Sunday Editor’s Letter: June 2013

What the hell, you may be wondering, are we doing? We know this site’s been around for a few years—in various incarnations, now—and we’ve managed to build up one hell of a readership during that time. We also understand how protective people can be of their daily reading material, especially in a genre as polarizing as the fitness industry. When you decide to change things just for change’s sake, you’re courting disaster. Still, things are evolving all over the industry, so the goal for us isn’t simply to keep up with what everyone else is doing. We want to set trends, not march in lockstep with them.

To put these changes in perspective, think about how many guys you know who’ve been through a divorce. What’s the first thing that happens once the papers are signed? They go out and try to bang everything that moves, and then they eventually settle on a relationship of convenience with someone they can have fun with—someone who doesn’t want anything serious—until the next real thing comes along.

Dangerously Hardcore was our ex-wife. It was a great marriage while it lasted, but there were irreconcilable differences toward the end, and things had to come to a close. Athlete.io? She’s our rebound girl. Cool, light, and entertaining, she’s the perfect girl to hang out with for a while because she doesn’t want anything—especially not a commitment. She doesn’t even mind if we’re seeing other people, which is great, because we’re already involved with someone else—and it looks like that relationship’s about to get serious.

What does this mean for you? It means we’re going to be providing absolutely awesome content on Athlete.io for a while, and then we’ll finally be switching over to a platform that’s equipped to handle everything we want to do in this industry. We’ve reimagined our entire brand, from the products we produce to the material we’re giving you on a daily basis, and you’re the ultimate beneficiary of all of it.

We’ve spent the past couple of months debating all of this, agonizing over every small detail, and second-guessing the merits of everything we were proposing to do. The idea here is to preserve our reputation as the place people come for the latest in no-bullshit, bleeding-edge nutrition and training information—while simultaneously redefining both the way we do business and the way fitness information is presented on the internet. With what we’re close to launching, we believe we’ve accomplished all of this, plus a lot more.

For the month of June, here’s what you’re going to get:

The same level of great content, including articles and Q&A sessions with Kiefer, feature-length pieces from all our experts (including a few new ones you’re going to love), product reviews, recipes, and a motivational new department where we spotlight a reader’s transformation from fat bastard—or bastard-ette—to ripped, jacked, and ready to stop wearing black, baggy clothes.

School’s done for the year, beach season is here, and it’s time to take a break from all the year’s heavy lifting and recharge for the fall. For us, it’s time to build something new—something you’re all going to love. We’ll keep you all updated regularly, so stay tuned, and enjoy an awesome first month of summer.