Pocket Outdoor Media Acquires Big Stone Publishing

October 9, 2020

Climbing and running titles join a growing portfolio of active lifestyle brands.

Boulder, Colorado, USA — October 9, 2020 — Pocket Outdoor Media (POM), the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content, today announced the acquisition of Big Stone Publishing (BSP), the longtime publisher of Rock & Ice, Trail Runner, and Gym Climber magazines and websites. The BSP brands join POM’s existing stable of active lifestyle brands: Climbing, Backpacker, Women’s Running, Triathlete, Yoga Journal, Clean Eating, VeloNews, SKI, and Warren Miller Entertainment, among others. The acquisition brings together best-in-class consumer properties, 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.

“This acquisition significantly strengthens our ability to engage with outdoor enthusiasts across all of the seasons and sports that live at the intersection of adrenaline and adventure,” said Robin Thurston, CEO of Pocket Outdoor Media. “By merging Rock & Ice into Climbing, we’ll be better positioned to deliver exceptional content and cover all of the sport’s disciplines—trad, sport, gym, and alpine climbing—in ways not possible before. Similarly, Trail Runner broadens our running portfolio, adding the dominant title in the sport’s fastest-growing discipline.”

The new acquisitions further bolster POM’s commitment to become the hub for active lifestyle enthusiasts looking to live a balanced and healthy lifestyle. The company’s Active Pass membership program recently launched for its endurance brands, featuring benefits 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 membership program will roll out across the entire POM network in the coming months with content and benefits from the new acquisitions included.

POM’s Active Pass membership program has seen strong adoption from consumers who are now able to personalize their content choices. The company has committed significant resources across its entire network to provide a user experience that inspires and enables enthusiasts of every skill level to run, bike, hike, ski, and practice yoga more often.

“After getting to know Robin and the team, it was clear that we’d found the perfect home for brands we’ve nurtured into category leaders,” said Duane Raleigh, president of Big Stone Publishing. “We’re closely aligned on quality and authenticity being central to our mission, and the combination of our teams will be a classic case of one plus one equaling three. It’ll be an editorial and sales powerhouse perfectly situated to take advantage of recent participation surges in running and climbing.”

Read more about the acquisition on SNEWS.

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, The Voice, 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 Big Stone Publishing

Big Stone Publishing is a niche media company specializing in outdoor sports. Our brand magazines include Trail Runner, Rock and Ice, ASCENT, Gym Climber and Dirt. Our mission is to inspire off-road runners and climbers to enjoy healthy and adventurous lives. Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains in Carbondale, Colorado, we are a small group of outdoor enthusiasts who are passionate about making stories, photos and art from the outdoor world come to life in print and online.

Learn more at RockandIce.com and TrailRunnerMag.com.

Press inquiries please contact:

Robin Thurston – CEO of Pocket Outdoor Media
ceo@pocketoutdoormedia.com

PJ Rabice – VP, Marketing of Pocket Outdoor Media
press@pocketoutdoormedia.com
(303) 440-0601