In an age when most publications are moving away from physical formats, Kevin Durant’s media platform, Boardroom, is making an unconventional play—launching a print magazine.
The digital-first brand, founded in 2019 by Durant and his longtime business partner Rich Kleiman under their 35 Ventures umbrella, has built its reputation on in-depth coverage of athletes, musicians, entertainers, and the intersection of sports and culture. Now, the team is flipping the usual script and bringing that storytelling into print.
The debut “mini mag” is set to release later this month, featuring a cover story on world No. 1 women’s tennis star Aryna Sabalenka. At just 50 pages, this initial edition will be distributed at select events, including the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and Boardroom’s annual sports business conference in Los Angeles with CNBC.
If all goes according to plan, a full-fledged quarterly magazine—around 120 pages per issue—will begin in 2026.
Kleiman, who spent years in the music industry before co-founding Boardroom, says the move isn’t about direct revenue. Instead, the magazine is positioned as a brand and marketing tool in an oversaturated digital world.
“There’s more value now in something physical because of how much time we all spend in digital spaces,” Kleiman explained. “This isn’t about print becoming the core of our business—it’s about adding premium, collectible storytelling to our existing platform.”
The print venture follows a growing countertrend in publishing, where select brands are reintroducing physical editions. Recent examples include online magazine Tablet, cultural toy brand POPMART’s play/Ground, and the relaunch of SPIN’s print format.
While Boardroom isn’t a pure sports outlet or strictly an entertainment site, it thrives in the space where those worlds meet—covering everything from FIFA World Cup partnerships to sneaker culture and film crossovers. The pilot issue also includes coverage of Rolex’s presence in tennis, alongside the Sabalenka feature.
By keeping editorial production in-house and leaning on existing staff, Boardroom aims to keep costs in check while delivering a premium, limited-run collectible—much like vinyl records have become in music.
This is not a retreat to the past, but rather an expansion of the brand’s storytelling platforms, blending the prestige of print with the reach of digital.
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