With these strange days of competing sponsorship agreements, limited advertising dollars, print mags, web mags, websites, etc., all clashing together, some media outlets view others as competitors as opposed to trying to spread the gospel of skateboarding and the lifestyle that surrounds it.

Does it have to be this way? Does a magazine that caters to 13-18 year olds threaten the readership of an after-skate/lifestyle magazine? Will websites ever completely demolish print mags?

Doubtful. Media Relations is about balance in the media, working with other like minded people (not against them) to help build skateboarding in general.

Color Magazine has been flipping the script of what a skate magazine is "supposed" to be since its humble beginnings years ago, and they're still pushing the boundaries today. Sandro Grison, founder of the magazine, gave us his thoughts on everything from corporate advertising to being called out by Heath Kirchart. Read on....

Sandro Grison.

So lets start from the beginning. Been around since...? What made you start?
I've been around since I was born, started working on Color in 2002, launched the first issue May, 2003. If there is one thing that "made me" start the magazine it would be that Big Brother, Heckler and Strength all folded and I wasn't happy with the outlook of Canadian skateboard magazines. I wasn't a publisher or a writer and had zero experience, so I went for it.

What's your "business card title" over there these days? Still wearing as many hats as you did when you first started up?
My business card says "President" and "Editor / Creative Director," but I could be a number of different things from day to day. "Grand Daddy" might be more fitting. We have a thing going around the office where certain people receive wizard status. I've hit our server at the right angle a couple times to get it to stop buzzing and I think that got me I.T. Wizard status.

What have been the biggest changes since 2002?
The biggest change has been the digital age. It's messed when I think about how much has changed in such a short time. The first couple issues contained zero digital photography. Everything in there was shot on film, processed and scanned. Not to say that there weren't digital cameras at the time, but the quality just wasn't there and we were kind of purists in that way.

What has remained consistent?

The most consistent element that has remained over the years is the relationships with contributors to the magazine. It's basically all the same people, or it has been for a long time. Also, just my friends and supporters. It's all remained basically the same. More than half of the office were friends of mine, attending Color release parties and skating together before we ever thought of working together. Craig and Dylan have both been featured in the pages of the magazine before they were ever employed by it. Also, our senior writer, Mike Christie, appeared in the pages of Color numerous times. The greatest consistency is that Color's always remained a project, and not necessarily a job. We all work on it because we believe in it and we enjoy doing it.

Dylan Doubt, frontside blunt (from Color vol.2, issue 3) Dave Christian photo c.2004

Being based in Canada, do you feel any responsibility to make the mag a certain percentage Canadian? Or do you just cover what you want to cover?
My mission from day one was to make the best magazine, and I wouldn't let who's in the photo determine whether it be run or not. I've never let advertising dollars or politics get in the way either. I've had advertisers ask me why their riders aren't getting coverage in the magazine and I've had advertisers thank me for their rider's coverage in the magazine; both mean the same thing. It comes down to what kind of job they're doing as team managers and if their skaters are out there ripping or not. Of course we make our edits, and we have our guys that we're really backing because we think they're special or whatever, but an interesting thing that only the really hardcore readers might notice is that you'll never see the same trick in an issue twice. And you'll very seldom see the same skater in issues back to back unless there's a really good reason. I'm pretty obsessive about stuff like that. With so much good skating happening, there's no reason for it. I'd be happy to give a free subscription out to any of your readers who can find an issue where a comparable duplicate trick is printed.

Alien interview (from Color vol. 5 issue 1) Alana Paterson photos c.2007

The American Skater vs. Canadian skater goes like this: We're skateboarders first, Canadian second so if I had two photos of the same thing, of equal quality, I would definitely run the Canadian pic first. But if it was an interesting American who maybe hasn't had a photo before then I might choose that one so the reader's get something new. It's nice to see big name pros like Andrew Reynolds or Chad Muska displayed along side with young Canadian guys that haven't been promoted as much.

