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Home Features Cover Stories

Era of Evolution ist Magazine Continues to Improve

John P. Ribner by John P. Ribner
July 1, 2012
in Cover Stories
Reading Time: 5 mins read
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While ist Magazine has a 15-year history of serving the indoor tanning industry, it’s like a brand new publication in many exciting ways.

In February 1997, Vince Lorraine – then a tanning industry veteran of nearly two decades – decided to create a trade magazine that would truly benefit hardworking salon professionals. To make it happen, he assembled a team and debuted his dream publication – a 23-page newsprint tabloid. Although it started small, ist Magazine soon became the industry’s premiere trade publication read by more than 20,000 tanning professionals. Now, after 15 years and many milestones, ist is incorporating many new and exciting innovations designed to take the publication to the next level, while never losing sight of its original purpose – to provide valuable news and business-building information to members of the tanning industry.

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New Name

After 15 years of publishing under the name Island Sun Times, the publication’s title recently changed to “indoor suntanning Magazine”, or ist Magazine, for short. “The Island Sun Times name was well established; but, since we consider 2012 to be a pivotal year in our development, we decided to change the name and flag to be more representative of the industry we continue to serve,” said Vince Lorraine, ist Publisher. “I got my start in the tanning business as a salon owner and, as my salon chain grew, I started a product distribution company called Island Sun & Health Systems. When we decided to create the publication, we chose to link it with the distribution company because of the recognition that it offered at the time; but I left the distribution sector many years ago to focus on the magazine.”

New Look

When something looks good, people notice… and this is true for ist Magazine. The publication’s graphic design department, led by Project Manager Melody Richmond, has incorporated several new and exciting enhancements to the tanning magazine already known for superb visual presentation. “This year, we reduced the size of the publication to make it more personal and compact, while also providing several new and exciting options for our advertisers,” said Melody. “We’ve also redesigned the masthead to coincide with the name change. Perhaps the most noticeable change is our cover look – we’ve broadened our choice of content for the cover images, which we felt would be more appealing to our readers and better suited to a tanning industry magazine.”

New Direction

This year has been significant in ist’s history in that it marks a time when the publication has taken a dynamic, new industry stance.

“For 15 years, I’ve felt that current salon operator training programs have relied too heavily on taking an adversarial stance against our detractors – pharmaceutical companies and the AAD – and making health claims, which our industry has been directed not to do”, explained Vince. “The question to ask is, has this training direction made us stronger as an industry today than we were 10 years ago? We’ve always dealt with negative media attention; however, I feel that this type of training and our lack of self-regulation have energized our adversaries and made our problems worse. I truly believe that educating salon operators to be more professional is key to our survival, and that is where our energy must now be focused. If we don’t want to remain in the crosshairs of the medical community and Federal and state legislators, we need a concentrated focus on avoiding medical claims about indoor tanning. This could be the single most-important thing that we, as an industry, can do to ensure our collective future in this business.”

As per its Code of Federal Regulations Title 21, part 1040 Performance Standards for Light-Emitting Products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises our industry not to make any medical, health or safety claims about sunlamps and indoor tanning because such claims could be perceived as “false, misleading, and/or attempting to entice and/or be deceptive.” Rather than attempting to make health claims about indoor tanning, ist Magazine urges the industry to communicate a consistent, unified message: “For those who weigh the risk/benefit of UV exposure, indoor tanning facilities provide a controlled environment for obtaining a cosmetic tan responsibly, and in moderation. Exposures are delivered according to individual skin type and with a precise timing system that reduces the risk of overexposure and burns.”

A New “Life”

In an ongoing effort to help salons operate more professionally, ist Magazine recently introduced Sun Is Life® Training and Certification. “After two years in development, we’re happy to offer an education program that completely addresses the needs of salon operators and staff,” Vince said. “Sun Is Life® blends user-friendly technology with advanced training techniques for a completely new genre of Internet-enabled learning designed to change the way salon professionals deliver customer service, promote responsible and moderate tanning and exhibit professionalism. It’s quickly becoming the leading online training and certification program in the U.S. with over 500 salon owners enjoying its benefits to their business. We’re very proud of it.”

With the addition of Sun Is Life® Training to ist’s roster came a new team member – tanning industry veteran, Joe Schuster. “During my three decades in indoor tanning, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming good friends with Joe and have always been impressed by his dedication and professionalism,” Vince said. “He’s taught an accredited salon operator training program for more than 20 years, and brings invaluable experience to Sun Is Life®. With Joe’s help, I’m certain that Sun Is Life® will help thousands of tanning salon owners and staff as they continue to market their services in an uncertain economy.”

An Enduring “Thank You”

While 2012 marks many firsts for ist, one thing remains unchanged – the gratitude of the entire team for its advertisers and readers. “In this close-knit industry, we have the luxury of building personal relationships with our advertisers and, over the years, many of them have become good friends,” said Liz Wenstrom, ist Executive Account Manager. “Those relationships continue to help us to produce the industry’s premiere publication that offers everything tanning pros want in a trade magazine. We’re extremely thankful for everything our advertisers do for us – none of this would be possible without their support, and we will continue to go above and beyond for them.” On behalf of everyone at ist Magazine, Liz also thanks the publication’s many readers for their continued loyalty. “Salon owners are the heart of this industry, and the reason we do what we do each day,” she said. “We will continue to provide all the news and information they need to continue to succeed, and deliver it free of charge each month.”

Since the Indoor Tanning Association’s inception, ist has supported the organization and its efforts to protect everyone’s right to tan – and this will continue through 2012 and beyond. “Every industry needs an organization of its peers to represent its best interests, and we’re fortunate to have the dedicated group of people at the ITA,” Vince Lorraine said. “The organization and its board of directors do many great things on behalf of this industry, including representing indoor tanning at state legislative hearings, funding vitamin D research through the UV Foundation and funding lobbying efforts through its Political Action Committee. As I’ve done for many years, I personally urge everyone who reads ist who’s not already a member to join the ITA today – this is your industry organization, and you need to support it.”

Looking Ahead!

This year has already been big for ist Magazine, and there are still five months to go! This can only mean that our evolution will be a continuing process. After all, being at the forefront of content and design does not happen overnight… and cannot be maintained by resting on one’s laurels. “This year, we’ve definitely made some amazing improvements to ist, and it’s only the start,” said Vince. “While this industry and the economy have seen many changes over the past few years, I still believe that the indoor tanning business is a great way for people to earn a living. We’ll continue doing everything we can to help ensure the success of our readership, both through ist Magazine and Sun Is Life® Training and Certification. I want to personally thank everyone who continues to support us because we’re committed to supporting you!”

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John P. Ribner

John P. Ribner

A 14-year industry veteran, John "Ribby" Ribner has written hundreds of articles for IST Magazine and, as Director of Editorial Content, has also helped guide the publication's evolution. Ribby is a graduate of Central Michigan University's journalism program and has brought many years of newspaper reporting experience to his position of Head Writer. He is also the author of three novels, "Legacy of the Bear," "Prophecy of the Bear" and "World So Dark."

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