By the early 1980s, at which time he was running the marketing and circulation department, he left the company (and purported position as heir apparent) to once again attempt to establish his own brand.
In 1987, his father abruptly shut down the magazine after General Media experienced a financial dip which resulted in a long-lasting estrangement between the two.
In 2007, Guccione was ousted as CEO, in what was described by the New York Post as "a falling-out over philosophical differences with his financial backers about how to run the company.
"[2] Gear was launched and published in the United Kingdom devoted chiefly to revealing pictorials of popular singers, B-movie actresses, and models, along with articles on gadgets, cars, fashion, guy tales of sex, and sports.
Gear reached its exposure apogee in 2000 when it featured a risqué pictorial of then 17-year-old actress Jessica Biel, who posed while appearing on the WB family drama series 7th Heaven.