Playboy Halts Total Nudity in US Print Edition; Major Rebranding Underway?

When Playboy announced that it will halt publishing fully nude photographs of women in its United States print edition by March 2016, many people were not surprised. The move was considered long overdue.
The magazine announced that beautiful women in provocative, sexy, poses, but not totally naked, will continue to be featured in the Playboy print edition.
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Plunging circulation and declining advertising revenues were problems faced by the magazine over the past several years.
Loss of readership to online sites featuring naked women, as well as innovative competitors with both print and online versions, signaled the need for change. The magazine, author David Rensin noted, needed to keep abreast with the times.
Samir Husni, director of the magazine innovation center at the University of Mississippi, said the public's perception of what Playboy is will be hard to dispel. As long as the publication's name is Playboy, any steps undertaken may not be of much help.
The very brand that catapulted Playboy to success, since it represented the rebel spirit of founder Hugh Hefner, is also the very thing that is hurting it now, The New York Times reported.
Other lifestyle publications that spell fun and strive to offer good content are creating formidable competition. Maxim, for instance, recently revamped and re-launched to adopt a classier feel. It seeks to hook readers gravitating to magazines like Esquire and GQ.
In other news, one magazine featuring sports personalities in various stages of undress continues to thrive with a strong brand message.
ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue highlights not just the human form but the achievements of male and female athletes who push their bodies to the limit.
Celebrated athletes that were featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue include Serena Williams, Hope Solo, Ronda Rousey, Colin Kaepernick, Chantae McMillan, and many others.
Featuring athletes' nude bodies that convey strength, power, and beauty all at once is a formula that worked well. Being in topnotch physical condition tends to inspire many people, and that is what the magazine succeeded in doing, TIME magazine reported.
As for Playboy, the end of full nudity may signal either the end or better times ahead. Interestingly, when the magazine banned totally nude photos from its website back in August 2014, the number of monthly visitors soared.

McMillan gives track camps here Saturday and Sunday

Hometown Olympian Chantae McMillan is scheduled to return to Rolla to host track and field camps this weekend at the Rolla Community Track.

On Saturday the camp will be for kids in grades K-8 and will held from 9 a.m.-noon.

On Sunday a camp for high school students and adults will be held from 1-4 p.m.

Cost of the camp will be $25, which includes a T-shirt and personal instruction by Chantae. Deadline to receive a T-shirt is Friday, Sept. 25.

In addition, there will be a meet-and-greet event on Saturday at The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center from 6-8:30 p.m. ($50 per person).

The proceeds raised from the events will go towards McMillan’s Olympic training in her attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

McMillan, also an All-America performer at the University of Nebraska, was a heptathlete for the U.S. Olympic team in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

She is currently training out of Ohio.

Persons can register for the camps or the meet-and-greet at The Centre or online.

And anyone wishing to simply donate to Chantae’s Olympic effort can do so at the sponsors of the event - The Kaleidoscope Discovery Center, Key Sport Shop and The Centre.

Athletes pose in the buff

ESPN The Magazine's The Body Issue features Olympic athletes in the nude. The idea is to encourage everyone to embrace their bodies as they are.

The latest edition of ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue features many pro athletes who have stripped down and been captured in their natural body form without cropping any extra flab to show a 'perfect' figure. Though most of them have an amazing physique, players such as Amanda Bingson, 25, the US track and field hammer thrower, and Chantae McMillan, 27, the Olympic heptathlete, would not generally be referred to as examples of sportspeople having a 'perfect' body. And that's exactly where ESPN wishes to target the focus of its readers.

Bingson who believes that she doesn't have a perfect body like her counterparts, told ESPN, "Dense would be the right word for me. Generally when you look at athletes, you see their muscles and all that stuff; I don't have any of that. My arm is just my arm-it's not cut, it's not sculpted. I don't have traps bulging out to my ears; I have a neck. I don't have a six-pack. My legs are a little toned, but they aren't bulging out. I'm just dense." 

Amanda Bingson, the US Track & Field hammer thrower. Picture credit: ESPN Magazine The Body Issue 2015 edition

 

These women athletes have accepted their 'over sized' body parts and are not ashamed to present it to the world. The campaign is even more relevant today when films, TV commercials and advertisements portray slim models as the perfect embodiment of beauty, time and again. Experts believe that adolescent girls usually get motivated by such ads and take the easy route to losing weight by either starving themselves or taking pills to get rid of the extra fat. Both the methods have been widely regarded as extremely dangerous to one's health.

