Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine aimed at heterosexual men and published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter and The Hustler For Today's Man which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to a peak circulation of around 3 million (current circulation is below 500,000).
Hustler was one of the first major men's magazines in the United States to break the taboo that existed in the early seventies by showing much more explicit views of the female genitalia than other popular magazines of the time such as the relatively modest Playboy. Today, Hustler is still considered more explicit than such well known competitors as Playboy and Penthouse. It frequently depicts hardcore themes, such as the use of sex toys, penetration and group sex.
Larry Flynt's Hustler empire also includes the Hustler casino in Gardena, California, as well as Hustler Hollywood, a chain of Hustler stores that sells adult-oriented videos, clothing, magazines and sex toys. The chain's flagship store is on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
