The Elska Top Ten

In the midst of this virus crisis, which has us delaying our next issue and unable to travel to shoot further issues, I've been trying to keep busy. One project has been to re-release a past sold out Elska, another is a short book about a trip to Iceland due later next month, and another was to create a minisite for Elska selfies. I also decided it would be interesting to write a top ten list of the best selling Elska issues out of the twenty-eight bookazines released so far.

Before I begin, a quick note about the quants here… Firstly, we don't keep numbers on sales of Elska that come from our stockists, only from direct orders via our website, but most shops tend to order roughly the same amount of each issue. Secondly, there may appear to be an advantage for older issues because people have been able to buy them for longer, which is somewhat fair, but the vast majority of sales occur within the first month following a new issue's release. Now on we go with the chart, in ascending order…

10. Elska Los Angeles (California) — issue 18

Kicking off our list is our second issue to be made in the USA. The first time we went to a smaller, lesser known city, Providence (Rhode Island), and it turned out to be (in my opinion at least) a real exemplar of the perfect Elska issue. It had great stories, lots of diversity, and a fair amount of nudity as well. I always imagined that the next US issue would be somewhere more well known, and the decision to go with LA was made more out of convenience than anything else — I was due to exhibit at LA Drag Con and thought I'd make the most of the cost of flights to shoot an issue there too.

The results of the project surprised me. I expected the men to all be rather superficial, vain, and obsessed with fame, influenced by what I thought of as "LA culture". And although the stories make it rather apparent how much this sort of "LA culture" has an effect on them, they're not all drinking the Hollywood flavour of Kool-Aid. Even the couple of guys who are bonafide celebrities (we were bound to meet some industry people in LA), proved to be rather more down-to-Earth and real than I could have imagined.

Notable feature: Jizz. These lads were the horniest bunch of show-offs I ever met!

9. Elska Cardiff (Wales) — issue 07

This issue came about because of delays in getting stories from our Yokohama (Japan) issue. When it became clear that the print deadline would be missed, I rushed onto a train and made an impromptu Elska close to home. I always knew that I didn't want the first UK Elska to be made in England though, and Wales's capital became my focus, mainly because it seemed the most "exotic" big city.

That "exoticism" is what I loved about this issue, exhibited in particular by the amount of stories we printed in Welsh. It's a language I always loved the sound of, but being that Cardiff is in the south of the country and has a lot of international residents, I wondered if the Welsh language would get any spotlight at all. I was wrong to worry, the Cardiff guys proved that Cymraeg is alive and growing all across the land. And even though I'm not Welsh, I feel proud if this issue in some way contributes to Welsh culture and expands the amount of Welsh language material out there.

Notable feature: Age range. This issue showed the greatest diversity of age in any issue yet, with one subject just 18 and another over 70.

8. Elska Seoul (Korea) — issue 21

One of two cities in our top 10 from Asia, Seoul was an extremely difficult edition to make. I knew that despite all the bright lights and modernity there was a strict conservative foundation, particularly when it comes to homosexuality, but just how hard it was to deal with surprised me. I contacted literally hundreds of guys and got rejection after rejection. Most didn't want to take part because they worried what their family or work colleagues would think if they found out, but many also declined because they felt they were too ugly or boring to be worthy of publishing in any sort of magazine (perhaps the glitzy perfectness of Kpop is to blame for this). It was only through the help of some local activists, drag queens, and NGO workers (like the guys on the cover) that it worked out at all.

I find the issue a success mainly in light of the difficulty, and I urge readers to think of the courage it took these men to take part when you look at them and read their stories. That context shouldn't be ignored.

Notable feature: This was actually the first issue to feature a night shoot, something I've started doing in more cities despite the fact that I refuse to use flash.

7. Elska Guadalajara (Mexico) — issue 24

The fact that this was our top seller of the past year is probably aided by the fact that it contains the most nudity of any Elska issue yet (that's why we chose a full nude cover). All but one of the guys featured bared all, back and frontal, and the one who didn't still showed side-bum!

This issue is also our first truly bilingual edition, with the vast majority of the texts published in Spanish and followed by English translations. I like to think of this issue being used by language students all over the world — it would definitely be my favourite textbook!

Notable feature: This is our first naked cover, but it won't be our last. Our twenty-ninth edition, to be released in July (hopefully), also has a nude cover, though you won't see dick but rather arse and balls!

6. Elska Istanbul (Turkey) — issue 6

The Istanbul issue really was an exciting issue to make. It was my first time shooting in a majority Muslim country and the guys I met proved how silly it is to rely on stereotypes. Indeed breaking stereotypes has become a sort of side goal of Elska.

Part of what makes this issue special is that the men had such a happy go lucky attitude. Most of them really weren't fussed about what Elska was, who would see it, or what it all meant. They just kinda said, "Photoshoot? Story? Sure, sounds fun" and that was that. This attitude is a big part of why I fell in love with Istanbul, and why it's the city I've visited the most since making an Elska there.

