EXCLUSIVE: Can A New Ski Magazine Rise From The Ashes Of A Dead One?
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Canada has a new ski magazine rising from the ashes of an old. At the end of this month, Forecast Ski Magazine will start rolling off the press and become available to the masses of Canada, filling the void left behind by the late SBC Skier. (last month SBC Media filed for bankruptcy and closed their doors).
Bringing plenty of experience to the table as Editor of
Forecast is Jeff Schmuck, longtime ski journalist who spent five years as the head honcho at Newschoolers, and was most recently Editor at SBC Skier.
Forecast is being put out by King Publishing Project, a company that puts out a handful of other progressive publications, such as skateboarding magazine King Shit. Schmuck is excited to spearhead the magazine under the King name and launch the first new ski magazine in a long, long time.
“I’d say the two most exciting things about it are the fact that it’s the first new ski magazine in many a moon, so it’s pretty kickass to consider that this is an opportunity for me to build somewhat of a legacy, particularly if the magazine lives on after I’m gone, and the creative freedom that comes with being under the King Publishing umbrella,” Schmuck said.
Joining Schmuck on the editorial team are Associate Editor Travis Persaud, Art Director Jeff Middleton, Associate Publisher Mike Hartman and Account Managers Jamie Reekie and Kevin Page, all former SBC employees. Publisher Ryan ‘King’ Stutt tops off the team, described by Schmuck as ‘one of the more badass human beings I’ve come across in life.’
Forecast Associate Editor Travis Persaud. Forecast Magazine photo.
While
Forecast will definitely draw some inspiration from SBC Skier, Schmuck makes it clear that it will be a fresh, brand spankin’ new publication with its own twist, evolving certain features that SBC had.
“Much like publications such as
Freeze and SBC Skier did in the past, we plan on being lighthearted, humorous, not taking ourselves too seriously, making fun of anything in skiing that we feel is worth making fun of–especially ourselves–in a sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek manner, embracing our nostalgic roots, covering unique and off-beat stories, personalities and locations, and having a damn good time along the way in an effort to inspire people to do the same,” Schmuck said.
Forecast won’t be about just one part of skiing either. It’s going to cover it all, and not only Canada-centric happenings, either.
Jeff Schmuck branching out from Canada to enjoy some turns in Haines, AK. Perks of working in the ski industry for a while. Tom Winter photo.
“It won’t just be about the backcountry, the park, the streets, pro athletes or ski bums… it will focus on all of it,” Schmuck said. “In a nutshell, we plan on being the everyman’s ski magazine, so that anyone who loves to ski will be able to enjoy it.”
It won’t just be about the backcountry, the park, the streets, pro athletes or ski bums… it will focus on all of it,” Schmuck said. “In a nutshell, we plan on being the everyman’s ski magazine, so that anyone who loves to ski will be able to enjoy it.
“The content itself will definitely have a Canuck-focused flair to it, and we do plan on giving Canadian-based stories, locations, athletes and contributors their well-deserved due, but at the end of the day, if there’s an unique story to tell, a cool location to showcase, an entertaining athlete to feature, or an eye-popping photo to run, it won’t matter if it’s north of the 49th parallel or not,” he said.
With Schmuck’s experience on both the digital and print sides of media, and interestingly enough, his transition from digital to print instead of the other way around, he is aware of the definite decline happening in print media for some time now, but feels that the distribution model that
Forecast will utilize is a forward-thinking step in the revamping of a paper magazine.
A key part of this distribution model is making the publication free at ski shops and ski epicenters across Canada. Mail subscriptions will also be available for purchase, starting in Canada, but with potential to expand across borders in the future.
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“The overall idea is to eliminate as many impediments as we can to getting the magazine into the hands of skiers, so that as many people can see it, read it, and enjoy it as possible,” Schmuck said.
Associate Editor Travis Persaud getting crossed up at Mike Wiegele's Heliskiing, British Columbia. Travis Persaud photo via selfie-stick.
During Schmuck’s time at
Newschoolers, he saw big changes to online media with the explosion of video content, social media, and in turn, the shortened attention span of the online audience. With that, his job changed too, deviating away from writing.
“When I was with
Newschoolers, we collectively realized that people were becoming a lot less interested in reading 1,000+ word articles online then they were at pushing play on a video,” Schmuck said. “This lead to new and exciting challenges and experiences for me, which I certainly brought with me and apply to the online component of the print side of things, but at the end of the day, I’m a writer, and I’ve wanted to be the editor of a ski magazine since I was 16, so it made sense for me to make the move so I could produce long-form written content, and ultimately, make my childhood dream come true.”
Forecast Editor and well established ski journalist, Jeff Schmuck, looking suave with the bow tie. Dan Brown photo.
When it came time to name the new magazine, it was no easy task, and the team didn’t take the decision lightheartedly, going through over 200 different names before coming to the conclusion that
Forecast was the right fit. Early on in the process, they decided not to have the word ‘ski’ in the title, to set the new publication apart from the rest.
“I don’t have any kids–that I know of–but as exciting as it was to have the opportunity to name a ski magazine, it felt more stressful than naming a child, particularly because you don’t have to worry about your kid’s name playing in a role in whether they’re successful or not, or having some asshole come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I really like your kid, but his name sucks.’
I don’t have any kids–that I know of–but as exciting as it was to have the opportunity to name a ski magazine, it felt more stressful than naming a child, particularly because you don’t have to worry about your kid’s name playing in a role in whether they’re successful or not, or having some asshole come up to you and say, ‘Hey, I really like your kid, but his name sucks.
“Forecast came about because we felt it was both a strong and cool sounding name, and was relatable to skiing and skiers in a number of ways, namely on the weather and snow forecast side of things, but also because we want the magazine to play a role in forecasting the future of the sport,” Schmuck said.
For those of you who aren't familiar, poutine is a staple Canadian dish that consists of fries, gravy, and cheese curds. Forecast and Jeff Schmuck approved. Yuri Long photo.
Stay tuned for the launch of
Forecast’s website, but in the meantime check out their Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest and greatest coming from the Schmuck and his poutine loving cohorts.
