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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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dEvO
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On 12/1/2003
chris olden
wrote in from
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Howdy,
The picture you speak of(well..one of them anyway) was re-
published this year in a Jim Cassimus article in Transvestite
Advertising *cough* I mean Transworld Skateboarding.
I don't remember what month it was though, sorry.
Chris Olden
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dEvO
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On 12/1/2003
single fin
wrote in from
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OK, off topic slightly.
Who could tell me wich Skateboarder issue had the photograph of Devo in the skate bowl w/ I think the Veriflex skating around.
saw it in Junior High study hall havent seen it since, even though I own 6-7 issues from that peroid. Ive gotta find it before I die.
Any help?
SF
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Welcome to publishing...part 99
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On 12/1/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
I am truly grateful for the support that you guys are giving the mag...I hope that Vans pick it up...
You are right about racking mags, though. The placement of mags in shops is a huge business. It can cost $25,000 per week or more just to have your mag racked in a special area of a store. They don't call em slotting fees for nothing!
As you know, I am not Time Warner, nor do I have any intention to selling out to Time Warner. So, it might take a bit more effort to find the mag. That's ok however, consider it a bit of quest....or adventure.
I am going to keep working with the shops.
Meanwhile, all I can say is hold on to your hats, there's more fun coming down the pike!
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5 copies for my mother
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On 12/1/2003 tway
wrote in from
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Ohm, I'd sell you mine but my pic is in it as well. Might I suggest getting a subscription. The mag rules with tons of old school fools. See ya on the slopes.
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I need some copies
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On 12/1/2003
Mike Ohm
wrote in from
(66.44.nnn.nnn)
Been skating since 1975 and finally got my pic in a mag. Just so happens it is in CW and I cannot find it anywhere. Can anyone help with a few copies? I will pay$$$$$$$$
Mike Ohm
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Your speculations...
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On 12/1/2003 Haim R.
wrote in from
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Well, your and her speculations seem to make sense. We've also gotta face facts on this one. The Tony Hawk issue is gonna sell way more issues than CW this month and any business person interested in making money is gonna feature that mag up front and maybe even bump a smaller mag that sells 3-4 copies every two months, even if there isn't "placement money" involved. I think the idea to beef up the skate shop presence makes good sense. Hey, are the Vans parks and shops carrying CW? And what about other privately run skateboard parks and their pro shops?
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OK, here's the rest of my post...
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On 12/1/2003
Jonathan Harms
wrote in from
(165.134.nnn.nnn)
So, here's the end of what I was trying to say on Saturday.
I spoke to a salesperson at one of the Barnes & Noble stores, and she said *something* like the following: Barnes & Noble (at least the one she works at) sometimes carry only a certain number of magazine titles in a particular subject area or niche (e.g. skateboarding, hot rods, bridal, and so on). When I asked her about Concrete Wave's disappearing act, she speculated that maybe it got bumped to make room for another skateboarding mag. (Note: she *speculated* that *maybe* that's why it disappeared.) From that, I remembered what Geezer-X (I think?) said about publishers paying lots of money to make sure their stuff got racked up front or in a certain spot. I further speculated, hmmm, Transworld's got more money than ever now that they're a part of Time Warner (?), so maybe they exerted a bit of influence to get that Tony Hawk issue onto the rack. (It was right up front in all three B&N stores I went to.)
Maybe all this speculation is moot. To be blunt, I was just bummed that I couldn't find CW at the usual store and wished there was more I could have done to make it reappear there.
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no conspiracy...sorry.. : )
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On 12/1/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
Guys,
wish I could tell you that B&N is being run by aliens, but it's not...it's run by folks who are managing 7000 different titles.
I am going to put more pressure on the skate shops to carry CW - I think it will benefit everyone...so if there is a shop that should be carrying the mag, but doesn't have them visit our site...and yes, subscriptions help too!
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back issues
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On 11/30/2003 matt
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
go to sk8supply.com.they have concrete wave #1 thru present issue.you half to pay a hefty price.it depends on how bad someone wants them.
