Abbas Jaffar Ali, the publisher of Rex, the new online men's magazine, hired an IQ alumnus, Alex Ritman, formerly of ITP's Charged magazine, to edit its site.
"We have to make sure that we don't get a call from the Ministry of Information, which is one of the reasons we hired Alex, because he's worked on these magazines in the region and he knows exactly where the line is," he said. The online magazine is published by T-Break, which also has technology and gaming online publications, and is aimed at a male audience aged 15 and older. Mr Ali decided to publish online only, because that was where he believed the market was headed.
"I don't believe in print," he says. "I personally get all my information online."
khagey@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
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The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
'Midnights'
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The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder
Transmission: CVT auto
Power: 181bhp
Torque: 244Nm
Price: Dh122,900
Barbie
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Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
