Keith Curtain looks a sane man, but the publisher of Australia’s first real surf industry magazine must be bonkers. After all, who’d cash in a cushy job as National Marketing Manager at a major surf company to go it alone in the cutthroat publishing game with no previous experience? But after a year-and-a-half of bringing Australian Surf Business (ASB) to the attention of the industry’s key players, Keith’s gamble seems to be paying off - the freely-distributed insider’s tome is fast becoming an indelible part of the Aussie surf industry landscape. We chat to Keith about his vision for ASB.
Before ASB, you were pretty well known around the traps by the catchy moniker of "Keith from Reef". Any more of your shady background you'd like to share?I was 6 years as ‘Keith from Reef’ (National Marketing Manager at Reef) and I still get called that today when company receptionists put my calls through! Before that I was National Development Officer for Surfing Australia for 5-6 years, and Executive Assistant to (then) CEO Alan Atkins. We relocated the National Office together from Torquay to Burleigh where we joined (then) National Coaching Director – Rabbit Bartholomew and Media Director Mandy McKinnon at the Old Burleigh Theatre. Lots of highlights from that experience, but a personal highlight was as Team Manager for the successful 1998 ISA World Surfing Games in Portugal, the year Cambo, Deano and Team Australia won. Before that I was working at Surfworld in Torquay back when it started in 1992 and before that I was getting a BA in Management Communications.
How long has ASB been taking up all your mental energy? 24/7 for nearly 2 years now, the light bulb went off years earlier, but the timing wasn’t right.
What was the impetus behind starting the mag? I have a long spiel about this in my business plan, but put simply it was because there wasn’t an industry trade mag. When you think about it, the Australian surf industry’s success (in business) far eclipses our results on the WCT. Sam and Derek’s launch of STAB magazine and to a less extent Monster Children around the same time were really inspirational. It also indicated that the market was ready and willing to embrace new titles. Surf magazines are about the only sector of the industry that hasn’t changed a lot in 30 years. ASB is different, we’re not battling it out on the newsstands and our target demographic is surf retailers.
Any major setbacks? And how hard did you find the transition from marketing into the publishing game? Setbacks…I’ve lost my eyesight and I am addicted to caffeine. Before that I had 20/20 vision and didn’t touch coffee. I had a few meetings with business advisers who basically summed up that I could self-publish ASB, but I just didn’t know I could. Many of the marketing things I used to do, working with designers, printers and distribution, they are the essence of publishing. It’s not rocket science.
You've got quite a stellar team of contributors - as a new mag how did you source talent so quickly? Well you’re one of them! Finding people with the right mix of business experience and who can write, has been tricky. We’re fortunate to have; Tim Baker, Reggae Ellis, Sean Doherty, JJ, Kelly Dahlberg, Brendan McAloon, Josh Gliddon, Carlo Lowdon, Darkhorse 7, Sarina Lewis, John Blake and yours truly (Caz Ridings) amongst others. They are current or former editors at each of the leading surf publications or have years of experience in their respective fields.
Also the team at Urchin Associates who design the magazine are one of the best studios in Australia…all surfers, skaters and snowboarders. So we took no short cuts. Travis Garone and the team at Urchin have got my back all the way.
The other key factor is to pay well and on-time. I think the contributor mix we’ve assembled is the heart and soul of the magazine. They’re out in the market, they’re not stuck in an office, and so the source of news is always fresh.
It'd be hard to focus on an industry which had previously operated beyond scrutiny without stepping on toes. Ruffled any feathers yet?
I don’t agree. No industry is above scrutiny. Whether its accountability to employees, banks, suppliers, contributors or shareholders… in business you’re always on your toes. Someone is always looking over your shoulder. So the surf industry is the same as any other.
ASB just report’s the facts. If you report fairly and accurately it’s hard to ruffle feathers. But yeh, I hear ya.
How has the surf industry received the magazine? Any opposition? Really well I think. We’ve established the trust and respect of the industry. We’ve been honest, fair and reported the facts. I think that’s silenced any opposition. Certainly the response we get from retail is overwhelming. We’ve set a strong editorial platform, which we follow, to the letter.
How many copies do you publish per issue? Is this growing?We go to every surf shop in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. We use a free press model and I’ve had quite a few comments that it’s a bloody good free magazine. I don’t think any other publisher would do it under this model because the margins aren’t that profitable. Subscriptions have grown to 7.5% and continue to grow.
I really started ASB because I love this industry and want to see it grow and communicate a little more. It’s hard not to be passionate about its success and want to play a small part.
To find out more about ASB, suss out
www.australiansurf.biz