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no issues @ Hollywood B&N
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On 11/30/2003
Brady
wrote in from
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It`s a conspiracy alright. You get us hooked on issues being available at the local B&N and poof, the rugs pulled out.
I guess I`ll have to step up and get a script...
btw, check out the floridaskater.com website forum and you`ll see a bunch of us florida boyz are jonesing for a rag.
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Shhhhh...
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On 11/30/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
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...it's a CONSPIRACY!
I get all my copies at the Grassy Knoll Barnes and Noble.
If you have Hastings Super Stores in your area...they carry it as well.
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CW *no longer* at Barnes & Noble in St. Louis, MO
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On 11/29/2003
Jonathan Harms
wrote in from
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Michael,
There are three B & N stores in St. Louis, MO, where I live. Two of them never carried CW, as far as I can tell. The one in Des Peres (a suburb) did carry it, and I bought two copies of the Gelfand and Budro cover issues there. I hoped to buy two more a couple of days ago, and it was not on the rack and not in their computer database either.
Do you suppose that CW being bumped/dumped had anything to do with the addition of a special issue (T. Hawk commemorative) from Transworld being added? NOTE TO NIT-PICKERS: I'M JUST SPECULATING HERE!!! I DON'T KNOW THIS FOR SURE AT ALL!!!
Computer time is running out, can't type more. Guess I'll have to subscribe, huh? :-)
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CW
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On 11/29/2003 single fin
wrote in from
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well at least i went back and bought the 3rd copy. Now i have three.
I still need the copy w/ alan G. on the cover.
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Barnes & Noble and a new plan for distribution
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On 11/29/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
It looks like Barnes and Noble are still trying to figure out what to do with Concrete Wave....I am but one of 7000 titles.
If the sales history is good, why would they pull the title in you area store?
I have no idea. It is annoying..but Barnes and Noble is like an 800 lb publishing gorilla...you kind of have to dance the way it wants to dance...
My magazine distributor, Coast to Coast is working hard at getting more bookshops and magazine outlets to carry the magazine. We have just secured Europe and Canada recently came on board. Will it take time to figure things out at US magazine racks? - yep...
but in the meantime... here's what I am doing
We have put together a program for retail skate shops that should entice them to carry the mag.
For $75 per year they get 5 copies of each issue (25 copies total)(shipping INCLUDED) and a free shop listing (name, city, state, phone) in EVERY issue. They also get a listing in the buyers guide.
If you know of a shop that sells the kind of skate stuff found in Concrete Wave, chances are they might be interested in being a part of this program. Just email me their name and number and email if possible.
The bottom line is that distribution of magazines is a very frustrating business. It was frustrating for SkateBoarder back when they distributed 300,000 copies and it's frustrating for me as well.
My goal with reaching 20,000 copies has been hit. Now we will improve distribution. Yes...we will also have slalom in the issues....
cheers
Michael
ps thanks Jay, for that very nice post. We are thrilled to have you on the cover
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C.W. missing in action...
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On 11/28/2003
Single Fin
wrote in from
(63.184.nnn.nnn)
Michael
My local Barnes & Nobel (Glendale WI.) said they would not continue to carry CW. They got 3 copys last month I bought 2 of them. More slalom
Whats gives?
I intend to go back and buy the 3rd copy tomorrow.
Thought I'd let you know.
I will be subscribing next week. More slalom
But I think Milwaukee area needs this mag.
I approached our local skateshop and suggested they get it. ho hum..... new school sells. Even though the owner skated back in the days. $ talk.. Give them a call.
Phase ll Milwaukee, WI. Owner, Mark.
BTW more slalom..
thanks Ric
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Thanks
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On 11/28/2003
JAY SMITH
wrote in from
(66.75.nnn.nnn)
In response to the comments made below concerning the pictures of me in the latest CW. I just want to say thank you to Michael for the coverage and I am flattered that anyone would even do this for me. We had no control of what went in and we had no control of what was chosen-but we are extremely happy with what was done. Thanks to Ted Terrebonne and Michael for giving me a warm return to skateboarding. What else can I say? Thanks again, hope to see you soon.
