Hustler (magazine)

Hustler

Sunrise Adams on the April 2004 cover of Hustler
Editor	Larry Flynt
Categories	Adult-targeted
Publisher	Larry Flynt
Total circulation (2006)	approximately 500,000
Founded	July 1974; 49 years ago (1974-07)
Company	Larry Flynt Publications
Country	United States
Language	English, many others
Website	hustlermagazine.com

Hustler is a monthly adult-targeted magazine published by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP) in the United States. Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter, originally conceived by founder Larry Flynt as cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from an uncertain start to a peak circulation of around 3 million in the early 1980s; it has since dropped to approximately 500,000. Hustler was among the first major US-based magazines to feature graphic photos of female genitalia and simulated sex acts, in contrast with relatively modest publications such as Playboy.^[1] In the 1990s, Hustler, like several of its competitors, began featuring depictions of sexual penetration and oral sex.

Today, Hustler is still considered more explicit (and more self-consciously lowbrow) than such well-known competitors as Playboy and Penthouse. Hustler frequently depicts hardcore themes, such as the use of sex toys, penetration, oral sex and group sex.

Larry Flynt Publications also licenses the Hustler brand to the Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, which was owned directly by Flynt as an individual through his holding company El Dorado Enterprises. Other enterprises include licensing the Hustler name to the Hustler Club chain of bars and clubs and the Hustler Hollywood store chain that sells adult-oriented videos, clothing, magazines and sex toys. The chain's flagship store, formerly located on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, was torn down in 2016.^[2] Both licensed enterprises are operated by LFP's partner, Deja Vu.