About Sharp

Sharp

SHARP is a Canadian men's lifestyle magazine based in Toronto, Ontario, published by Contempo Media Inc. Launched in 2008, it is published six to seven times per year, with two annual SHARP: The Book for Men special editions targeting premium and luxury consumers. Its content covers fashion, travel, electronics, automobiles, food, alcohol, advice, and essays of international scope but from a Canadian perspective. With a circulation of about 140,000 and readership of 840,000 per issue (2016–2017 figures), it is Canada's national men's lifestyle magazine — the country's answer to GQ and Esquire, built for a Canadian audience. The editor-in-chief is Josh Greenblatt; the publisher is John McGouran. It carries the ISSN 1917-585X.

Overview

SHARP entered the Canadian market in 2008 in what publisher John McGouran called an adventitious position: there was no other national men's lifestyle magazine in the country. Taking a cue from American counterparts such as GQ and Esquire, the magazine set out to serve affluent, professional men aged 25 to 54 with a Canadian-voiced take on the men's lifestyle genre — fashion, grooming, watches, personal technology, automobiles, travel, food, and drink. The bi-monthly magazine's circulation of 140,000 delivers 840,000 readers per issue; the twice-yearly Book for Men has a circulation of 50,000 (later media kits cite 36,500 circulation with 197,100 readership, an average household income of $209,250, and an average age of 42).

Contempo Media Inc. is a Canadian media, publishing, and content company headquartered in Toronto. Co-founder Michael La Fave serves as editorial and creative director. The company's flagship is SHARP, and its portfolio includes the luxury Book for Men editions and a series of luxury and VIP events targeting entrepreneurs, influencers, professionals, and decision-makers, featuring activations and sampling from sponsors.

History

SHARP magazine was launched in 2008 by Contempo Media Inc., founded by John McGouran and Michael La Fave. The magazine's early years coincided with the global financial crisis — an inauspicious moment to launch a luxury-oriented print title — but the absence of domestic competition in the men's lifestyle category gave it a clear lane. An early coup came in September 2008, when the magazine's "The Real Canadian Mad Men" spread — stylish shots of Canadian advertising industry figures including Zak Mroueh, Jeff Parent, Geoffrey Roche, Rick Brace, and Bruce Neve — generated significant buzz in the advertising community; the issue was distributed with The Globe and Mail (150,000 copies with the September 9 paper), handed out at the Toronto International Film Festival, and placed aboard Air Canada business class.

Distribution through The Globe and Mail became a cornerstone of the magazine's model: issues are distributed to select Globe subscribers across Canada, supplemented by newsstands, subscriptions, Air Canada business-class lounges, and special events — a distribution mix that put the magazine directly in front of its affluent target reader. In 2011, SHARP was licensed for publication in Russia, extending the brand internationally.

The magazine marked its 10th anniversary in May 2017 with a VIP party in Toronto. McGouran told Media in Canada that despite the media industry's upheavals, the magazine still performed best in print for readership; its digital and social presence remained modest by design — "it's all about supporting the print publication." He noted that strong print performance was characteristic of the men's lifestyle genre generally: "Men's lifestyle is not the same as the mass market. The vertical is a little different... It's not just looking for eyeballs, it's looking for a specific, interest-driven group." Print ad revenue had levelled off after six straight years of increases, he said, declining to discuss financial specifics for the private company.

Content

SHARP covers men's fashion, grooming, watches, personal technology, automobiles, travel, food, alcohol, and advice, with essays of international scope written from a Canadian perspective. The magazine's editorial voice is that of the knowledgeable peer: service-oriented, product-literate, and attuned to the tastes of affluent professional men. SHARP: The Book for Men, the twice-yearly luxury special edition, covers attire, automobiles, alcohol, and accessories with exclusive photography produced in New York, Los Angeles, Europe, and Toronto, plus two reference sections — The MANual and The Style MANual — offering etiquette tips, international customs, tailoring advice, packing guides, and trend spotting. The 2023 media kit billed it as Canada's only ultra-premium publication for affluent and discerning men, "crafted by experts in the premium segment who know men, as only men can."

The magazine has been a laboratory for print advertising innovation. For Audi's S5 Cabriolet spring campaign, SHARP produced a cover that was opaque in some areas and transparent in others, revealing an advertising position behind the opaque portion — an execution its editorial and creative director called unprecedented in magazines, produced with a plastic cover stock chosen for foldability and presence. The production was a logistical feat: the issue was printed and bound normally with the ad on the paper cover, a subcontractor printed the plastic page, and both elements were sent elsewhere for gluing and trimming. A BMW partnership produced another first: an advertising execution in a space within the title that had never been sold before, developed with the agency Cundari and printed under the supervision of the magazine's production department with St. Joseph as printer. These executions reflected McGouran's philosophy of working with advertising partners to enrich how readers interact with their message — and the magazine's belief, in La Fave's words, in coming up with ideas that move magazine advertising forward.

Coverage & Audience

SHARP is a national magazine read by affluent, professional Canadian men aged 25 to 54, with 840,000 readers per issue and a circulation of 140,000. Its audience is defined less by demographics alone than by intent: readers with the means and the interest to spend on fashion, watches, cars, travel, and premium spirits — the "specific, interest-driven group" McGouran describes. The Book for Men editions target the ultra-premium segment, with readers averaging over $200,000 in household income.

Distribution through The Globe and Mail, newsstands, subscriptions, Air Canada lounges, and VIP events ensures the magazine reaches its audience in the contexts where luxury purchasing decisions are made — at home with the morning paper, in transit, and at exclusive gatherings. The events program extends the brand beyond the page: luxury and VIP gatherings targeting entrepreneurs, influencers, professionals, and decision-makers, with sponsor activations and product sampling, turn the magazine's audience into a community its advertisers can meet face to face.

Ownership

SHARP is published by Contempo Media Inc., a Toronto-based Canadian media, publishing, and content company co-founded by publisher John McGouran and editorial/creative director Michael La Fave. The editor-in-chief is Josh Greenblatt. The company also produces the Book for Men special editions and luxury VIP events.

Digital Presence

The magazine's website, sharpmagazine.com, supports the print publication with content, subscription information, and brand extensions; its social media presence (@sharpmagazine) is maintained as a complement to print rather than a replacement. Co-founder Michael La Fave's television appearance on CBC's Fortune Hunters — stepping in as a luxury-segment expert when a scheduled panelist was stranded — illustrated the brand's positioning: when a producer searched for a Canadian luxury men's magazine, Sharp came up first. Its history is documented in its Wikipedia entry and in trade press coverage from Media in Canada and Masthead Online.

Screen Extensions

In 2009 Masthead reported that editorial and creative director Michael LaFave was working on a pilot for SharpTV, a potential television extension of the magazine brand. The item ran alongside news of LaFave's on-screen turn as a luxury-segment expert on CBC's Fortune Hunters — an early sign that the publisher was exploring screens beyond the page even while insisting the magazine itself still performed best in print.