“Everyone is fighting for pages”

You started ‘The Skateboard Mag’ (TSM) about 8 years ago with some of the other editorial staff from TWS, what prompted you to set up a brand new mag on your own, and what were the early challenges that you faced?

It was wonderful for the first few years, it was a labor of love and like a family. Then TW was bought by Times Mirror and then The Tribune Company and it was still okay. When they were bought by Time Warner, things started to change. Advertising and profits became more important than skateboarding and employees and we were big babies and primadonnas and just got tired of working for “The Man”.

So we quit and went out on our own.

The biggest challenge wasn’t getting a great staff, we had the best photogs and writers in the business onboard. Magazines are financed by advertising and it wasn’t even that difficult getting companies to support us, but a few didn’t get what we were trying to do. We could have stayed at TWS, it was a cush job, we left because of the hair care product and Army ads and AOL discs polybagged in with the magazine without our knowledge.

The captain of the ship that we resigned under actually said, “There is no difference between selling couches or skateboards.” We left TW to help skateboarding and the industry. We don’t accept outside of the industry advertising, doesn’t that say anything? We have given the skate companies a spotlight for their products and their riders where they don’t get pinched between a Milk ad and a Ballpark Frank ad. Some got it, some didn’t. Our thanks to our supporters.

As well as your good self, you’ve got some incredible photographers at TSM like Atiba Jefferson and Anthony Acosta. Is it quite a competitive environment?

We have some of the best and everyone is fighting for pages, it keeps the quality up and competition is good.

It moves the bar higher.

What (criteria) makes a great cover shot for TSM and how do you decide on which image to use each month?

I don’t pick the covers, usually it will either go with a story, an interview or a shot a photographer campaigns for.

I will have a say in the quality end. We think of the reader first, who do they want to see? Hammers are important, but sometimes we’ll just run a pretty picture.

Your editorial and managerial responsibilities at TSM must keep you crazy-busy. Do you still find the time to shoot pics as often as you’d like to?

I shoot when I want and if it’s fun. I am pretty lazy and have shot a lot of photos in 32 years and would rather just shoot a cool sesh at  a pool and have an ale with friends afterwards.

[Opposite: Bob Burnquist is kept in the loop]