Jay Smith
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The Future
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On 11/28/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
ooh ooh...I know...I know...can I tell 'em? Can I? Can I?
Freak indeed!
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back to the future
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On 11/28/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
concrete wave magazine = SkateBoarder '78 + Surfer's Journal
that's the concept...
more HUGE announcements to come...
at one time, SkateBoarder had a circulation of 300,000...that's bigger than Transworld
if we can harness just a 10th of that energy, this thing is gonna EXPLODE
you can never repeat the past...you can merely enjoy the present and learn from history...
that is exactly what we intend to do.
you should see what's coming next issue...you are gonna FREAK!
; )
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keep the 70s alive
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On 11/28/2003 matt
wrote in from
(209.240.nnn.nnn)
warren bolster and craig fineman etc made skateboarder magazine king until it went under in 1980 and it became action now magazine.too bad craig fineman passed on last summer.with warren bolster on staff now,maybe the glory days can come back 28 yrs later.back then it was for all ages.magazines now are for 8-20year olds.
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that's the spirit...
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On 11/28/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
well said Pauliwog...you get the vibe of the mag
we ain't perfect, but we exist....thanks to support from folks like you.
raining, kids running mental in the house...run dmc on the stereo...rather be in California out skating...
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Magazine Quality Scmagaschmine Scmality
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On 11/28/2003 Pauliwog
wrote in from
(64.5.nnn.nnn)
I won't object to others criticisms,after all some of them are bros I've met a the races and they're bros, but I remember another mag that carried the banner, we could call it "Thrasher". Back when it carried the banner, it was pretty rough (newsprint, BADLY written articles,some good and some not so good photos, etc), but we were stoked. As skating took a downturn and manufactures and mags dropped out- Thrasher re-kindled a flame from a mere ember and kept things going. Now skating has become SO mainstream, it's had a different downturn of invasive homogenous monoclonal culturalism (what? -everything has become the same). Skateboarder, Wide World of skateboarding, Skateboard World all had less than lusterous issues, especially when they were young. At 41 years of age, I don't have time to read a monthly mag and I like the less than mass-media look. I'm just glad for mag that has enough guts to cover slalom, downhill, flatland, etc, because now John Garcia and I don't need to ressurect the skatezine "Skate or we'll kill you". Just another reflective thought, and I look forward to racing with everyone next season - Paul H.
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Awwww shucks...
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On 11/28/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
No...THANK YOU!!!
I just got off the phone with MB, and we agree that we're on the right track. 99% of what we hear is positive, that's why the negative bits sting I suppose. I have our 8 issues laying in front of me. You would have to be Helen Keller not to see the progression (no offense to Helen, her heirs, or fan club members). The passion and stoke that this magazine is generating is amazing. Haters will keep hating, can't do anything about that. But we do pledge to keep making the best mag we can.
Keep 'em Rollin'
Mike
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Not- picky
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On 11/28/2003
Rose Bernfeld
wrote in from
(68.111.nnn.nnn)
Every time I pick up the new CW I am completely amazed at the progression and content within it's pages. Now, if you've been around to see this progression then you'd know how far it's come. Concrete Wave is no fan-zine- it's real deal. Not based on what's gonna sell the most or or what the kids are gonna like or any other biased reasons. Just there to re-introduce what may have been in front of you all along.
So love and embrace that for what it's worth. KNOW YOUR ROOTS !!
I'm so stoked on the time, effort, energy and money that the CW staff contributes to help "share the love."
THANK YOU.....
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Criticism and me...
