Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine published by Larry Flynt in the United States. Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter, originally conceived as 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 in the early 1980s; it has since dropped to approximately 500,000. It shows explicit views of the female genitalia, becoming one of the first major US-based magazines to do so, in contrast with relatively modest publications like Playboy.
Today, Hustler is still considered more explicit (and more self-consciously lowbrow) than such well-known competitors as Playboy and Penthouse. It frequently depicts hardcore themes, such as the use of sex toys, penetration, oral sex and group sex.
Larry Flynt Publications also licenses the Hustler brand to the Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, which is owned directly by Flynt as an individual through his holding company El Dorado Enterprises. Other enterprises include licensing the Hustler name to the Hustler Club chain of bars and clubs and the Hustler Hollywood store chain that sells adult-oriented videos, clothing, magazines and sex toys. The chain's flagship store is on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Both licensed enterprises are operated by LFP's partner, Deja Vu.