STOKED - my first hard copy of Sixty40 was waiting at home when I came home from work late tonight.
I took out a subby for 2 reasons, the first being the obvious that I froth on Booger gear
, the second being that you guys (mag crew and forumers) have given me such a warm welcome
and I use the forum even though not a Saffa. So is a good thing to chip in from the ol' pocket in some way.
Jerry super-tweaked on the cover is a super-sick start.The preview looked good online, but the look, smell and feel of a mag is like nothing else IMO.
Inside cover is a rad double page shot - usually space reserved for ads in other mags, that was a sweet surprise - same on inside back cover. mega impressed.
Nice spread of news coverage - Tamega, team signings, world events - Peru, SIC, Pipe,
Always like hearing about new products and the Island Style write-up had the words that are music to my booger ears:
"AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WITH....."
I totally froth on developments in our sport and i feel it went through too big of a lag period for too many years, especially with accessories, where we were only offered stuff for 'kids', not for big blokes driving into heaving pits and getting the crap beaten out of us by mother ocean. The last couple of years only we are really being offered next gen quality items, and that is only through companies putting some of their cash into
R&D (read: caring about our sport) and doing that valuable thing - LISTENING to the riders (team level types) and responding. Personally i make sure products I use come form Co.'s that do this - not say it, DO it.
Ads - Lizzard was sick cos most of the page was Mac doing his massive thing, product well placed so as not to spoil a good pic. reef had a nicely centered pic by Mike DC of a fella called JP Notier - whom I don't know - but do know of now cos the rider and photog are clearly named (in Oz a lot of ads skip crediting the photog and even the rider sometimes, which I personally don't agree with... but there are winds of change). Factory 7 have a lot of info so they are politely and wisely set as side-bands, rather than a whole page of 'data', good arrangement that - and I read each strip cos it was in small blocks, so didn't become uninteresting. Surf shop directory would be handy for new crew to boog to see what is around. Booger (Ian Ostler by Cracker) AND chicky babe for island style - nice combo
. Rossi pic - sickkkkk. Sweet to see Thurston in the nomad ad, as I have his interview sitting in my inbox for the rippy forum (haha, I'm meant to be getting that organised instead of writing this, but I'm forthing on the mag too much, haha)
IForum - my fave section this issue - cos i got to see the faces of some of the forum users. I'm a person that relates well when i can put a face to a name and i was all smiles at seeing pics of people familliar from here like Morrisminor, Len, spydude, Scarecrow (whose board doesnt get elbow dints..haha..cracker pic), inky (obvious namesake) and iammonster - you are booger clothing co., so i dunno if that is you bru or fella with one of your tee's on? Sad news is u fellas look even more like the proverbial "Dropped meat pie" (aussie expression for your mate's faces) next to the genetic lottery winner "Katerina"
Barrier reef pics - they're super fresh to us Oz crew too, cos very few trips run there due to its fickleness. There is a rider in there, Nick Ormerod, who was in SIC (perforated his eardrum) - if u want to read a bit more about him i just did his interview on the rippy forum a couple of weeks ago.
Megawatts - great write-up Gareth and the mag gave him heaps of space for me to browse through the words and pics. So stoked to learn more about your top name riders (we don't get much info about them here) . really liked the way the story wove through the SABA circuit. props.
Pics, pics and more pics - yum! good mix of DK shots too - big 'Yew' to that - getting 'em run in the Oz mags is like pulling teeth (one of my open criticisms of the last rippy was only one dk shot)
Billy Tenant - another new name to my list. Good q's on the D-rex Ian. Very real.
The Project - that sort of stuff is soooo good for newcomers to the game. Clear illustrations with text that was NOT written in a condescending way (which stuff for beginners often is and that riles me). It might be 30 years since I was a raw beginner, but i am very critical of these articles, because it is one of the key introductions to new blood in BB, which we all were at one time. Too many riders leave because it is perceived at times as a 'kids sport' (we all know that one aye) so well produced items like this give a good start to riders 'maturing' in the water faster.
The Farmer - love some random 'lifestyle' stuff, props to Rob for workin and boogin hard nd making the haul to the water (sick shot Damo)
Haole Conversations - heaps of gear in there, I actually want to read it over a couple more times, good writing Damo - great insight to the financial struggle of the Saffas v the aussie spon'd groms who seem to be on a much better dollar platter and some good ideas put forward to review sponsor structures for the top riders. All accompanied with some good yarns form the rock - and that cave Jerry is in is a mental shot, perfect perspective on the internally foaming aspect of a wave I've seen a thousand times by luke shadbot.
I'm probs biased or something here cos it is my first Sixty40 issue in hardcopy, but pretty damn stoked. Would be pretty rad to hear some of the local readers thoughts.
Thanks to everyone who has put this world-class mag together. Representing SA BB with respect.
Doc
