Just as the snowboard industry was getting used to the idea of a future without TransWorld Snowboarding in print, the brand announces that as of March 6, 2019 the entire brand is dead and over. In a post on the site someone explained it like this:
All good things, unfortunately, must come to an end, and effective March 6, 2019, TransWorld SNOWboarding has closed; the 32nd volume of magazines will be our last, and Kamikazu will be our final film. Over the coming weeks on our site and social channels we’ll publish tributes and reflections from the photographers, editors, filmers, and riders who defined the title over the years, so please check back regularly.
According to a Keith Kelly story in the NY Post, what is left of TWSnow will be “rolled into in-house rival Snowboarder” and go digital. So what’s left?
Only three titles — Bike, Surfer, and Powder — will survive with regularly scheduled print editions after 14 titles of The Enthusiast Network were quietly sold to American Media Inc. . . “We always viewed the Adventure Sports Network as an acquisition focused on significant digital scale and unparalleled experiential events,” said an AMI spokesman.
It’s good to see that at least an unnamed AMI spokesman has a plan for the recently purchased titles. We can’t wait to see how this all pans out.
There is nothing in this “how-to” video that anyone should ever do. Like ever. That hasn’t stopped Xavier De La Rue from pretending that with the proper step-by-step instructions you too can safely bomb icy death chutes in the French Alps just like he does. Seriously, don’t do any of this. But watch it, because it’s always good to see Xavier straight-lining vertical hockey rinks without dying. Isn’t it?
In letters to subscribers that began arriving in mailboxes the week of March 3, 2019, American Media Inc, the current owner of TransWorld Skateboarding and Snowboarding magazines announced that both publications will “no longer be published.” Adding insult to insanity, the company also promised to fulfill remaining subscriptions to the legacy titles with copies of their recently acquired (June 2017) magazine Men’s Journal.
Founded in 1983 by Tracker Trucks owner Larry Balma and Peggy Cozens, Transworld Media built a place where creative kids could flourish mostly undisturbed by outside forces. Aside from helping to usher in the modern board sports era and making skateboarding and snowboarding central to mass youth culture, TransWorld also served as a launch pad for innumerable success stories in fashion, design, photography, music, and filmmaking. Simply put Transworld’s contributions to pop culture cannot be overstated.
When we mentioned to a publishing executive that this must be what it feels like to outlive an era, he replied, “I think the era we have outlived is the era of niche media as corporate commodity. Doesn’t seem to work so well.”
And that is true. Independent action media brands like Thrasher Magazine and The Snowboarder’s Journal continue to thrive in print, suggesting that the end of print at TransWorld may have more to do with corporate greed/overhead than anything else. Then again, we have yet to see anyone under the age of 30 lamenting the news, so there’s that as well.
As for the future, TransWorld Skateboarding will live on as a digital property (the staff has already begun posting “thanks, but we’re still here” to their social media streams) and sources tells us that management is working out the details on how and/or which of the company’s two snowboard brands will be preserved online rolling forward.
We’d be more optimistic about Transworld’s digital future if it weren’t for AMI. Their reputation for always doing the wrong thing (along with their reportedly toxic CEO David Pecker) doesn’t bode well for the brands.
Through all the sadness we are cheered by the fact that these magazines lasted 20 years longer than we thought they would when we first began preaching the digital revolution. Good work. And, as this has all happened before (remember Skateboarder Magazine and Action Now?) we’re looking forward to what the next generation of creative kids will assemble out of the wreckage.
It’s barely March, and already the resort industrial complex is inundating us with marketing for their super-mega season passes for the winter of 2023-2024. Really? Already? Why are they doing this, and what does it all mean? We’re glad you asked.
Before we dive in let’s make one thing clear — obviously if you ride 20 days a year or more at the same few resorts owned by the same corporation then buying a super-mega pass is a no-brainer. Spend the $1,159 and get on it. If, however, you enjoy controlling your own money, waiting for good snow, and riding different resorts all season long, here are a few things you might want to consider before shelling out hard-earned cash on an Epic or Ikon pass.
The corporations that run ski resorts in North America (Alterra Mountain Company and Vail Resorts) have very sound business reasons for selling super-mega season passes, and they have nothing to do with giving you a good deal. They’re not interested in saving you a boatload of money. And it’s not because they’re putting their guest’s needs first. It all comes down to three main goals:
They want your money now. Not next year. Now!
