Dig & The Albion: keeping print relevant

17 10 2012

I had the opportunity to pick up a couple issues of The Albion during my recent trip to the west coast and I was frankly blown away by how good of a magazine it was.

Chock full of great interviews with legends like Bob Haro to modern-day shredders like Van Homan. And these were not the typical cookie cutter interviews so typical today…you can tell the guys behind The Albion are trying to raise the level of BMX journalism (if there is such a thing). Going a little deeper than just the surface stuff and giving you a real sense about the ‘whole person’ being interviewed and not just their persona they show to the BMX world.

Perhaps influenced by The Albion’s growing notoriety, DIG has really stepped up their game as well.

Their latest installment, #90, is called “The Legends” issue. Featuring four collectible covers, one each of: Brian Foster, Ruben Alcantara, Joe Rich, and Van Homan.

Like The Albion, this latest issue of Dig is filled with great interviews of the four legends on the cover, along with the “people, places, and events that have inspired and shaped BMX and [Dig] magazine since [the] first issue in 1993”. The magazine does a great job of both looking back and also capturing the energy of the current moment in BMX.

In a time when print seems to be looked on as something bordering on irrelevant — given the reach and immediacy of online and video — it’s good to see people putting the time and effort into the print medium and keeping it fresh, real and something that can still move and inspire us.

Advertisement




CycleCraft is back

30 07 2009

If you’ve been around BMX for a while, you know the CycleCraft name. Having faded from the scene for a number of years, it seemed to be one of those “whatever happened to…” companies from back in the day.  However, all that has changed,  with a recent change in ownership that seems  intent on restoring some of the former glory back to CycleCraft.  A recent thread on VintageBMX provides some details on how the new owners are trying to preserve the distinctive look of the bikes while updating them with modern geometry.

Cyclecraft Cruiser_Spy_photo_1

While the picture above (of the new 24″ prototype) isn’t the greatest, it clearly shows the new owners are on the right track with the new and improved CycleCraft. Now if they could just lure back Brian Foster (he used to ride for them)…well, then I think we’d have something magical.