NEW YORK, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI), announced today that Arnold Schwarzenegger will again join forces with AMI as Group Executive Editor for Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. Schwarzenegger, who won bodybuilding’s top contest, the Mr. Olympia, seven times, and is the youngest man to win the Mr. Universe title, returns to AMI in the position he held before becoming Governor of California in 2003.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, a worldwide box office star and former governor of California, will bring his nearly 50 years of experience as a competitor and fitness authority to Muscle & Fitness and Flex, by way of both strategic and creative input, as well as contributing monthly columns to the magazines and their respective websites. Schwarzenegger’s relationship with Muscle & Fitness and Flex spans back to 1968 when its founder, Joe Weider tapped the then-21-year-old to be the face of bodybuilding. Since that time, Schwarzenegger has appeared on the magazines’ covers more than 60 times.
“AMI is thrilled to have Arnold Schwarzenegger bring his expertise back home to our category-leading mastheads,” said David J. Pecker. “He is a universally recognized star, and an iconic leader of the fitness movement. His contributions will enormously benefit our print and digital readers, while driving value for our advertisers.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger is equally enthusiastic about his return to the magazines founded by his mentor, Weider. “It was in these magazines that I found the spark that inspired me to start lifting weights, and eventually move to America and realize my dreams, and I’m proud to return as Executive Editor,” said Schwarzenegger. “Bodybuilding has always been part of my life, and I know Muscle & Fitness and Flex will continue to motivate others – as it did me – to lift weights and lead a healthy lifestyle, promote the sport of bodybuilding, and, as Joe used to say in every issue, ‘exceed themselves’.”
While Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a global icon for the past three decades, he’s always been able to reach his audiences on a personal level, thanks to the broad range of his charitable work, including that as coach and international torchbearer for the Special Olympics. “The AMI readership can relate to him both as a symbol of giving, and as a world class authority on physical fitness and training,” said David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media, Inc. “It is a relationship we are proud to re-establish.”
About American Media, Inc.: American Media, Inc. (AMI) owns and operates the leading print and digital celebrity and health and fitness media brands in the United States. AMI’s titles include Star, OK!, National Enquirer, Globe, Country Weekly, Soap Opera Digest, Shape, Men’s Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health. AMI also manages 18 different digital sites including RadarOnline.com, OKmagazine.com, CountryWeekly.com, Shape.com, MensFitness.com, MuscleandFitness.com and FitPregnancy.com. AMI’s magazines have a combined total circulation of 7.4 million and reach more than 55 million men and women each month. AMI’s digital properties reach an average of 41 million unique visitors and 194 million page views monthly.
AMI also provides Publishing Services which includes Distribution Services, Inc. (DSI), the No. 1 in-store magazine sales and merchandising marketing company in the U.S. and Canada. DSI places and monitors AMI’s publications and third-party publications to ensure proper displays in major retail chains and national and regional supermarket chains. DSI also provides marketing, merchandising and information gathering services to third parties including non-magazine clients. Publishing Services also provides print and digital advertising sales and strategic management direction in the following areas: manufacturing, subscription circulation, logistics, event marketing and full back office financial functions.
About Arnold Schwarzenegger: Arnold Schwarzenegger is known all over the globe for his many accomplishments: world champion bodybuilder, Hollywood action hero, successful businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, best-selling author, and California’s 38th Governor.
This world-famous athlete and actor was born in Thal, Austria in 1947, and by the age of 20 was dominating the sport of competitive bodybuilding, becoming the youngest person ever to win the Mr. Universe title. By generating a new international audience for bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger turned himself into a sports icon. With his sights set on Hollywood, he emigrated to America in 1968, and went on to win five Mr. Universe titles and seven Mr. Olympia titles before retiring to dedicate himself to acting. Later, he would go on to earn a college degree from the University of Wisconsin and proudly became a U.S. citizen.
Schwarzenegger, who worked under the pseudonym Arnold Strong in his first feature, HERCULES in New York, quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood. In 1977, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognized him with a Golden Globe® for New Male Star of the Year for his role in STAY HUNGRY opposite Sally Field. His big break came in 1982 when the sword and sorcery epic, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, hit box office gold. In 1984, Schwarzenegger blew up the screen and catapulted himself into cinema history as the title character in James Cameron’s sci-fi thriller, TERMINATOR. He is the only actor to be in both categories of the American Film Institute’s Hundred Years of Heroes and Villains for roles he played in the film. To date his films have grossed over $3 billion worldwide.
In 2003, Schwarzenegger became the 38th Governor of the State of California in a historic recall election, and as governor ushered in an era of innovative leadership and extraordinary public service. Schwarzenegger’s most notable accomplishments while governor include the nation-leading Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 – a bipartisan agreement to combat global warming by reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions – and overhauling the state’s workers’ compensation system – cutting costs by more than 35 percent. In addition, Schwarzenegger was the first governor in decades to make major investments in improving California’s aging infrastructure through his Strategic Growth Plan, helping to reduce congestion and clean the air.
But it is Schwarzenegger’s commitment to giving something back to his state and to his country through public service that gives him the most satisfaction; donating his time, energy, and personal finances to serving others all over the world. Schwarzenegger acts as Chairman of the After School All-Stars, a nationwide after-school program, and serves as coach and international torch bearer for Special Olympics. He also served as Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under George H. W. Bush and as Chair of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson.
Since leaving office, Schwarzenegger co-founded the R20 Regions of Climate Action, a global non-profit dedicated to helping subnational governments develop, implement, and communicate the importance of low-carbon and climate resilient projects as well as their economic benefits. In December 2012, he was recognized as a 2012 Global Advocate by the United Nations Correspondents Association for his work with the organization.
In August 2012, the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy launched to provide students an opportunity to focus on the responsibility of leaders to transcend partisanship in order to implement policies that most benefit the people they serve. Its five priority areas of focus are education, energy and environment, fiscal and economic policy, health and human wellness, and political reform.
In addition to THE LAST STAND which released in theaters worldwide this winter, Schwarzenegger filmed THE TOMB and TEN in 2012 and was seen summer 2012 reprising the role of Trench in THE EXPENDABLES 2. In the fall of 2012, Schwarzenegger released his long-awaited autobiography, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. The Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum, located in his hometown of Thal opened in 2011.
PR Contact: Eric Klee, American Media, Inc., (917) 256-5483
