LOOKING FIT Acquires TanToday.com

[Alan @ TanToday]

Contact:
Mike Saxby, Group Publisher
Virgo Publishing LLC
(480) 675-8177
mikes@vpico.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOOKING FIT Acquires TanToday.com

PHOENIX—Feb. 7, 2008—Virgo Publishing LLC, a business-to-business information services company and publisher of LOOKING FIT Magazine, announced today it has acquired TanToday.com, an indoor tanning industry online forum developed by site administrator Alan Moore. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moore will continue to be involved in the day-to-day operations of TanToday, which was formed in 2001 and now boasts more than 7,400 members. LOOKING FIT and Moore thank all the moderators for their support over the years and look forward to a continued relationship that will include additional benefits for their future involvement.

“Over the last six months, I have really gotten to know the folks at LOOKING FIT and see their commitment to the growth of the indoor tanning industry,” Moore says. “I am excited about the resources and manpower it has available to make TanToday an even larger presence in the industry.”

“We respect TanToday’s commitment to the betterment of the indoor tanning industry and realize we are guests on the site, which will continue to operate as usual,” LOOKING FIT’s Group Publisher Mike Saxby says. “We are committed to strengthening and growing the forum by attracting more members who will share in the exchange of information, ideas and debate.”

Established in 1986, LOOKING FIT Magazine is published 14 times a year and is the indoor tanning industry’s comprehensive source of news and information. Its mission is to provide salons with tools to maximize revenues and compete in the marketplace. LOOKING FIT also publishes the annual Top 250 Salons issue as well as the annual Fact Book. Virgo also owns the National Tanning Training Institute (NTTI), which provides salon personnel with valuable, affordable and convenient training, available in-person, via correspondence or online. NTTI’s Online Learning Center offers certification 24/7.

For more information, visit www.tantoday.com or www.lookingfit.com.

[danggirl]

good lord now the tanning forum selling? This industry is crazy

[jbizz]

Hi All,

I wanted to jump on and let everyone know that we here at LOOKING FIT are very excited about this new venture. Thank you to all the kind e-mails we have received so far. I wanted to personally remind you that TanToday is your forum, your community. We don’t plan on making monumental changes. We hope to add resources and manpower that will help the community grow bigger and better than before.

TanToday’s commitment to the betterment of the indoor tanning industry is the same as LOOKING FIT’s. Our goal is to increase the number of tanners, so salon owners increase revenues. We realize we are guests on this site and hope you welcome us as any other guest.

We are committed to strengthening and growing the forum by attracting more members who will share in the exchange of information, ideas and debate. Rest assured that Alan continues to be involved in the day-to-day operations of TanToday. We also thank the more than 7,400 member and the moderators for their support over the years and look forward to a continued relationship that will include additional benefits for their future involvement.

All the best,
Judie Bizzozero
Group Editorial Director
LOOKING FIT magazine

[TonyG]

Wow, this is big news. Congratulations to Alan for doing such a great job the last couple of years.

One thing I would suggest is to use this as an opportunity to have some, if not all, forums private (for EZ to post his negative articles that do not reflect well on the industry and for people to dicuss things (like Berman) that should not be public).

It concerns me that the whole world - including derms/FDA/ etc, could read everything on this site. There are so many times we have made ourselves look foolish on these boards (myself included), and for the sake of the industry, we really need to go to a higher level of discretion and professionalism.

I suspect Tan Today will become less free-wheeling, and more professional, and that is probaly good for the health of our industry.

Just my 2 cents.

[Jim Carlton]

Thank you Bruce for starting the real Tan Today for real salon owners. It was his hard work and ingenuity and attempted freedom of speech that got Tan Today to the point of really getting salon owners to debate, argue, learn, and question the industry.

Bruce never backed down or sold out, he stood for what he believed in and the sharks circled and devoured the essense of Tan Today, his baby noone elses.

Tan Today has never been nor will it ever be what it was under Bruce. Thanks for the memories my friend.

[Bruce]

an indoor tanning industry online forum developed by site administrator Alan Moore.

Well, I guess Swedish Beauty was DEVELOPED by ETS too, using the above criteria.

I too will congratulate Alan on maintaining and keeping TanToday alive and functioning these past few years. He is to be commended for picking up and continuing a venue for the peon's to meet, greet, and gather.

I guess this leaves Chunn as the only standing member of the "online tanning board" founders.

