Gear (magazine)

Gear was an American men's magazine published by Bob Guccione, Jr. devoted chiefly to revealing pictorials of popular singers, B-movie actresses, and models, along with articles on gadgets, cars, fashion, sex, and sports.

Gear

Logo from the cover of Gear
Editor	Bob Guccione, Jr.
Categories	Men's
Publisher	Bob Guccione, Jr.
Total circulation (2001)	500,000[1]
Founded	1998
Final issue	2003
Company	Guccione Media
Country	United States, others
Based in	New York City
ISSN	1099-6494

History and profile

Gear debuted in September 1998,^[2] with actress Peta Wilson on the cover.^[3] The magazine established itself with several publishing stunts such as publishing a nude photo of women's football celebrity Brandi Chastain.^[4][5]

March 2000 cover featuring Jessica Biel

When Gear featured a pictorial of a scantily clad Jessica Biel in the March 2000 issue, who posed while appearing on the family drama 7th Heaven and was then 17 years old, actor Stephen Collins, who played her father on the show, described the pictures as "child pornography". Biel later cited it as one of her biggest regrets.^[6] Esquire magazine described the photo shoot as "quasi-infamous".^[7]

Guccione described his vision for the magazine as being a successor to the likes of Esquire and GQ and to produce a literate magazine that includes quality journalism alongside articles on celebrities and fashion. Advertisers viewed the magazine as being more like Maxim, Stuff, or FHM, forcing it into the category of lads mags. Efforts were made to change the magazine's perceived image by moving from covers featuring scantily clad female celebrities to different cover images, including notable actors such as Elijah Wood and Christian Slater.^[1]

Gear closed in 2003 with the intention of relaunching at a later date, hoping to break out of the lads mag category as Details had done.^[1] The magazine was described as similar to Spin also founded by Bob Guccione, Jr., and was praised for attempts to achieve the same kind of serious journalism.^[3] Ann Gerhart of The Washington Post described the magazine derisively as "the frat boy's Esquire".^[5]

See also

• Lad culture

References

1. Jeff Bercovici (April 8, 2003). "Bob G. Jr. on what did in Gear". Media Life magazine. Archived from the original on April 9, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2010. "We're producing a magazine that's perhaps the most literate of them all, including GQ and Esquire," he claims.
2. "Defunct or Suspended Magazines, 2003". The Association of Magazine Media. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
3. Mary Elizabeth Williams (August 27, 1998). "Gear and loathing". Salon Media Circus. Archived from the original on August 28, 1999. Retrieved June 10, 2010. Gear does, to its credit, take stabs at the kind of serious journalism that gave the old Spin its justified reputation for writing
4. Denise Kiernan (July 6, 1999). "Brandi Has a Ball. Chastain Boots the U.S. Team's Goody-Goody Image".
5. William Saletan (July 15, 1999). "Cups, Bras, and Athletic Supporters". Slate. Microsoft. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003. Newsweek says Chastain had posed for "a lowbrow men's magazine"; the Post's Ann Gerhart calls it "the frat boy's Esquire."
6. "Jessica Biel's Naked Photos: Her Worst Regret". Egotastic!. November 3, 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
7. A.J. Jacobs (October 31, 2005). "Jessica Biel Is the Sexiest Woman Alive". Esquire. 144 (5). Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010.