The Skateboard Mag

The Skateboard Mag was an independently published American skateboarding magazine that published over 100 issues (in 2005 its circulation was approximately 90,000[1])[2][3] and featured professional skateboarder, Danny Way, on the cover of its inaugural issue, depicted mid-air while executing a gap to noseblunt slide on a construction known as the "Mega Ramp".[4] As of February 2005, the publication was owned by a group that consists of seven partners, while the magazine employed eleven full-time staff members.[1] In 2014 it became a part of a website and in 2017 its existence on the website stopped.

Not to be confused with Skateboarder Magazine.
This article is about the 2004-2017 magazine. For other magazines, see List of skateboarding magazines.
The Skateboard Mag
March 2006 Cover of Skateboard Magazine
Editorial directorDave Swift
CategoriesSkateboarding
FrequencyMonthly
Circulation90,000 (2005)
PublisherStrictly Skateboarding
First issueApril 2004
Final issue2017
CompanyStrictly Skateboarding
CountrySolana Beach, California, United States (US)
LanguageEnglish
Websitehttp://www.theskateboardmag.com/
ISSN1548-3975

History

Internal tensions between the Transworld Skateboarding magazine staff and owners AOL Time Warner[5] prompted the resignation of several key editorial members, such as Mike Mihaly, J. Grant Brittain, Dave Swift, The Skateboard Mag Founding trio was later joined by TransWorld Skateboarding Senior Photographer Atiba Jefferson who all later launched The Skateboard Mag publication (the first issue was published in April 2004[2][4][6]). Jefferson, whose seminal mentor was Brittain, revealed in May 2012:

So, in 2006, we were all working at Transworld with Dave Swift, Grant ... Brittain. I think I'd gotten to the point—you've done everything you kinda could. And, with that magazine being bought and sold that many times, and being corporate-owned, a lot of things had changed. Even when I started working at Transworld, it was just owned by the bombers; it was independently owned. It was just different, it wasn't the same. There was a lot of things that became very corporate about it. And that was just-it is so hard to do with skating. There were so many things we couldn't justify. So we decided to break off and start out own magazine, The Skateboard Mag, in 2006.[2]

Jefferson's view was reinforced seven years earlier in an interview that Brittain participated in with the Union-Tribune, whereby Jefferson's mentor stated, "We did not like the whole corporate deal, not knowing what was in every issue ad-wise. It wasn't about skateboarding anymore."[1]

Other key members of The Skateboard Mag who moved across from TransWorld Stance Magazine were Art Director, Ako Jefferson (Atiba Jefferson's brother[2][7]), writer, Kevin Wilkins,[8] and Transworld Publisher, Mike Mihaly (the three had worked a combined total of forty-four years for Transworld Publications).[1] The first issue was released in March 2004, Issue #1 April 2004.[9]

As of October 2016, the editorial director of the magazine was Dave Swift, who is a current skateboard photographer and had worked for Transworld Skateboardingas Editor-In-Chief, Staff Writer and Staff Senior Photographer.[10]

Veteran skateboard photographer Grant J. Brittain confirmed on October 7, 2014, that the Skateboard Mag publication, of which he was a photo editor for, has reached an collaborative agreement with the Berrics. Brittain published the announcement on his Instagram account: "We started a new endeavor, the Skateboard Mag is under The Berrics skateboarding umbrella."[11][12] Following this the magazine ceased publication and became part of the website Berrics.

Mission statement

The Skateboard Mag's mission statement stated that it

Seeks to maintain the independent nature and integrity of the skateboard culture at all levels, provide readers with a broad, accurate, and knowledgeable view of skateboarding, and advance skateboard publishing through excellence in photography, writing, and design.

[13] In a February 2005 interview, the magazine's three primary founders, Brittain, Swift, and Mihaly explained the ethos of the magazine and the main points of distinction from their former employer by stating that the target audience is "hardcore skateboarders", while Transworld retains a tendency towards the mainstream aspect of skateboarding culture. Mihaly explained: "We don't have any beef with those guys. We've been doing what we're doing for a year and realized we can all coexist. The further we can separate the umbilical chord from them the better."

Digital photography

The launch of The Skateboard Mag coincided with the popularization of digital photography in skateboarding and Atiba Jefferson has revealed that he made the shift upon his commencement at the publication:

You know, it's really funny, because, at Transworld I did my film, Cross-Process, you know, it was really funny, because right when The Skateboard Mag came is when digital photography came ... right when that magazine started is right when I almost switched over to a 100 percent digital. Which gave me a whole different look again ... which really changed the way that my photography looked."[14]

Free Fabes campaign

In October 2012, the magazine assisted with the "Free Fabes" campaign, organized by the DGK skateboard company for former professional skateboarder and actor, Fabian Alomar. Alomar, who was a member of the now-defunct Menace skateboard team (founded by Kareem Campbell[15]), was arrested on a non-violent drug possession charge in Hollywood, California, United States (US). The magazine also uploaded unseen footage of Alomar from the 1990s.[16]

Location

As of February 2013, the headquarters of The Skateboard Mag was located in Solana Beach, California, US.[17]

See also

References
  1. Whitelaw Reid (27 February 2005). "Skateboarders only". The Union Tribune. Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. "Shoot All Skaters: Atiba Jefferson" (Video upload). The Berrics. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  3. Ed Dominick (1 June 2012). "100th Issue Celebration". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  4. "The Skateboard Mag Store: Issue #1". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  5. "skateboardrater". skateboardrater. 11 April 2023.
  6. "The First Covers of Iconic Skateboarding Magazines". Complex. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  7. Nick Damjanoff (21 May 2010). "Ako Vs. Atiba" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  8. Isaac McKay-Randozzi (21 April 2006). "Kevin Wilkins Interview". Fecal Face Dot Com. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  9. the skateboard MAG° » Shop Archived November 12, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  10. skateboardermagazine (2 October 2012). "RAIDERS OF THE ARCHIVES: DAVE SWIFT Pt. 3 of 3" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  11. Instagram
  12. Anthony Pappalardo (16 October 2014). "The Berrics Acquires the Skateboard Mag". Jenkem. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  13. Josh Rabinowitz (1999–2013). "The Skateboard Mag on SkateboardDirectory.com". The Skateboard Directory. Josh Rabinowitz. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  14. "SHOOT ALL SKATERS Atiba Jefferson - Part 2" (Video upload). The Berrics. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  15. Joey Suriel; K. "Untitled Document". 48 Blocks. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  16. Templeton Elliot (5 October 2012). "Free Fabes Lost Part". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  17. "Contact Us". The Skateboard Mag. Strictly Skateboarding. February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
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