One of the best things, if not the best thing, about being a photographer is all of the cool people — from all over the world — you get to meet.  From athletes to creatives, the people I share time with are just plane [sic] awesome. Plus there’s no better way to learn more about what’s going on in the outdoor industry or the photo world than to hear it from the people that are shaping its future. So with that idea in mind I’m excited to roll out my first one on one interview written exclusively for this blog. I’m not sure what I’m going to call these yet, maybe ummm… Straight Talk..?!

 

Who: Matt Stark

What: Founder and Editor of the new Deadpoint Magazine (www.deadpointmag.com) a new online and print publication with a primary focus on the young/urban climbing market. 

 

What’s your title at the magazine?

 

I act as the editor and chief, but honestly, that title sounds a bit pretentious so I try to avoid such titles… We share many responsibilities at the magazine. Some days I am editing photos or text, other days I am licking envelopes. Licking envelopes sucks, so I would hate to ask one of our employees to do it, so I’ll get my tongue wet to keep them happy. (insert joke here)

 

 

Do you feel like Deadpoint fills a need in the Climbing/ Outdoor industry?


 

Yeah. The youth climbing market is growing exponentially, but currently there is only one other magazine catering to the youth market. Their image is a bit different from ours. We saw the need for a magazine that gave kids something they really wanted- a free climbing publication that embraces the core lifestyle of real climbers. 

 

Right now there are three national climbing magazines, and Deadpoint  
makes four, plus another online video magazine in the industry… that’s a lot of people trying to divide up a small advertising pie. How big can Deadpoint get before one of the mags has to go, or the pie has to get bigger? Any predictions?


 

There is a lot of energy out there right now, and our prediction is that the pie will grow. Having our publication online for free opens up new markets for advertisers that were not available before. Our hope is that we can turn people on to climbing in those markets, because if the sport grows, all of us will grow with it. 

 

What are some of the markets that the online mag opens up?

 

We are a global publication. How many countries actually have climbing magazines? Not many. The other thing to consider is the fact that less than 100k of the 10 million climbers in the US actually buy climbing magazines, so we are talking about a big opening.






How many paid employees do you have?

 

Four

 

 


How many readers do you hope to have by the end of the year? By the end of 2009?

 

Over ten million people participated in the sport of rock climbing last year. I think that number is a good start. We can hope, right?



 

Did you have any other online sites/magazines you modeled yourselves after?

 

A lot of our inspiration came from the skate/snowboarding magazines and media platforms. Future Snowboarding (R.I.P) and Focus Skate Magazine were big inspirations because the guys who ran them were core to the bone. They played hard, and didn’t candy-coat the media they provided. Their articles always were gritty, and they weren’t afraid to use the word “fuck.”

 

After the initial release, what are some of the things you would like to improve upon?

 

My flexibility! In all seriousness, I heard a quote once, “When you are satisfied with your 
performance, improvement has stopped.” 
We are a new publication, there is much to improve on.

 

One major thing I would like to improve is photo rates. We already have better rates than the other “youth” mag, but I would like to see Dead Point’s photo rates be the highest in our industry. There are a lot of starving photogs out there that work really hard. Most of them are forced out of our industry because of paltry rates. It would be nice to change that trend, but we need more industry support to achieve that goal.

 

What do you think has more value for your magazine: photos or video?

 

I think both have a place. We can’t put videos in our magazine yet, so for 
our printed publication, the photos have more value. In our online 
publication, we incorporate videos to provide a true multi media experience.
 Videos provide a very rich dynamic form of media that cannot be duplicated
 by a photo. For our online publication, the video is more valuable.



 

 

How can people contribute photos, videos, or words to the magazine &  
What are your rates?

 

People can inquire about submissions or get our rates
 by sending a query to photos@deadpointmag.com 



 

What do you think the future of the printed magazines is?

 

A high percentage 
of the magazines at shops and climbing gyms are sent back for credit because
fewer and fewer people want to shell out six bones for a paper rag. I think
that trend is a clue about the future of magazine.

 

Why not take the cost involved in printing a magazine, really go green,..And just keep your magazine online? Take the extra dough and pay contributors better?

 

That maybe the future, but I do not think our industry is ready to let go of print nor do I think that it will be completely replaced by the internet. I just think print demand has, and will continue to decline in popularity. As for paying contributors better, it is a goal of ours. Right now our photo rates are far better than the other youth based magazine, our editorial rates are match or exceed all the mags in our industry, and we just got started. Lend some industry support, and better rates will be just one of the things we will do to help feed our community.

 

Who are some photographers and videographers within the industry that  
you love to work with? How about folks outside of climbing that whose  
work you love?

 

Jorge Visser, Simon Carter, Carlos Mason, Paul Dasatko, John
Dickey are just a few I can think of off hand. As far as outside the
climbing community I would say Mack Dawg Productions, Absinthe Films for
video work and Chad Riley, Tim Zimmerman, and Jeff Curtes are some of my
favorite action sports photographers outside of the climbing world.

 

What would be a perfect story pitch for Deadpoint?

 

Ha-ha!… I’m not giving you any ideas. Nice try.