Editorial
Letters From The Editors Excuses
from the kids behind
/
POP.
P hotography: Drew Baker Words: Rick, Dave & Drew
Well welcome to issue 10. Seeing as this is the first ‘letter from the editor’ I’ve ever written, I feel an introduction is in order. My name is Rick Baker. I run Pop Magazine with my friend Dave Keating and my twin brother Drew. I’ve never felt the need to write a so called ‘ego box’ or run photos of myself in my own magazine. I’ve just never wanted to talk down to Pop readers. I figured there were enough contrived ‘too cool’ magazines out there that you didn’t need some glorified graphic designer telling you what to think. I just wanted to make a magzine that gave coverage to people that you might not have heard of, but that maybe deserved your attention. The same goes for the photographers, writers and products we feature in Pop. That’s a big part of why Pop’s still a free magazine. We don’t want to force anything on you, we just want to support the scene. Sure, we’d like to pay ourselves something one day, but you won’t see advertisements for erectial dysfunction or the defense force in Pop. I’ve always said, we consider Pop readers our friends, so if there’s ever anything we’re doing wrong, not doing, or perhaps you’ve got something to contribute, you can always email Dave, Drew or myself at hithere@ popmag.com.au and we’ll do our best to listen. With that, sorry this issue was so late, it’s hard making a magzine that’s given away for free, but I hope you enjoy it.
- Rick Baker.
18
Wow, the last six months have been hectic. We really worked hard on this last issue and the film “Two Weeks In…”, and I can really say this is something we are proud of. At the very least, we raised the bar of what you can expect from a magazine in Australia. As a company we have always struggled to come to terms with our position in the market. It’s easy to forget we are a free magazine sometimes, and I feel that this issue has moved us more inline with where we need to be, at least in a financial sense. I’m so impressed and thankful at the support some companies have given us. I’ve come to understand that there are companies out there that are trying to grow and do new things, and then there are others out there that just want the status quo to remain. You’ll see that reflected in the following pages. I’ve noticed that the kind of companies that will advertise with Pop, are generally the kind of companies that will also support magazines like Monster Children, Stab and Skateboarders Journal. Personally, I think that these guys are the only other magazines trying anymore, so I’m stoked that we are competing against them. Thanks for all your support. We will not let you down.
So, issue 10 is done. First up, apologies for the lateness of this one. Who would have thought that making a snowboard film would be that time consuming? Actually, no one could have seen how time consuming this magazine and film we’re going to be. As a small insight, we started working on this issue back in December last year as we started ‘Two Weeks In...’. At that time it was just planning content and selling advertising. After filming wrapped in March and we got issue 9 out in April, we all started going flat out on number 10 - including a full re-edit of the film you see on the cover of this issue, photo-shoots and the most content we’ve ever collected. I’m not ready to start looking to future issues just yet, the stress of this one has induced stomach ulcers, chronic migraines and what I think is super aids - so I’m going to take a few days to shake it off. In the mean time, I hear that the internets where it’s at now, so you can keep up with the news at our digital address - it’s the same address it has been for the last three years, you know, before it was cool or nessasary to sell advertising.
- Drew B aker.
Thanks: Rachael Wilson, Steve Gourlay, Andrew Wood, Jan Snarski, Dan Himbrechts, Kit Rundle, Andrew Woodhead, Anthony Sedgwick, Joel Baillie, Quintin Ciszek, Jackson Allen, Marc Baker, The Russians. Address: P.O. Box 6172. St Kilda Road Central, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 8008. Advertising: ads@popmag.com.au Feedback: hithere@popmag.com.au POP Magazine is Rick Baker, Dave Keating & Drew Baker.
- Dave Keating.