I was lucky enough to edit Whitelines Snowboard Magazine between 2005 and 2018, a period that encompassed over 60 print issues and a major transition into digital media.
Established in 1995, Whitelines had begun life as a UK upstart, bringing the attitude and humour of an underground zine to the exploding local snowboard scene. As the years rolled by, it nurtured some of the most talented photographers in the industry and featured a higher and higher standard of writing. With the growth of free content online, it seemed obvious to me that WL’s future (and that of print more generally) was as a premium, low frequency publication that could sit alongside its digital platforms – which now boasted visitors in the hundreds of thousands.
“The goal was to offer readers and advertisers a deep-dive alternative to the digital experience”
Nevertheless, Factory Media made the controversial decision to close all their print titles in the spring of 2015, and when their business hit the wall three years later and I launched my own freelance career, that appeared to be that.
Or was it?
Last summer, WL’s new publishers, Any Day Media, invited me to return to the helm for a standalone print project. Their goal was to relaunch a physical version of the magazine that would act as a beacon for the brand, offering readers and advertisers a deep-dive alternative to the digital experience. In short, I could create the mag I’d always wanted.
The result is Whitelines Issue 121 – aka The Annual. Offering a comprehensive look at snowboard culture in 2019/20, it features over 240 pages of content from the very best writers and photographers in the game, past and present. With graphic design by Luke Godson and Timothy Farrell at Bylandmark, it is beautifully presented on premium paper in a large, coffee table format.
This project was a joy to put together, and I hope to be back in the editorial hot seat again soon! You can pick up a copy here.