Notable feature: This issue includes the guy who I consider the prettiest man I've ever photographed, but I'm not going to say which one! If you want to have a guess, I'll send you a free gift if you get it right.

5. Elska Lisbon (Portugal) — issue 4

Kicking off the top five is an issue that actually sold quite poorly when it was first released. So when its original print run ran out, I said goodbye (in the early days of Elska we started with a small run and then reprinted two or three times as they sold out). But over the years more and more were requesting it, so on a whim one cold winter day I decided to reissue it, but this time with a new cover, a cover showing just a hint of bum and one of the most conventionally beautiful men I'd ever seen. That change obviously made a difference, and sales were absolutely huge.

In terms of the content of the issue, some people really love it, and a few customers have been in touch to say it's their favourite. I absolutely adore Portugal, but Elska Lisbon just doesn't connect with me. The issue was made at a time when I was in an artistic transition. I had grown to detest the use of artificial light, which I used during this issue, and the frustration was making me not fall in love with the images I was making. After this issue I put my strobes and softboxes away for good, and I can thank Lisbon for convincing me to do so.

Notable feature: The first hard-on appears in this issue, courtesy of Julian P. Sure, a few erections may have occurred before, but I shied away from publishing them, fearing that an image of Elska as too pornographic could hurt me. But with Julian I learned to relax and accept that sex is a part of life, worthy of documenting just as much as any other state of being.

4. Elska Taipei (Taiwan) — issue 5

I first decided to go to Taipei after reading an article that described it as "gay capital of Asia". After shooting the first four issues in Europe and wanting to go somewhere further afield, that kind of slogan was enough to make me choose Taipei. (It also didn't hurt that friend and Elska fan Matt F found an extremely cheap flight for me).

On the ground I found the men I met the most enthusiastic so far. They were proud of their city and excited to show it, keen to reveal that they belong right up there amongst the Berlins and San Franciscos of the world. And they were right to be.

This was also the first place I went to where I had loads more guys ask to take part than I had room for on my schedule. I always said I'd never repeat a city for Elska, but if I ever did, this would probably be it.

Notable feature: This issue contains the first (and only) time that a guy chose to write his story about me! I was quite flattered, I must say.

3. Elska Perth (Australia) — issue 17

Our first issue made in Australia didn't sell all that well at first, apart from to Australians themselves. So I'm rather surprised to see it all the way up at no.3. But in the two years since its release, it's sold steadily and has started to attract fans from beyond Down Under.

I think a part of the reason for its continued appeal is that it gained a reputation for being rather on the nasty side. Yes, there's a rather prominent hole pic, and there's even some oral activity and even some spunk in the Elska Ekstra, but it's not that shocking. I think more of the appeal is that it's just very solid, with a good deal of diversity, engaging stories, and a cute ginge on the cover.

Notable feature: This cover was the first to show a guy smiling, but everyone here seemed so happy, it was the perfect cover.

2. Elska Reykjavík (Iceland) — issue 3

This has long been a great seller, which always perplexed me a little because it's also our issue with the least nudity. I guess it proves that readers don't actually buy Elska to see dick! But considering what an incredibly beautiful country Iceland is, there indeed is a lot more to see even for the biggest cock fiends!

I think what gave this issue such appeal is that Reykjavík is one of the most beloved cities in the world for LGBTQ travellers. Every gay I've ever met has either been here (and loved it) or is desperate to go one day, meaning that Elska Reykjavík serves as either the perfect souvenir or the perfect wanderlust travel guide. I'm genuinely proud of it, and especially happy that a project named after an Icelandic word ('elska' means 'love') should see its Icelandic issue so successful. And it should sell even more soon because we'll soon be re-issuing it with a new cover, and in our modern format.

Notable feature: More men were photographed here than for any other issue. For a long time it was the issue with the most pages, but even so we still had to split the chapters between Elska and Elska Ekstra.

1. Elska Berlin (Germany) — issue 2

The Berlin issue only came into the top spot within the past few weeks, proving that the world's top gay destination yields the top selling Elska. However, I would guess that it will bump back down to no.2 within the next months following a brand new reissue of Elska Reykjavík, scheduled for release in late May, 2020.

One of my favourite things about this edition is how ordinary the guys are. Berlin has such a reputation for extremes, full of debauchery, but even though there's more nudity here than in the average Elska issue, it's certainly not a guide to fisting and piss play! Indeed what makes Berlin so special to me is how open-minded it is, meaning there's room for everybody, including boring gays. And as a boring gay myself, I can't not love this place.

Notable feature: Our long time associate editor Marc is in this issue, as is Roman who assisted on our Taipei issue, making Elska Berlin almost like a family album.

Liam Campbell is editor and chief photographer of Elska Magazine, a project all about travelling, meeting guys, and taking pics. It's perhaps interesting to mention that his personal three favourites — Dhaka, Toronto, and Mumbai — didn't even crack the top 20!