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Duke to Lead New Tri Mag Called Lava

Published March 3, 2010

HILO, HI (BRAIN)—World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), owners of the portfolio that includes Ironman, Ironman 70.3, Iron Girl and IronKids brands, has partnered with John Duke for the launch of a new tri magazine called Lava.

Duke spent 14 years as publisher of Triathlete Magazine and most recently was senior vice president of the Print Media Division for Competitor Group. He left the company at the beginning of January saying he wanted to pursue new opportunities.

“I could not imagine a better team to create the world’s leading triathlon publication,” Duke said. “Our team is excited to build a magazine for people who feel triathlon is not just a hobby, but rather a lifestyle. We are all looking forward to utilizing our first-hand racing experience, journalistic backgrounds and passion within the pages of Lava.”

Joining Duke’s team will be Susan Grant-Legacki, former editor of Inside Triathlon, along with Jay Prasuhn, who served as tech editor at Triathlete Magazine for 10 years. Creative will be led by Erica Krystek, the former art director of Inside Triathlon, who was responsible for the redesign of Inside Triathlon’s re-branding in 2008. The sales and advertising effort will be led by 11-time winner of the national track cycling championships, Sean Watkins, who was also the vice president of sales and event marketing for Triathlete Magazine. In January, Watkins launched his own sports marketing group called Wattie Ink. Heather Gordon, who started at Triathlete Magazine 11 years ago and rose to the position of associate publisher rounds out the team.

With plans to appear in late summer, the magazine will feature content for the serious and committed triathlete. Initial subscribers will be participants of domestic events within the 2010 Ironman and 70.3 Series. Digital
 subscriptions are planned for international participants.


This announcement comes on the heels of Southern California-based H3 Publications deciding to pull the plug on Tri Magazine. “It just got way too political,” said Dave House, owner of H3 Publications, on why he decided to sit on the sidelines right now. House, however, didn’t rule out the possibility of doing the magazine sometime in the future.

—Jason Norman

Topics associated with this article: Media/Publishing

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