Being a man... in Afrikaans

The first mainstream Afrikaans men's magazine will hit the shelves on 26 June 2006. Entitled Manwees, it will be edited by former De Kat editor Wilhelm du Plessis and published jointly by Du Plessis and Mike de Villiers. The first issue, which will be at least a 164-pager, will have an initial print run of 30 000 and will be a conventional 275mm x 210mm.

"South Africa has needed a men's magazine that caters for the needs of Afrikaans men between 25 and 45 for quite some time," says Du Plessis. "Manwees will be a high quality general lifestyle magazine focussing on fashion, health, inspiration, leisure, money, relationships and sex and will aim to be an informative and entertaining read."

The intention of the publishers is to penetrate the personal bubble of a specific target audience, something that has come to define South African magazines in the last few years. "That's why we believe it is such a relevant publication - Afrikaans men have long been overlooked and that is why we will be offering them a quality product in their own language that will keep them informed, entertained and hopefully enthralled," explains Du Plessis.

Afrikaans language is blossoming

The language in Manwees will reflect that of contemporary Afrikaans people and will pull no punches. "We want the magazine to be a reflection of how Afrikaans as a language is blossoming in magazines, in music, on radio and on television. It is no longer a deadly sin to be Afrikaans-speaking and old stereotypical connotations of the language and her speakers are thankfully dying a long overdue death!"

De Villiers has been in the printing industry for more than 25 years, of which 11 was spent publishing niche aviation title SA Flyer. He sold SA Flyer four months ago "because of the limited market and challenge of a new opportunity such as Manwees" after completing research into the Afrikaans magazine market.