Interview With Woody From Sneaker Freaker Magazine

OK, so what’s inside?

In each issue you can expect to find well written and researched stories on all aspects of sneaker culture – such as interviews with shoe designers, guides to the best stores in Asia, Europe and the USA, new product reviews, custom sneakers, dozens of fresh styles, rare vintage kicks, skate stuff, performance gear roadtests, news of collabs, artist series and of course, all the super hard to get shit. We cover all the big guys like Nike, Puma, Pony, Onitsuka, New Balance, Vans and adidas, as well as all the obscure Japanese brands and the indies like Creative Rec, RTFT, Feit and Pointer.

Since we started of course, some have followed in our foot steps. But I hope Sneaker Freaker is regarded as a righteous and intelligent product. We delve into sneakers at a level fashion mags can’t. We represent the soul and the conscience of sneaker freakers. That’s because we are what we do, and we don’t do it for any other reason than our own satisfaction.

Some people might say that there are enough contemporary lifestyle magazines out there already? What makes you different/special?

Well, I’d suggest we’re not a contemporary lifestyle magazine. That sounds like Wallpaper to me, it’s almost a diss!

Sneaker Freaker is a mag about sneakers. We don’t have fashion or music reviews or stuff about films, just sneakers. I think having such a pointy focus means we are unique, rather than just another member of the throng. Why would you start a new fashion mag – doesn’t the world have enough of those already? How would you stand out? I am only one person but I have somehow managed to get this magazine out to people who love it. That’s special to me.

Who reads your magazine?

Anyone who loves shoes, young kids, old heads, industry types, girls who wanna know what kicks to buy for their beloveds. I feel there is an impression the mag is just read by real nerdy shoe heads but I know for a fact that the magazine is so persuasive, all kind of peeps can dig it and in fact, most of ‘em end up hooked! I make sure the content is progressive and focuses on the nitty gritty but I’m also mindful not to bore newbies with terminology and minutiae that excludes people from joining in on the scene.

You say your magazine has an international readership – what’s going on in their minds / what trends are taking place – especially at a global level?

I think the biggest trend at the moment is this obsession with being first. First to know, first to have, first to jump on board, first to get off, first to consume, first with the new gadget or the latest lingo – everybody wants to be recognised for being one step ahead. I’m not so sue about all this early adopter marketing hoo haa. It’s like being a cool hunter is a worthy thing when all you have to do is keep an eye on a few dozen blogs, which in reality is so easy you can do it from your arm chair. It’s not a bad thing per se but I suspect it’s partly about the value of information and partly about consumerism, or attaining status symbols. I find it weird that people pay so much money for objects like sneakers, but it amuses me and it generates discussion and I enjoy that aspect. Why is a painting worth $50 million? Why is a sneaker worth $10,000? There is no real reason other than someone desires it as a status symbol, which is totally secondary to thinking of it as an investment or as a beautiful object.

How does the content you publish reflect that?

I travel once or twice a year and do interviews and meet people and find out what they are doing and thinking and wearing. To be honest, when it comes to sneakers, there isn’t a great deal of difference between where the kids are at in Harajuku, the lower east side, Brick Lane or downtown Melbourne. As far as the feel of the magazine goes, I doubt anyone could look at the content and say for sure where the magazine is from. (Except for my cynical Aussie sense of humour which sometimes confuses people, especially Americans who aren’t used to anyone saying the opposite of what they really mean). We have writers just about everywhere and the coverage is global. But that’s also why I put ‘made in melbourne’ on the cover – to show I’m representing to all sneaker heads, but even more so, in a global sense, my compatriots from Melbourne and the rest of Australia.

Tell me about some non-sneakerbrands that you think are connecting in all the right ways to the audience?

Um…. Apple! That ipod campaign was brutally effective. I like what Chysler does with design, their new cars are fucking awesome. There’s a local fashion brand here called Tsubi which just opened a store in NYC, they are a powerful force on a local tip. They made an entire nation of kids wear all those fucked-up jeans and pay $400 for them. You have to be a genius to do that. I think Vice magazine is incredible – so hardcore and yet conservative corporates looking for an edge seem to be all over it trying to soak up a little NYC junkie pervert chic. I think Paris Hilton is incredibly influential with her audience. She is teflon tough that girl – nothing can sour her milk. I see her, for better or worse, as one of the most seminal (pun intended) media characters of this decade and extremely important when it comes to clothes, attitude and porn.

You’ve just been on a tour to promote the new magazine. Give us some insight into how a publisher promotes their magazine these days?

You just get out there and do it. In all honesty, we haven’t spent a cent on promotion other than sending a few copies to people we like and travelling. That’s the simplicity of having a popular web presence – people come to you and they absorb your message, whatever it is. Aside from that, I work my nuts off to create a product that people really love. To me, promotion is about two things, letting people know you exist and secondly, getting them to buy something. It’s so much easier when they find you and they want what you’ve got.

Tell me about the book you’re publishing off the back of the magazine? Why publish a book when you have a magazine already?

Penguin USA offered us a deal and it was about as complicated as that. As an independent company with no resources, the opportunity to work with a big American company like them was a no-brainer. There’s thousands of hours work in the book from a creative point of view but I’m happy to sit back and watch their sales machine operate and catch a draft off their ability to put our product into every Mom and Pop book store in the US. The Book is a greatest hits of all the early issues of the magazine that are now well and truly sold out. Issue 1 and 2 have been selling on Ebay for something crazy like seventy bucks. That means people still want it – now they can buy a book instead. It’s cheaper for sure.

I’m going to ask you a dumb question: Publishing from Australia – doesn’t that give you a disadvantage in the fast moving world of fashion?

That’s a really dumb question. (bad joke warning). It does and it doesn’t. If we didn’t have email down here we’d be toast – no doubt. But with all this useless crap and important info that’s flying around the web, it doesn’t matter anymore where you are at geographically. I think if the Snkr Frkr office was located in NYC we’d be a larger brand with more sales and advertising revenue but that’s just speculation as there is a downside as well. It’s probably cheaper to produce a magazine from down here but with oil the way it is, freight is getting seriously expensive.

Sneaker Freaker Magazine
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