Vice magazine was founded in Montreal in 1994, as an alternative punk magazine by Suroosh Alvi, Gavin McInnes and Shane Smith and was called the Voice Of Montreal. The original objective of the Voice of Montreal was to provide work and community service, the magazine was funded by the Canadian government through a welfare programme. in 1996, the trio had a brawl with their publisher, which resulted in buying him out and thats when Vice magazine transpired, becoming a small, independent magazine with strong themes of sex, music, skater culture, alternative punk culture and drugs. 

Since its commencement, Vice media has grown rapidly and is now:

- prominent in 36 different countries

- has its own clothing brand

- has its own record label

- has its own film production company

- has a marketing agency

- has a net worth of $2.5 billion

- headquarters in NYC

- 900,000 readers

Vice magazine is acknowledged for its controversial, unorthodox style and how it is always pushing boundaries. Before Vice was as big of a platform as it is now, it used to often offend readers and leave people stunned and perhaps provoked. As the company has grown, they have begun to shift some of their content onto slightly more serious topics. 

The main style of writing in Vice magazine is labelled 'Gonzo Journalism'. This is a term used to describe a style of writing which is written without objectivity of any kind. It usually involves the journalist being part of the story, using a first person narrative. Gonzo journalism was founded by Hunter S Thompson in 1970, he claims it is when the reporter is the protagonist in their own writing, using their own personal experiences and emotions. This style of writing is characterised by sarcasm, exaggeration, humour and profanity.