Fond farewell for founders

Jason & Nicola Allen to start a new chapter after two decades

It is the end of an era as Lifestyle1 hits letterboxes and business outlets this week with founders Jason and Nicola Allen stepping away from their 20 years in publishing to start a new chapter.

The couple are now set to focus on new ventures and their accommodation holdings, as well as continuing to follow their children’s sporting careers, which has already taken the family to every corner of Australia.

What started as a real estate magazine produced in their family home, with Jason and two staff members, has developed and evolved for two decades and Jason said none of it would have been possible without the incredible community support the publication has received since its inaugural issue.

“We cannot thank our loyal clients enough for supporting us for more than 1000 issues,” he said. “Some of our clients have advertised in every issue.

“We have also had great staff as well, from the early days to the current staff that are getting the job done every week.”

Nicola said Lifestyle1 had been such a huge part of their lives for 20 years. “We are really going to miss it but also are looking forward to the next chapter,” she said. “It is the people we will miss the most but fortunately so many of our loyal clients have become our friends.”

It was in 2003 that Jason and Nicola started up Property1, a fortnightly publication with a focus on real estate.

Two years later, Jason and Nicola sold a percentage of the magazine to Australian Consolidated Press, it progressed to weekly, changed its name to Lifestyle1 and added editorial content, retail advertising, the TV guide and a motor section.

“We had to adapt, evolve and modify the publication to meet our client and readers’ wishes,” Jason said.

Lifestyle1 ended up back in local hands in 2009 when the couple and other local investors bought the popular publication back and the changes didn’t stop there.

It was in 2020 due to public demand, Lifestyle1, under new ownership of the Sports Entertainment Network, morphed into a broadsheet publication, while maintaining its magazine style content. It was an investment in more pages and larger page size allowing Lifestyle1 to be even more jam packed with stories from around the region, focussing on the people, places and events that make the Limestone Coast and South West Victoria great.

“We have seen so many changes over those 20 years,” Jason said.

“There are so many media platforms now for people to use to advertise but we have been committed to producing a product that this community really seems to love.”

Lifestyle1’s reach is as strong as ever, with 15,500 distribution to letterboxes, Australia Post outlets, newsagencies and a large number of other retail outlets each week.