Seminal pop-culture icon Andy Warhol said we’ve all got it coming to us – fifteen minutes of fame. So when we stumbled on POP Magazine, a new free quarterly core snow/skate/surf publication that gives our Aussie board sport talent the spotlight treatment they deserve, we figured it was apt to give the brains behind the operation their own fifteen minutes too. Fame for everybody! Meet the lads behind POP, Rick Baker and Dave Keating.
What was the impetus behind launching POP?
Rick - We’ve bought so many magazines over the years, and the Australian scene was starting to get a bit repetitive and elitist. There really wasn’t a lot of diversity in the type of kids getting coverage. That, and like most people involved with snowboarding, skating or surfing, we have a lot of creative friends (photographers, writers, artists etc) with no outlet for their work. So we thought if we can take that community, co-op based approach to a magazine and make it something everyone can be a part of and get behind, we might be able to do something unique. So far we’ve managed to get out 10,000 copies of each issue within the first 2 months, so I think kids are into it.
Why snow/skate/surf and not a focused effort on one sport? And which sport do you find you're most drawn to covering? (and don't give us that "there's no favorites, we love them all equally" crap that mums use either)
Rick - One day I was sitting in a lecture at university and I had a thought… Why am I spending 4 years learning how to potentially work in a completely new industry that I know nothing about? I asked myself, ‘What do I know most about?’ And that was snowboarding, skating and surfing. But apart from the creative side of the magazine, we didn’t feel there was a quality free press magazine that stayed true to the three sports. We try to keep coverage pretty even with a little bit of an emphasis on the season. Snow has been easier to cover because the industry hasn't really had an outlet for current news and events. But I think that once the broader industry recognizes that because POP Magazine is free, it’s a powerful and efficient way to reach their target audience. If you take into account our web presence and quarterly publication, this is doubly so.
Your website is impressive for a smaller operation- great use of space and media. Who’s the brain behind that baby?
Rick - That’s funny. I’ve been thinking of a redesign! No, I’m happy with it. I’ve made sure it’s very easy to update and add to (both graphically and content wise). Because we cover all three sports, it can get a little hectic keeping up with every thing. We actually had a really graphically complex, flashed based site to begin with. But then I looked around at news websites like Bluntsnow.com and Skateboard.com.au and noticed that a lot of sites that kids are getting their news from are small blog based websites anyway. Besides all of that, to get linked to from Transworld is pretty exciting.
Do you have backgrounds in publishing, or has it been a learn-as-you-go kind of experience?
Dave - I have been around publishing my whole life but had never considered working in it until Rick asked me to work with POP. It has been a lot of learn as you go. My spelling has improved a lot in the last year but I just try to make sure Rick has everything he needs content wise to get the magazine to the printers.
Rick – I’ve always worked with computers and web design for as long as I can remember. So it’s been challenging to learn the pre-press process and colour calibration. But I think once you have a basic grasp on graphic design, it’s easy enough to get a handle on. Like I said before, with our open community approach, you’d be surprised how many like minded people are out there that are willing to help out and be apart of something that they identify with.
The mag doesn't look like a bodgy home job - how did you bankroll it? Do you have to hold down outside jobs?
Dave - We put together a comprehensive plan and direction for POP, that and a mock up of issue one, got us some solid backing. Obviously the plan changes over time but the core reason for doing it stays the same.
Rick – Making a quality publication has always been paramount for me. I think that the best way for me to achieve this is to involve those photographers and artists that are more talented than me. When it’s all said and done, I don’t want to be known as the magazine that was bad for the Australian scene. If you’re a free magazine and kids still don’t want to pick you up, then that’s bad. As for a second job, when we were in the development stages of the first issue, I thought I could do the magazine part time and work at a store. But I’m a firm believer that if you want something to actually be good, you have to give it all your time and effort.
What can we expect to see from Pop in the future? Any major plans or projects you're working on?
Dave - We're working to get a weekly news bulletin up and running. We want to cover things like team additions and changes, video and product launches, shop opening’s, new brands etc. We’re also trying hard to audit our distribution so we’re able to track and manage that information. Aside from all of this we’re constantly expanding our website and online media.
Rick – For me, getting international support from some of my heroes has been amazing. Interviewing snowboarder David Benedek for issue 3 was great because I take a lot of inspiration from his design work and photography. As for the future, as the magazine grows I’m hoping to involve more of those people I mentioned that are looking for an outlet for their work. I’m always amazed at the amount of talented kids that give up their dreams for a ‘real’ career. If I can help them find a way to make a living out of doing what they love, then that can only benefit everyone.