Men’s Fitness Online is an independent Australian publication about training, health, sport and some of the things that shape men’s lives outside the gym.
We cover strength and endurance, nutrition, fitness culture, training, adventure travel, men’s health — mental and physical — and practical ways to feel and function better. Some stories explain the basics. Others look at the people, events and ideas changing fitness. The aim is the same: useful information, clearly told, without the hype.
The site grew out of Australian Men’s Fitness, the print magazine Todd Cole published from 2003 to 2021. Over 18 years and more than 200 issues, the magazine covered the changing world of men’s fitness. Men’s Fitness Online carries that experience into a digital publication, with a focus on what readers want to understand and use now.
About me
I’ve spent more than 25 years working in men’s fitness media as an editor and publisher. It was a strange career as I started my working life in the Royal Australian Navy as a clearance diver.
After the Navy, a stint at Sydney Uni and some time at art school, I became a freelance writer. This was the late Eighties, when AI was pure science fiction and writers could get paid a dollar a word.
I started writing for Penthouse, a soft-porn magazine with some outstanding journalism between the, um, spreads. My first story was called “I Passed SAS Selection”. I’d passed selection years earlier. The next was about my flatmate, a successful drug and gold smuggler who escaped from a Thai prison.
Penthouse was a decidedly manly magazine, but it also published some first-rate Australian writers. It was an unlikely place to start a career, but it taught me how to find a story.
I eventually started Australian Men’s Health for Murdoch Magazines, then owned by Matt Handbury, Rupert Murdoch’s nephew. After two years, I decided to go out on my own and I sold the house, the kids and the car to launch Australian Men’s Fitness. We went on to publish more than 200 issues and created spin off mags. I also launched Eat Fit and SHAPE, as well as several others. We covered the rise of UFC, CrossFit and The Biggest Loser, and interviewed or reported on figures including Bear Grylls and Conor McGregor. I created community events, too, including the Fit Bloke Challenge. It was a good run.
Today I edit Men’s Fitness Online. I use AI tools to help research stories, analyse data and prepare first drafts, everything I used sub-editors and researchers before. I check the work against its sources, edit the final copy and take responsibility for what we publish.
You can read more about my work on my author page.
Have a story idea, a correction, a contribution or a partnership proposal? Email editor@mensfitnessonline.com.au.
Read our editorial policy to see how we report and correct stories, or visit our contact page.
