Laguna Beach Magazine Celebrates Five Years of Award-Winning Magazines
The story of Laguna Beach Magazine begins back in 2006 when veteran editor and publisher Steve Zepezauer launched his own publishing company, Firebrand Media. Working out of a small office on Forest Avenue, Steve started with custom magazines for all sorts of clients, from automotive to entertainment. After a while, he began to wonder why Laguna didn’t have its own city magazine dedicated specifically to the people and places of this singular town. In 2007, the idea became a reality, and Laguna Beach Magazine launched that summer with the help of a small but dedicated team. Tracy Powell was already serving as Firebrand’s creative director, a position he still holds today. Steve brought local Ben Warner on as publisher and advertising director. On the editorial side, longtime editor Moira C. Reeve served as the company’s editor-in-chief (until she passed away in 2010 after a battle with breast cancer). Micaela Myers started out as managing editor and remains with Firebrand today, now serving as group editor.
Despite its beginnings in a down economy, the magazine has thrived. Its frequency increased to eight times a year, and in April, Laguna Beach Magazine won the title of Best City Magazine from the Western Publishing Association for the second time (two of the three years it was entered), winning against magazines from much larger cities and publishers.
Firebrand Media has also grown. Investor Allan Simon came on as chairman in 2009, and the company is now located in a large building on Broadway. In addition to Laguna Beach Magazine, Firebrand Media publishes Newport Beach Magazine, Montage Magazine (Montage Hotels & Resorts), Bespoke Magazine (St. Regis Hotels & Resorts), Preferred Lifestyles magazine (Preferred Hotel Group), the Laguna Beach Independent and Newport Beach Independent newspapers, as well as the Irvine Visitors Guide.
Over the years, we have featured the people, places, businesses, organizations, architecture and style of Laguna Beach—from charities and artists, to surf industry CEOs—aiming with every issue to capture the essence of the town and give readers the opportunity to learn more about this spectacular city they love. We thank you all for your support and look forward to year six and beyond.
This lady came from a little village in Yorkshire, England to Laguna Beach when her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago. In between treatments we took a trip to the beach and some of our best times together were there.
Separately this same lady is a photographer and randomly wanders around a town or area taking pictures of interesting things. Laguna Beach was my best ever place to explore (and I’ve been to many places).
As a thank you I sent a link to my Laguna Beach collage which summarizes the time I had with you, my sister and my niece as well as all the friendly people of your city.
Until next time
Samantha Devine (Raggle Taggle Photography)