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On 11/28/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
I too welcome criticism and critique. While not trying to backpeddle I do apologize for the abrasive tone of my post. After a day of dodging "family bullets" in that love-fest called Thanksgiving, I was irked to see what I labeled as "nit picking". You guys may not always agree with our decisions, and we might not always make the right ones...but that's life at the sausage factory. So, please continue to send your views, questions, critiques, or accolades. That which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
XXXOOO
Mike
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backyard ramps...finally acknowledged by NY Times
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On 11/28/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
FROM THE NY TIMES...
this article appeared yesterday...it's amazing that they are about 25 years late running it! Still, better late than never.
Ramping Up the Suburbs
By BRADFORD McKEE
Published: November 27, 2003
CLEAN, Va.
ALL you could hear on Patrick and Sara Price's forested block last Saturday was the drift of autumn leaves and the thunder of seven skateboards on plywood.
Their son, Patrick Price III, 14, tilted his skateboard upward with his foot and stared down the halfpipe, a parabolic wooden ramp four feet high occupying about 112 square feet of his parents' driveway. As his friends practiced stunts nearby, Patrick tried his umpteenth 50-50, a swoosh down the ramp and back up, ending with the right wheels on the ramp's opposite ledge and the left wheels hanging off.
He did it. Then he lost it. Patrick tumbled over the wood fence beside the ramp and into the neighbor's yard. His skateboard torpedoed in the opposite direction. His parents turned around in time to see his sweaty head emerge over the fence, looking for his board.
By now, the Prices have seen it all: Patrick has broken a wrist and a tibia and sprained an ankle since their yard became the neighborhood skateboard park three years ago, said Mr. Price, 50, an asset manager. He scarcely knew what a kid magnet the halfpipe would be when Patrick first broached the idea of building one. "He said, 'I want a halfpipe,' " Mr. Price recalled. "And I asked, 'What's a halfpipe?' "
The halfpipe has become the requisite backyard fixture for a burgeoning generation of aspiring skate punks — mostly boys under 18. The halfpipe might as well be the treehouse for the new century: ungainly, potentially hazardous and providing hours of mindless fun.
It has also become an ironic token of skateboarding's upscale domestication. Once the province of a dodgy counterculture, skateboarding has won the sanction of suburban parents. Demographers who made a fetish of soccer moms in the 90's may well be swooning over skateboard moms by this decade's end. In some households, the halfpipe has evolved into an object as familiar as the above-ground swimming pool and the Weber kettle.
But it is hardly inconspicuous. Most halfpipes, so named because the ramps' concave shape resembles the bottom section of a drainage pipe, are 3 to 10 feet high and as much as 40 feet long. Skateboarders drop into it from one end. Their downward momentum propels them up the opposite side, and often into the air, where they perform improbable twists and turns against gravity. Parents, often to their own surprise, have found halfpipes to be a unifying force. "Sara and I have always wanted our kids to be here and have their friends here," Mr. Price said. "So it's an attractive nuisance."
On a well-groomed suburban block, a halfpipe fits in about as well as a backhoe at a tea party. To make his halfpipe more palatable in his traditional neighborhood, Mr. Price painted it white to match his stone-and-brick house; from the front end, it could pass as a tastefully discreet compost bin. Later, he had to whitewash the wooden safety rail along the top, where Patrick and his friends painted graffiti to lend the structure a certain street authenticity, though the graffiti still shows through the extra paint. "I was crushed," said Mr. Price. "I was like, how dare you deface my work of art?"
In Millersville, Md., Joseph Upton, 30, had to make aesthetic concessions to his wife, Holly, when he wanted to build a halfpipe on his 2-acre property so that he and his friend, Todd Williams, 31, could practice in-line skating and skateboarding. "We put vinyl siding on it to match the house and the shed," Mr. Upton said. "It's a cream color."
This is what passes for subversive today, as skateboarding has gone mainstream after four decades of halting popular appeal. About 13 million Americans mounted a skateboard at least once in 2002, up from 5.4 million in 1993, according to American Sports Data, a market research company.
Skate-supply dealers and industry analysts said the sport's recent growth was owed almost entirely to the emergence of the X Games, the extreme-sports competition televised annually since 1995 on ESPN and, more recently, on ABC in prime time.
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