It certainly is a bold move to bring out a new BMX magazine in this day and age. Case BMX Magazine is out this Friday, and it's free! If you're in the UK, then just go to your nearest good BMX shop, who will gladly hand you a copy.
I caught up with Mike Netley, the editor of Case, to ask him a few questions on his new venture.
First off, for those who don't know you, could you tell us a little about yourself?
"My name is Michael. I'm 23, been riding for 10 years, would rather spend a good day at the trails with a BBQ and friends than anything else and I started a new BMX magazine 6 months ago and the first issue is about done.... NOW!"
Subway or KFC?
"Those new BBQ beast meals from KFC are quite a treat. With a side order of hot wings too. Yeah son! Pepsi or Pepsi max, I'm not fussed. A shit ton of ketchup and a lot of salt on the chips. Lil tub of BBQ baked beans in the BBQ beast box meal too. Bangin'"
You've made many contributions to BMX publications in the last couple of years. What prompted you to start Case BMX Magazine?
"I myself wanted to see something different and it became apparent to me that ride and dig weren't going in the right direction and had no intention of doing so. What it comes down to is me being selfish and putting what i want to see in a magazine and hoping that others share a similar vision. I'm kidding about the selfish bit, but from what i hear people are certainly more than ready for a change!"
Obviously a lot of thought has gone into Case BMX Magazine. Was it hard to make the decision to give the magazine away for free, or has this always been one of your objectives?
"there was initially going to be a cover price. but after speaking with a lot of shops it was made quite clear to me that magazine sales were severely down. being free is my unique selling point. it sets Case apart from the rest. free of charge, more people will see it = better pitch to give to the advertisers."
Apart from being free, what sets Case apart from other magazines?
"i have a few things i want to do with Case...
its not happened on the first issue but id like to run exclusive adverts.
i believe this will benefit the magazine and the advertisers for the same reason.
that reason is... no one is going to pay any real attention to an advert they have already seen in another magazine, so if its new, more people will take note of it.
this is good for the advertisers because they can show off other products and people WILL look at it. it's good for case, cos its exclusive and no one would have seen it yet. simple.
each issue, i basically want to put someone who i would consider a bit of a legend on the cover. i think that will appeal to a lot of the people who have been around for a long time.
I plan on covering all aspects of riding where ever possible and will not solely focus on what ever is trendy at the time.
Case is fully rider owned. their are no big fancy names to impress so what appears in case is truthful and to the point. if something sucks, it sucks, if its good, then people will know its good"
You have a full time job already. How do you find the time to put together a magazine?
"for the past 2 months (when putting the magazine together), i worked a 9-5, got home, had dinner, then sat down at about 7am and worked solidly until the early hours of the morning.
i did that pretty much every day for 2 months. it wasn't easy but it sure was worth it."
Can you give us a sneak peak of what we can expect in the first issue?
"loads and loads. seriously, issue one is stacked.
Alex Valentino
this dude named maria from the Philly area who is bad ass
a decent amount of photos from the infamous Pa trail scene
the Deluxe UK trails road trip
a Southampton scene report
Scott Malyon
DK dirt circuit
Gav Shortall
Will Herrmann
8 page photo section
3 or 4 trail jams from the UK to the south of France
Mike Potoczny
a chance to win £100 from the guys at the source
and quite a lot more..."
