YOUTH OWNED & RUN MAGAZINE: ‘YOUNG VAGABOND’ LAUNCHES

Press Release

15 April 2013

YOUTH OWNED & RUN MAGAZINE:  ‘YOUNG VAGABOND’ LAUNCHES

EMPOWERING & CELEBRATING YOUNG WOMEN

Young Vagabond is a new Australian magazine for young women, and aims to provide a positive alternative to the mainstream media available to teenage girls. Instead of focusing on image and sexuality, Young Vagabond aims to activate self-esteem in young women and encourages them to embrace and celebrate their differences.

Let’s set the scene, it’s 2012 and young women, Ashleigh Grogan and Haylee Collins are frustrated with the increasingly negative ways young women are being influenced by mainstream media.

The dynamic duo decided there was something missing in the magazine world, and driven by their passion for creating a better world for young women, Young Vagabond was born.

YV Publisher Ashleigh Grogan said they wanted to create a magazine that did not solely focus on boys, or feature models of only one size: a magazine that talked about real girls, to real girls.

“We wanted to give the young women of Australia access to sports, science, humanities, literature, amazing places around the world, and role models that are truly worthy of admiration.

“Through Young Vagabond, we aim to give young women a voice, and a magazine that they want to read. A magazine that doesn’t try and force them to look, feel or act the same as every other girl and doesn’t make them feel like they aren’t good enough or underestimate what they are capable of,” Ashleigh said.

YV Editor Haylee Collins adds, “Through Young Vagabond, we hope to help shape young women’s impressions of themselves and of other women in a positive way, and encourage our readers to appreciate and support one another.”

Crowd-funding and teaming up with the likes of The Reach Foundation and The Body Shop has allowed Haylee and Ashleigh to get their cause off the ground. The girls raised $17,960 through Pozible, an online community-building and crowd-funding platform that helped open doors, and the successes have continued to snowball.

Published quarterly, Young Vagabond covers a broad range of topics because real young women have broad and varied interests. Featuring articles relevant to being a teenager, Young Vagabond will cover the usual topics in a positive and creative light and will also encompass articles that are relevant to the world at large.

The first ever Young Vagabond cover girl is 16-year old Brenna Harding, recently awarded ‘The Most Popular New Female Talent’ at the Logies for her role on Puberty Blues.

Ashleigh said “Brenna truly encapsulates everything that is Young Vagabond and we could not be more proud to have her as the very first cover girl!”

Young Vagabond pledges to encourage readers to think critically about everything presented to them; accurately represent real women and girls and champion their achievements; create an ethos of awareness, discovery and acceptance of the world and the self; and encourage readers to have adventures to embrace their freedom, to live passionately and to appreciate their capabilities.

Young Vagabond is available to purchase online, and for a limited time in-store at The Body Shop from April 15 to 28, 2013.

Mark Kindness, CEO of The Body Shop Australia said: “Young Vagabond perfectly aligns with our values as a company, and we love its positive focus on activating self-esteem among young women. So we’re delighted to give them a leg-up and bring a terrific new magazine to our customers at the same time.”

Magazine RRP is $6.95 for a limited time in The Body Shop and $10 online. For more information visit youngvagabond.com.au or facebook.com/youngvagabond.

Vagabond: Traveller, wanderer gypsy. Founders Ashleigh Grogan and Haylee Collins hope to inspire young women through their fresh, new Young Vagabond magazine.

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For more information on Young Vagabond or to speak with Publisher Ashleigh Grogan contact 360 Immerse Agency on 03 8554 7777.

Ellie Shaw                                                        Michelle Palmer

0438 963 545                                                           0412 774 280

ellies@immerseagency.com.au                 michelle@immerseagency.com.au