HCOB: So, how did you come to start Covey Rise?
Thames : As an outdoors and hunting enthu- siast, I was aware of a small publication, a fish wrapper newsletter, really called Covey Rise. It was distributed to a small number of subscribers throughout the United States. I thought it might be fun to try to make this lifestyle a full-time job of mine, and to see if I could help represent the upland sport I had grown to love. I had a passion for the sport — the entire experience, the lifestyle, really — and wanted others to share that joy, not only in Alabama and the South, but around the world as well. So, I bought the publication, the brand name, and set out trying to find out about what it takes to turn that into something more vivid, more engaging, more substantial. HCOB: This was in 2012, right? As I recall, the print magazine marketplace wasn’t exactly booming then. In fact, high-quality, four-color glossy magazines were going under, or going online-only at that time. What made you think you could succeed in a market where established name brands were failing? Thames : Well, I will tell you this, print is not dead. There will always be a place for quality products that have value to the consumer.
As an outdoors and hunting enthusiast, John Thames was aware of a small publication called Covey Rise that he thought he could turn into a vibrant representation of the upland sport he grew to love.
What died was just that: publications that were not creating engaging experiences, and that were not producing valu- able content. But It certainly wasn’t publishing experience that made me think I could succeed in this business. I had absolutely zero experience in the publishing world. But what I did have was a passion, and a willingness to try. HCOB: What were your first steps, did you begin by con- ducting formal market research or developing a detailed business plan? Thames : Research, yes. A business plan, no. You have to keep in mind that I wasn’t approaching this with the inten- tion of building a publishing empire — it was a hobby I was interested in pursuing. If it became a little more than that, fine, but in no way, shape or form did I ever imagine what that hobby would become.
HCOB: Your early career had nothing whatsoever to do with publishing, right? Can you talk a little bit about the first phase of your professional life? Thames : No, not at all. Upon graduation I went to work for Russell Lands, a large real estate development company on Lake Martin in Alexander City, Alabama. I was drawn to work for Russell because they managed close to thirty thousand acres of timberland on the shores of Lake Martin. After ten years there, I started my own construction busi- ness, building houses and lodges, and eventually started a second business building docks for houses sitting lakeside. I suppose you could say that being an entrepreneur focused on the outdoors and wildlife environments was at least in the same general arena as my current publishing businesses. But no, I had no experience or even any expectation that I would go into the magazine publishing business.
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