In a report published in 2009 in The Telegraph which assessed BMC Public Health Journalresearch, it was revealed that even children as young as 10 fall prey to the peer pressure of looking slim and trim. The research revealed that primary school girls felt better when they were slim whereas boys of the same age wanted to have a perfect body that was neither slim nor fat. According to the report, "the study warned that young children who feel themselves under pressure to be a perfect weight are at risk of going on to use risky dieting techniques, such as vomiting, fasting, or using diet pills or laxatives."

Whereas, adolescents face a higher risk of peer pressure to have a perfect body. The constant pressure to have an amazing silhouette often leads them to go on extreme diets which many a times results in eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. And in many cases they undergo psychological diagnosis/treatment for depression.

As a result, there have been cases in the last decade where models have starved themselves to death. In 2010, the French model Isabelle Caro who appeared as the face of controversial ad campaign 'No Anorexia' died of anorexia--the eating disorder she already suffered from.

French model Isabelle Caro appeared as the face of the controversial ad campaign 'No Anorexia'. Picture Credit: twitter/pepicobos

 

This is why these athletes on the ESPN magazine cover stand out and seem to embrace their imperfectness beautifully. The nude pictures are not outrageous but a huge example for those girls out there who think perfect equals slim. Natalie Coughlin, the 32-year-old Olympic swimmer, gives credit to her big arms for her success and shows off her body with tan lines. 

Natalie Coughlin, 32, is an Olympic swimmer and was also shot for the magazine. Picture credit: ESPN Magazine The Body Issue 2015 edition

 

Whereas, Chantae McMillan said in the interview to ESPN, "I don't look in the mirror and think 'slim'; I look in the mirror and I'm like, 'Whoa, beast!' It's just crazy how much the body changes. Looking in the mirror, I get surprised like every other week. It's like I'm Wonder Woman."

This is not the first time celebrities have posed in their natural figure. There have been instances when women have posed for the camera without touching up their photographs. The famous Dutch model Lara Stone appeared nude for System magazine last year displaying her post-pregnancy body a year after giving birth. She spoke about her struggles in dealing with her changed body, and how she came to terms with it. In an interview she told The Edit magazine, "Everyone's got arm flab or saggy boobs. It's the way it is. I'm just trying to accept it right now. And it's OK, because the things women can do with their bodies are amazing".

Chantae McMillan

Chantae McMillan

Chantae McMillan competing in the 2012Thorpe Cup
Personal information
Born	May 1, 1988 (age 27)
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	69 kg (152 lb)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Heptathlon
Updated on 4 August 2012.

Chantae McMillan (born May 1, 1988) is an American heptathlete who has qualified to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Career[edit]

Chantae McMillan attended Rolla High School in Rolla, Missouri, where she competed in the long jump and graduated in 2006. McMillan then went to the University of Nebraska. In summer 2007, she became a competitor in combined events (pentathlon and heptathlon).^[1]

McMillan qualified for the 2012 London Olympics at the U.S. Olympic trials on June 30, 2012.^[2] She placed third with a score of 6188 points.^[3] At the trials, McMillan set personal bests in 100 meter hurdles, 200 meters, shot put, javelin, and 800 meters and achieved the Olympic A Standard.^[2]

Chantae represented United States at Pan - American Cup and scored 5601 points to place 5th on June 20, 2015.

Chantae is the sixth athlete featured in 2015 ESPN body issue.^[4]

Born May 1, 1988, Ft. Campbell, KY

Odell Beckham Jr and Natalie Coughlin join host of American sports stars to strip for iconic ESPN Body Issue

Some of the biggest names in sport have bared all for this year's ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue. 

The annual tradition has been around since 2009 with the likes of Venus Williams and Michael Phelps being asked to strip down for the American public. 

The 2015 issue features six different front covers with NFL star Odell Beckham Jr and American heptathlete Chantae McMillan two of the famous faces to have posed in the nude while performing some trademark moves. 

New York Giants star Odell Beckham Jr features on one of the ESPN Magazine Body Issue 2015 front covers

New York Giants wide receiver Beckham Jr revealed he doesn't actually spend much time in the gym

Beckham Jr of the New York Giants in action against the Philadelphia Eagles in December, 2014

The 22-year-old seemed at ease as he posed for the photographs with a football in hand 

Odell Beckham Jr possibly the best catch ever for NY Giants?

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American swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin has also posed for the 2015 issue 

The 32-year-old showed off some impressive tan lines as she posed in a swimming pool for the publication

Coughlin competes in the women's 50m breastroke heats during day one of the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships

Despite his brilliant physique, New York Giants wide receiver Beckham Jr revealed that he doesn't hit the gym as much as fans may think. 

He told ESPN: 'I don't really care so much for the off-field workouts. I'm not going to go into the weight room and put on like 600 pounds and try to squat it. 

'I'd rather do something that applies to what I do on the field than straining myself in the gym. I want to do field work - anything that I can apply to the sport.'

