41Publishing: more than a job
“For us, 41Publishing is not just a job, but one—if not THE best opportunity—to develop ourselves personally and professionally, to learn new things, and to realize our dreams.”
We are pioneers!
The first magazine for ENDURO sports, the first e-MTB magazine, the first urban bike lifestyle magazine, the first road bike magazine for the modern generation of roadies and drop bar junkies, the first independent award from an international magazine. The world's first gravel bike group test, the first SUV e-bike group test, where we coined the term...
With our topics and projects, we've always been at the cutting edge, doing pioneering work, and often receiving criticism and ridicule for it. "What are you doing?", "I thought you were cooler" – our very early commitment to e-mountain bike development, in particular, caused a sensation. But we're happy to accept that. Feel free to criticize us – after all, the early bird catches the worm.
We're at the cutting edge, love new topics and potential, and are always ready to explore them. We don't rest on our laurels; we know that development is always evolving—so we, too, must evolve.
To understand us and 41Publishing, you need to know our story – and that’s why we’re giving you some personal insights here.
6,000 € start-up capital from Grandma Schmitt
We never actually intended to found our publishing house, 41 Publishing. But our employer at the time – Motorpresse Stuttgart – didn't want our digital magazine concept. So, two students and brothers, Max and Robin Schmitt, dropped out of college at the tender ages of 23 and 21, and founded their own company in 2011 with €6,000 from Grandma Schmitt – and took off like a rocket. They went from zero to 300,000 Facebook fans within two years. And the investor-free startup quickly became a serious player in the magazine world with a rapidly growing team. In 2013, 41Publishing expanded into the USA with its own team and, in addition to its HQ in Leonberg near Stuttgart (GER), opened additional offices in the MTB paradise of Peebles (UK) and Aschau im Chiemgau (GER).
Mom, dad, and an outstanding team of over 40. Oh yes, Henry the dog is also in the office every day.
You won't see this in any other company: the boss brings home-baked cake to the office in the morning, Mama Schmitt cooks organic meals for the team every week or caters for productions – Walter Röhrl really enjoyed it too – and Daddy Schmitt comes along with his sons to countless productions and travels around the world after taking early retirement – only to then work even more!
41Publishing has been a long-term, family-owned business since 2011. Then as now, we've remained 100% independent, without investors or shareholder dividends—and profitable. We've been in the black since year one. And we're proud of that. We think and act with a long-term perspective and are crisis-proof.
With a core team of 40 exceptionally dedicated employees and a core team of 15 people at our HQ in Leonberg, we are one of the largest bike editorial teams on the planet.
We are racers – and we make dreams come true!
Why dream when you can just do it? Our roots lie in downhill racing – in 2012, we founded, or rather renamed, ENDURO magazine. Before that, our magazine was called MAG41 and focused on downhill racing. All that remains of our roots is the number, which defines the current publishing name "41Publishing" – under which we now publish four magazines – and the adrenaline rush.
In addition to our editorial work for MAG41, we quickly founded a racing team, which within a few months developed into the most successful German downhill team. In addition to participating in countless European and World Cup races, we won the German Championship in the elite class in 2011, as well as silver and the junior title. For the 10th anniversary of ENDURO magazine, it was high time to return to our roots for a season – with fewer skills, no fitness, but awesome gear and endless beer! Beep, beep, beeeeeep!
