Pocket Outdoor Media Acquires Three Divisions from Active Interest Media and Completes Its Series A Financing

Published June 30, 2020 09:09PM

Boulder, Colorado, USA — June 30, 2020 — Pocket Outdoor Media (POM), the leading endurance sports media platform, today announced the acquisition of the Healthy Living, Fitness, and Outdoor divisions of Active Interest Media (AIM), one of the world’s largest enthusiast media companies. The acquisition by POM coincides with the closing of their Series A investment from JAZZ Venture Partners, a global investment firm based in San Francisco, with participation from NEXT VENTŪRES, and Zone 5 Ventures.

Included in the AIM acquisition are: Yoga Journal, SKI, Climbing, BACKPACKER, Warren Miller Entertainment, Oxygen, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Clean Eating, Vegetarian Times, Better Nutrition, NatuRx, Muscle & Performance, Nastar, Fly Fishing Film Tour, National Park Trips, and SNEWS.

The AIM brands will join POM’s existing stable of endurance sports brands: VeloNews, Women’s Running, Triathlete, PodiumRunner, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, VeloPress, VeloSwap, and Roll Massif, a recently acquired event production company that produces a series of eight iconic Colorado cycling events.

The acquisition brings together best-in-class brands, diversifying POM’s media platform and allowing them to better serve active lifestyle enthusiasts and their media partners. The expanded business will continue to focus on putting the needs of its readers first, delivering content and experiences across the wide range of activities they are passionate about.

“The strength of these collective brands positions us to build the premier active lifestyle media destination to meet the needs and interest of our readers on a daily basis, whether they’re beginners or experts—looking for a training plan, healthy recipe, event coverage, nutrition advice, injury prevention and more,” said Robin Thurston, CEO of Pocket Outdoor Media. “Our mission is to inspire people to do the activities they love—yoga, ride, cook, ski, run, swim, hike, climb—with greater enjoyment and knowledge.”

In an evolving media landscape, POM will become the hub for active lifestyle enthusiasts looking to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle. The first phase of their Active Pass membership program was recently launched with perks that include a wide range of premium content, VeloPress books, magazine subscriptions, Roll Massif event access, and training plans through a strategic partnership with Today’s Plan.

“The synergies of these iconic brands, some of which have been around for over 50 years, uniquely enables Pocket Outdoor Media to deliver an integrated experience never seen before,” said John Spinale, managing partner at JAZZ Venture Partners. “They have already developed a personalized newsfeed and membership experience that allows readers to access content across the POM brands, and it will only be bolstered as they add the AIM businesses to the experience.”

“After getting to know Robin and the Pocket Outdoor Media team, it was clear that we share a great commitment to the communities we serve in Outdoor, Fitness, and Wellness. Our alignment around our shared values, strategy, and Boulder location made this a natural fit for our people and brands. Pocket’s new technology platform unifies, personalizes, and syndicates the best content around the customer journey. Combining their personalization platform with their membership strategy felt like a home run for the brands and team members of AIM’s Outdoor, Fitness, and Active Lifestyle divisions,” said Andy Clurman, CEO of Active Interest Media.

About Pocket Outdoor Media

Pocket Outdoor Media (POM) is the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content. Across web, print, podcast, social and video, our brands engage with over 15 million of the most active and influential consumers in the world every month. Our brands include: Yoga Journal, SKI, BACKPACKER, VeloNews, Climbing, Women’s Running, Triathlete, Better Nutrition, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Clean Eating, Fly Fishing Film Tour, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Muscle & Performance, Nastar, National Park Trips, NatuRx, Oxygen, PodiumRunner, Roll Massif, SNEWS, Vegetarian Times, VeloPress, VeloSwap, and Warren Miller Entertainment. Pocket Outdoor Media is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with offices in San Diego, CA and Toronto, Canada. Learn more at pocketoutdoormedia.com

About Active Interest Media, Inc.

Active Interest Media (aimmedia.com) produces leading consumer and trade events, websites, magazines, podcasts, films, and TV shows that reach 40+ million readers, fans, and attendees in 85 countries. AIM produces the World Series of Team Roping, the second-richest equestrian competition in the world. Our brands include Yoga Journal, BACKPACKER, SKI, Vegetarian Times, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Anglers Journal, Yachts International, Sail, Power & Motoryacht, EQUUS Journal, Horse & Rider Journal, Team Roping Journal, Oxygen, Clean Eating, Log Home Living, Old House Journal, Woodsmith, Garden Gate, Writer’s Digest, Popular Woodworking, Numismatics, and more. The company’s five divisions—the Equine Network, Home Group, Healthy Living Group, Marine Group, and Outdoor Group—also operate thriving B2B platforms, online universities, and retail events. Core competencies include lead generation (through our Qualified Buyer Program), marketing services (through our in-house agency, Catapult Creative Labs), and video production; Warren Miller Entertainment is the most successful adventure-film company in history, and AIM Studios is a bustling division dedicated to digital video. Active Interest Media’s customers are smart, engaged, and loyal, and they look to our brands for trustworthy information and services that will inspire and enable them to enjoy their passions. Learn more at aimmedia.com

About JAZZ Venture Partners

JAZZ Venture Partners invests in companies that extend the boundaries of human performance — improving how we live, learn, work, play, and experience the world. We seek breakthroughs at the intersection of digital technology and neuroscience that are influencing the human experience, such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, immersive gaming, and closed-loop human-computer systems. Our portfolio companies are unlocking human potential in health, mind-body wellness, accelerated learning and training, sports, entertainment, and the enterprise. Learn more at jazzvp.com.

About NEXT VENTŪRES

NEXT VENTŪRES is a new venture capital firm designed to maximize growth opportunities in the exploding sports, fitness, nutrition and wellness markets. With established expertise and deep connections in these markets as well as proven financial track records, the NEXT VENTŪRES team is well positioned to create significant value for their investors and their portfolio companies. Learn more at nextventures.com

About Zone 5 Ventures

Zone 5 Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on helping innovative technology companies at the intersection of sports, media, technology and health and wellness. Leveraging its extensive network and collective experience in sports, entrepreneurship, technology and operations, Zone 5 Ventures invests its capital, resources and expertise to help entrepreneurs accelerate growth and innovation. Zone 5 Ventures, along with its partner companies, offers a one-of-a-kind platform to enable its portfolio companies to redefine how the inner athlete in all of us harnesses technology to achieve goals and ultimately improve lives. To learn more about Zone 5 Ventures visit zone5ventures.com