Beach volleyball legend Gabby Reece (right) poses with her husband and big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton

Reece and husband Hamilton take to the waters together in the buff for the new Body Issue photoshoot

Surfer, Laird Hamilton, rides under pier on huge wave

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Washington Nationals baseball hero Bryce Harper got a bit grubby for his front cover shot

Washington Nationals star Harper hits a two run in the first inning during a match against San Francisco Giants

Free agent DeAndre Jordan shows off his slam dunk technique as part of the Body Issue

NBA star Jordan is surrounded by giant basketballs in one of the many pictures taken from the magazine

Basketball star Kevin Love, who dislocated his shoulder playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in April, earned his spot on one of the six Body Issue covers and claims that yoga keeps him in shape. 

'I'm a very routine-based person,' he told ESPN. 'I do yoga. During the season, the Cavs have us do Pilates. I like working out in sand -- there's nothing quite like it in terms of firing so many different muscles. I do resistance training. 

'I have someone who helps me with nutrition. I have a chef in Cleveland. I check ingredients. Now I look at it as refueling.'

Elsewhere, American athlete Amanda Bingson features with hammer in hand while Washington Nationals baseball hero Bryce Harper gets a bit grubby for his front cover shot.  

Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love is still recovering from a dislocated shoulder he suffered in April

Love revealed his does yoga and Pilates to keep in shape during the basketball season

Kevin Love in action against the Boston Celtics during Game One in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals of the 2015 NBA Play-offs 2015

American athlete Amanda Bingson featured with hammer in hand for the eagerly anticipated Body Issue

Bingson said that she enjoying taking part in the issue as it showed 'Athletes come in all shapes and sizes'

Bingson competes during the women's hammer throw final at the 2013 IAAF World Championships

American heptathlete put on an acrobatic display as part of the ESPN annual magazine 

McMillan competes in the women's heptathlon 800m during the London 2012 Olympic Games

WNBA star Britney Griner also flaunts some colorful tattoos in her ESPN Magazine shoot

The 24-year-old can be seen flying towards an out-of-shot basket in this image

Sidelines: Rolla's Chantae McMillan featured in ESPN The Magazine's 2015 Body Issue

ROLLA, Mo.

Those of us who watched Chantae McMillan grow up here in Rolla already knew her to be a beautiful young lady.

Now that beauty is being featured in ESPN The Magazine’s 2015 ‘Body Issue.’

An All-America at both Rolla High School and later the University of Nebraska, McMillan is a track and field athlete who represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics in the heptathlon.

She graces one of six covers for ESPN The Magazine’s seventh annual ‘Body Issue,’ which was to be available online July 6 and was to hit the newsstands on Friday.

The issue’s five other covers feature Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper, Olympian Amanda Bingson, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, Olympian Natalie Coughlin and New York Giants’ Odell Beckham, Jr.

McMillan’s photos in particular highlight an athletic frame that has the definition of a bodybuilder.

She is no longer that cute girl on the track or basketball court. She has indeed grown into a beautiful woman.

Pilz All-Star Saturday

Several area players are scheduled to participate in the 21st annual Gerald A. Pilz & Friends All-Star Games Saturday, on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, just outside of Branson.

The girls’ all-star games are to begin at 6 p.m. Between the girls and boys games, inductees to the Pilz All-Star Games Hall of Fame will be announced, followed by the start of the boys’ event at around 7:30 p.m.

Competing in the boys’ event will be 5-11 guard Carter Wands from Rolla.

And on the girls’ roster includes the St. James guard duo of 5-6 Ashlee Marlatt and 5-7 Alexis Uffmann.

Also slated to play is Licking’s all-state forward Lane Duncan.

Wands helped lead the Rolla Bulldogs to one of their greatest seasons ever in 2014-15, as they finished 26-3, tied for the Ozark Conference championship, won the district tournament title and moved on to the Class 4 Quarterfinals.

Wands averaged 8.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists, shooting 80 percent from the free throw line. He will play basketball at Westminster College in Fulton.

Marlatt and Uffmann were four-year starters in the St. James Lady Tiger backcourt. This past season St. James finished 27-3, won the Four Rivers Conference title, captured the district tournament and moved on to the Class 3 Quarterfinals before falling to Buffalo in overtime.

Marlatt was a two-time all-state selection for the Lady Tigers and last season was Four Rivers Conference MVP. She averaged 19.9 points, 3.7 steals, shot 51 percent from three-point range, 81 percent from the free throw line and averaged four three-pointers per game.

Uffmann led the St. Louis area in assists for the second-straight season, averaging 8.9 assists in 2014-15. She also averaged 8.6 points and 3.8 steals.