Who is Blitz Publications?

Publishing companies and magazines are renowned for folding. The lifespan of a magazine is less than four years. Initial success may not necessarily translate into long-term sales and in the cut-throat world of magazine production, good content, tight production and clever design is paramount for survival. In this business, if the product isn't turning over in large numbers, then the product isn't considered viable.

Silvio Morelli's Blitz Publications, however, survives because it produces publications that are considered integral to the lifestyle of those passionate people that make up the niche markets to which it caters. This endeavour to become entrenched in each scene, has seen Blitz not only survive, but thrive. It long ago threw away the title of 'boutique' publisher and is now a mainstream stalwart in niche-market publishing, specialising in sport, health and fitness.

This success has been a long time in the making. Blitz Publications began in the back of a garage in 1986, when the idea for a martial arts magazine was born. Original copies were rough and the company's staff of one (Silvio) worked around the clock to meet production deadlines. He was a martial artist who had entered into the world of publishing, who had a dream and followed it through.

As the magazine grew to become one of the most popular martial arts publications in the country, expansion became necessary. The garage was no longer big enough, so a small office in Bayswater beckoned. Looking back, the office was just as dingy, situated in a dark alley at the back of a major shopping chain. To some, staying in the garage may have seemed a better option but four staff members and a car would have been hard pressed to squeeze in.

The company had grown, and had taken its first tentative steps towards becoming a major publishing outlet. There was now an administrator, a graphic artist, a journalist and salesperson, with Silvio at the helm. Blitz had multiplied, not only in staff but in publications, with the introduction of International Kickboxer and Australasian Taekwondo to the market.

Blitz began to base its structure around people who not only knew what they were doing, but who could instigate plans and ideas that would encourage the company to grow.

Soccer International came next: it would become the best-selling soccer magazine in the country and run for nearly 20 years before its closure in 2011 to make way for ventures into new and less saturated markets.

A deal struck with Iron Man, the oldest and most respected bodybuilding magazine in the United States, led to another publication in the stable. It was the first venture towards US shores for Blitz, but it wouldn't be the last.

Several years later, the stable of magazines consisted of Blitz Australasian Martial Arts Magazine, International Kickboxer, Australasian Taekwondo, Soccer International, Women's Fitness Magazine, Women In Sport (the two magazines combined to create what is now one of the leading women's health magazines in the country, Women's Health and Fitness), Triathlon and Multisport Magazine and Australian Iron Man. Silvio then saw a valuable opportunity to secure a license from Time4 Media (formerly known as Times Mirror Magazines, operating out of New York) and the Australian edition of Golf Magazine was born.

The growth has been rapid, with peaks and troughs, and times of consolidation. To accommodate the growth in staff, Silvio built his own premises in the late 1990s, a two-storey building with its own production facilities.

Since then, new magazines have been added to the stable as Blitz Publications continues moving with the times. Australian Natural Health has found a niche in the growing health market, and Inside MMA magazine (incorporating content from FIGHT! licensed from the USA's Bluff Media) was created to capitalise on the booming sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

"We're only just touching the tip of the iceberg. This company is capable of so much more. More magazines. More books. More everything," says Silvio.

The team has grown from a two-man operation originating in 1990, to around 30 full-time professionals today. There are currently eight magazines and their related websites, along with several books, calendars and annual special editions in circulation at any given time. Blitz Publications' interactive websites also host online stores, where customers can purchase books and DVDs on all the subjects they enjoy reading about in Blitz's magazine titles. Ever ready to move with the times and capitalise on growth opportunities, Blitz Publications is now producing its popular titles for e-tablet platforms such as the iPad.

"We're excited about bringing to our loyal readers and advertisers more of the exciting rich media that this format offers," says Silvio. "It has been more than 25 years since our original magazine, Blitz Martial Arts, hit the stands, and the potential for growth is as great now as it was then."