In all honesty, Lonn Dugan deserves MOST of the credit, along with Chunn, they were the instigators of, and original idea men that got this thing going. All the other sites, past, current, and future are basically spin offs that orginal move all those years ago.

Best of luck Alan, may the wind be forever at your back, and opportunities at your face.

[dbl-a]

How much $?

[brownsuze]

Will you start Beaconing us like Facebook does?

[movieking]

I posted this same news on here this morning at 9:30. It seems Looking Fit has quickly learned how to delete threads and posts already as my thread mysteriously disappeared within a short while after starting the thread.

[Ezliving_Jim]

Originally Posted by movieking

I posted this same news on here this morning at 9:30. It seems Looking Fit has quickly learned how to delete threads and posts already as my thread mysteriously disappeared within a short while after starting the thread.

That's not a good beginning.

[W8INLINE]

Originally Posted by movieking

I posted this same news on here this morning at 9:30. It seems Looking Fit has quickly learned how to delete threads and posts already as my thread mysteriously disappeared within a short while after starting the thread.

Maybe they wanted to anounce it first.

[jbizz]

Hi, it's Judie from LOOKING FIT again. I want to set the record straight that no one from our staff deleted Movieking's earlier thread. Alan wanted to personally post his big news and elected to change the thread.

Again, we are not here to "govern" the board. We are guests who look forward to interacting with salon owners and operators to further the industry.

www.lookingfit.com

[looking_fit]

Hello movieking. The employees of Looking Fit don't have administrative or moderator access to the site. It’s impossible for us to delete threads. Let me know if you have any additional questions.


Mike Saxby
Group Publisher
Virgo Publishing
www.lookingfit.com

[Alan @ TanToday]

Originally Posted by movieking

I posted this same news on here this morning at 9:30. It seems Looking Fit has quickly learned how to delete threads and posts already as my thread mysteriously disappeared within a short while after starting the thread.

The thread was removed by a Mod who did so because the announcement from me had not yet been made at that time. Shortly afterwards, I sent an email out to every member and the very same Press Release you posted was re-posted. Sorry for the confusion. I take full credit for not having my letter ready to go first thing in the morning.

As Mike said, no one at Looking Fit is a Mod or has Mod/Admin powers to do any moving, changing, editting, etc.

[Alan @ TanToday]

Originally Posted by Ezliving_Jim

That's not a good beginning.

See above Jim!

[Alan @ TanToday]

Originally Posted by W8INLINE

Maybe they wanted to anounce it first.

Exactly, I wanted to tell the community personally before anything hit the site about it.

[W8INLINE]

Originally Posted by Alan @ TanToday

Exactly, I wanted to tell the community personally before anything hit the site about it.

Hey.....I was DEAD ON!!!!

What do I win.....maybe my prize should be...and take note looking_fit... AVAILABILITY OF THE MAG. IN CANADA.

[Alan @ TanToday]

Originally Posted by Bruce

I too will congratulate Alan on maintaining and keeping TanToday alive and functioning these past few years. He is to be commended for picking up and continuing a venue for the peon's to meet, greet, and gather.

Bruce, they meant no disrespect but to include you in the PR would have been a little tricky trying to explain the whole getting sued, etc mess that led to you losing the site in the 1st place. You and I both know, as well as a few of the ones who are still around since then, who originally purchased the domain name TanToday. Having said that, we also know that absolutely nothing from your site other than that name carried into what this forum is now and for some odd reason that seems to be what this industry embraced. Call it what you will sir but I think I did one fine job starting from scratch. At the end of the day, as I have said time and time again, TanToday isn't about who owns the IP addresses because the heart and soul of this community is it's members. Heck, most of the people don't even remember you 3 years out of the business and I am sure when I hang up my TanToday spikes, whenever that is, that no one will remember me years later and you know what, that's OK. It's about the members, it's about the content, it's about individual salon owners coming together for the greater good of helping one another. That is what I am most proudest about.

I actually thought you were a little more professional then to call the members of this community peon's but maybe I had you wrong all along. Take care!

[Matt A]

Alan congrats on your sale. You rebuilt something back that I did not think could be done. Hopefully looking fit keeps thier word and allows the mods here to remain and you to keep running the site as you have so far.

[Alan @ TanToday]

Matt, believe me, all are staying and all will remain the same or it wouldn't have went down.