Lenny Dystrka Bankruptcy: Fueled By Failed Magazine Launch

Folio::

Many of Dykstra's financial woes stem from the failed launch of the Player's Club, a monthly magazine for professional athletes he published in partnership with Doubledown Media--a publisher of magazines aimed at the Wall Street elite--which went out of business earlier this year. Before the title launched, Dykstra sued Doubledown claiming breach of contract. Doubledown filed a counterclaim alleging Dykstra owed the publisher more than a half million dollars.

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Comments

[RobinSeattle]

08:57 PM on 07/09/2009

The Lenny Dykstra Decade finally comes to end. A sad day for those who like tobacco chewing, steroid injecting self-appointed investment experts, but not really anyone else.

[pissedmichael]

05:45 PM on 07/09/2009

This is a little sad. I saw HBO's Real Sports profile of Mr. Dykstra. It cast him as slightly delusional and in denial by the end. I'm saddened that this apparently turned out to be prophetical.

[Z2a]

03:17 PM on 07/09/2009

You su c K Lenny. Go take a walk off a short pier.

[hdohighdesertobserver]

03:11 PM on 07/09/2009

This guy made millions and millions of dollars in the market from all the shmucks just a little bit slower and less well connected than he was. That's the market for you.

And now all the money he ever made - in addition to the $30-50 million dollars he hadn't yet been able to turn in to a house or jet - has all been taken away by the guys who are a little faster and better connected than he is. And what do you suppose they're going to do with it?

Let's hear it for Wall Street.

[HarrysLeSabre]

02:50 PM on 07/09/2009

Nails+Juice+Playoffs=Joy

[kappa08]

03:04 PM on 07/09/2009

No doubt that whole Phillies team with their liver failing yellow eyes were beyond juiced. You don't go from 185lbs to 220 in one year...every roid dealer on the planet was circling their Clearwater training facility that year....
he's gross...

[MichaelDeane]

02:40 PM on 07/09/2009

I watched both HBO Real Sports stories by Bernard Goldberg. After watching the first, I fully expected the second story to happen. The magazine idea was ridiculous: far too small a potential audience. And his stock picking prowess? Hell even I was making money in a bull market.

Dykstra was a decent ball player who over reached. That continued in his post baseball life and it bit him big time.

[consrfunny]

04:04 PM on 07/09/2009

The number of individuals in the market isn't the point, it's the amount of disposable income each of those potential costumers had at his or her disposal.

The magazine would be profitable from advertising and athletes using Dykstra's financial services and services that advertised in the magazine that he had deals with.

It was a decent idea corrupted by Dykstra's horrific business acumen and universe sized ego.

Think about it, if he managed to land financial services contracts with 20-40 players it would have been profitable. The potential market is relatively large, considering all the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, Tennis, Golf and auto racing millionaires there are looking for ways to investment their money. And if he established a good track record with the players he could have branched out to the entertainment industry.

It was a good idea.

My guess is advertising could have covered the cost of producing and distributing the magazine. The players that used his services and the services he contracted with would have probably put him in the black.

[Frank Smith]

02:18 PM on 07/09/2009

The magazine idea was more of a trade publication and sounded like a decent enough idea, but Dykstra brought all the acumen of a compulsive gambler to business and couldn't control his spending. Made a great living playing ball, made more in the carwash business and then blew it all on stupidity.

[ckfan]

02:13 PM on 07/09/2009

I never thought the magazine was a good idea. Too small of a market.

[BrickSykes]

01:50 PM on 07/09/2009

Who is Lenny Dykstra?

Brick