They want ALL your money. Resorts don’t want you to spend a dime with their competitors (or competitor as the case may be in North America).
They want to offload all their weather, pandemic, acts of God-related business risks to you so they won’t have to worry as much when chaos strikes.
Once you understand this, the whole mega-pass gambit makes more sense — for the resorts. Look at the way they promote their mega-pass sales. It’s like they’re setting up a con. First, they manufacture scarcity to increase perceived value: “This special deal is available for a limited time only.” We’ve all see the emails, “You have one more week to lock in savings.” “Hurry, this deal won’t last forever.” Why won’t it last? Good question. It could last all season. Nothing is stopping the resorts from selling super-mega passes all season long. It wouldn’t even be that bad a deal for them. People who bought passes later in the year would have fewer chances to use them. You’d think resorts would do that. But selling passes further into the season doesn’t get your money a year in advance and lock you into their resort for the entire season, and it certainly doesn’t protect resort owners from the specter of a bad snow year or global chaos.
Lately, we’ve been wondering what it’s been like for that small group of action sports media professionals who survived the AMI takeover of The Enthusiast Network. How is working for Trump pal David Pecker?
So far we’ve heard nothing from inside the building, but The Daily Beast posted a profile on March 2, 2019 titled How David Pecker Built His Tabloid Empire on Fear that might give some insight into how it could be going for those who still remain. The old story, written nearly two decades ago, suggests that Mr. Pecker has morphed his management style very little over the past 20 years.
News, dog. News. It’s that time of the week when we corral up all the headlines for the stories that got away into one big ol’ list and post them up. Take a look at what’s been going down over the past few weeks, follow the jump.
This is pretty much the only thing we saw from the 33rd Annual Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom and seriously, it scared the scary out of us. Think of all the times these guys have been close to death on the mountain and then this happens at the cabin:
Snowboarder Shea Hemlick, 32, of Meridian, Idaho died after being hit by an SUV while trying to jump a Bogus Basin road gap according to a story in the Idaho Statesman.
The accident happened at about 3:15 p.m. near milepost 15 on Bogus Basin Road in Boise County. . . Hemlick was snowboarding outside the boundary of the ski area when he attempted to jump the road, according to ISP. . . The snowboarder collided with a 2006 Hummer H2. . . He wasn’t wearing a helmet, police said.
Road gaps around Bogus Basin (like being cleared by Sean McDonald in the above video) have been popular with snowboarders (and mountain bikers) for years. For the rest of the story, please click the link.
On Sunday, February 10, 2019 a 20-year-old snowboarder died after crashing on the first jump in the Makaha Terrain Park, according to a story on 9News.com.
Patrol crews responded to the area and found a man unresponsive. He was not wearing a helmet, according to Hanle. Despite immediate life-saving efforts, rescuers were unable to re-establish a pulse. . . The man was pronounced dead at the scene by the Pitkin County Coroner.
Snowmass, spokesperson Jeff Hanle said “Our deepest sympathies and thoughts go out to the man’s family and friends, and we are offering support and assistance.”
As if this whole TEN sale couldn’t get any stranger, a deeper dive into the backstory reveals a The New York Times story from March 2018 that hints at where the money used by American Media to purchase the TEN action sports properties (among other things) may have come from. . . Saudi Arabia.
The intersection of the tabloid publisher [David Pecker, pictured right with The Donald] with the Saudis, enhanced by the White House visit, is a previously untold chapter in the long, symbiotic relationship between the president and Mr. Pecker, which was forged in the 1990s. At the time, Mr. Trump was celebrating a real estate comeback after his casino bankruptcies and was both the subject and the source of much gossip in New York.
One action sports executive wonders if this all might be part of a plan to use actions sports as a way to improve the public’s perceptions of a county that, in addition to various human rights violations, has allegedly murdered at least one journalist:
Sports have been an increasingly viable way for despots to soften their image and market a national brand (Russia/Sochi; Qatar/World Cup; Saudi Arabia/PGA events). . .Doesn’t seem a crazy reach that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, et al. would have interest in creating action/participant sports events, promoting tourism, etc. And these would be cheap and effective markets for this purpose. . . It all does line up: money gets laundered, Pecker gets ass saved, Saudi’s get backdoor to Trump administration, and a bunch of cheap sports/travel media properties run influence campaigns.
Is this really why American Media had interest in a few small circ. action sporting brands? Click the link to read the rest of the story.