I think about the reader a lot more these days than when I started out. At that time my philosophy was "If I like it, then it must be relevant because there's going to be a lot more people out there just like me". It helps being the demographic you're reaching out to; there's no way I could produce a wakeboard magazine because I don't understand it.

Cover: Color vol.7 issue 1, Scott Pommier photo feat. Ryan and Scott Decenzo c.2009 OUT NOW!

Why ‘Color' and not ‘Colour'?
First and foremost it's about aesthetics. Dropping the ‘u' makes it symmetrical. I love the way that word looks, I always have. I'm horrible at spelling to begin with so I'm not really fussy, but I do make an effort to use Canadian spellings otherwise (ie: flavour) and when referring to the colour of someone's shirt for example I always use the ‘u'. It works out well because then there's no confusion when we're referencing the name of the magazines versus describing what something looks like. The spelling also is really fitting with how I wanted the magazine to be perceived. Nowhere does it say "Color Skateboard Magazine" and nowhere does it say "Canadian Magazine" or otherwise. It is what it is.

Spread: North 2 feature, Color vol.3 issue 1. Ben Tour illustration c.2005

Once I saw you walking down the street looking like a real pimp. Turns out you were about to attend an Awards show for Canadian Magazines. What did you win?
I doubt I looked all that suave, man. I'm almost 27 years old and I just recently got my first suit! [laughs] I've received accolades for Best Art Direction for articles and covers...probably more for the covers, which is nice because it's always a risk when you're trying to do things differently.

Calvin Klein wants to run a CKone ad in Color along with a perfume strip. Times are tight these days? Do you take the money and run? Where does Color draw the line with corporate advertising/support?
I remember when Vice did that [laughs]. Luckily I don't think I'll have that problem because our readership is a lot more targeted than those hipster mags. I remember refusing artwork from a certain brand that had a certain Hollywood star spokesperson, but it was alright because they actually had a skate team so they just needed to stick with that. Let's just say that it was a really funny ad and if it ran I'd be embarrassed to say I support that or they supported what I was doing. As far as corporate advertising goes, I think there's a way to make it work because if a big monster sized company wants to pay top dollar for some space it could allow for more flexibility for the little guys. I try to help the little guys as much as possible while keeping the integrity of the magazine by being sure it's going to look good.

Any similarities between you and Thrasher editor Jake Phelps?
We're basically the same guy. I mean, you should have seen us at The Crossroads together, kids were all over us asking for autographs and shit, it was nuts! I mean, Danny Way was right there and they just bolted past him to get to us [laughs]... Well no, that was just Phelps. I don't know Jake Phelps, but I remember when I would read Thrasher as a kid and was super annoyed by how much he put himself in the magazine. Who cares about the fucking editor, right? Maybe I'm not right. People say I should put myself in the magazine more, so maybe people can comment on that on this website and give me some guidance. But I think Phelps made me way too aware of it and I try to keep my grill out as much as I can, while still giving the magazine some personality from time to time.

What is the best perk of the job?
I've been lucky enough to travel a bit with work, but I need to make the responsible decision to stay back most the time. I recently sent Dylan to New Zealand to tour the country with some of skateboarding's biggest names and I'm glad I did because I can't shoot a skate photo like he can. The best part of my job is getting to see all this stuff for the first time. I get excited the same way I did when I was a kid and a new issue of a magazine would be on the shelf. Being my own boss also has its perks. How many people get to pick the people they have to work with day after day?

Favorite "Tattered Ten" of all time?
Dude, American spelling right there for Favourite!...

The Wade Desarmo Tattered Ten was really entertaining for me. Luke Tanner killed it on that one - there's no way I could have pulled it off. I don't even do those interviews anymore, but I'm waiting for the next kid who doesn't give a fuck that will carry the torch for me. Trainwreck's was good because he was the perfect candidate at the time. Chet Childress was memorable because it was the last one I really headed on my own.

[continued in part two]