Welcome to theProgram, the online zine out of Louisville, Kentucky that simply does things right. Just a group of skaters doing whatever they can to support their scene and asking nothing in return. When I started at Deluxe a few months ago, working with Andy Collins at theProgram was one of the first things I got to do and it’s been nothing but good things. Seeing all the kids barging the streets for the “Get Buck For Deluxe” contest was a perfect reminder as to why I love this skateboarding shit so much. To Andy and everyone at theProgram keep doing what your doing.

Thanks for everything,
- Damon

An Interview with Andy Collins from theProgram zine.

So, based on the video it looked like the “GET BUCK FOR DELUXE” contest 
went really well, considering you guys didn’t get permits, waivers or 
permission for any of it. Did you run into any problems with security 
that day?

Actually, no. We picked out three spots that we knew were pretty much fair game for skating because they don’t have security guards or anything, but my biggest worry was the cops. For the most part they tend to leave us alone at all of those spots, but big crowds of skateboarders tend to call attention to themselves, so I was worried about that. Luckily enough though, we had absolutely zero problems with getting time at each spot.

First spot setup

What inspired you to do a barge style street contest rather than the 
run of the mill skatepark contest?

A few months ago, myself and a couple others involved with theProgram took it upon ourselves to start building new and fixing old spots around town in what we called “Random Acts of Gnarness.” Basically we felt like the skaterboarders here had started to default to going to the skatepark and a core piece of skateboarding – going out and finding new and unique spots – was starting to wane, so we decided to spice things up a bit. When it came time to do a contest for Deluxe Month at theProgram, I drew upon our own efforts to build spots and Deluxe’s history with the Boltcutter project(s) and came up with this idea. Holding a contest at the skatepark just didn’t make sense to us, both because of our current push to get skaters back into the streets and because of the red-tape and fees that come with trying to hold an event at our park. It was much more difficult to coordinate and get this contest set-up, but it was 100% worth it to see kids stoked on skating street spots again.

Dane Warner bluntslide 1st place 1st spot

What is the story behind theProgram Zine, 
when did it start, who is involved, what made you guys want to start it?

This project started in 2007 because I was out shooting photos constantly and had stacks and stacks of photos that the major magazines weren’t interested in. Instead of letting them sit around and not see the light of day, I wanted to do something that would give the skateboarders of Louisville something to get behind and be proud of. I came up with the idea of having an online zine that featured Louisville skateboarding but also had some unique features like hidden easter eggs throughout the site and the zine to give users a unique experience. I knew I would need help with it, and I knew who the talent in the city was, so I just went and started asking them to be involved. Matt Ballard is hands down the best filmer in the city, so I enlisted him to film all of our web content and to possibly start working on a full-length video. Josh Boyer is another great filmer that lives here, so I asked him to be on board as well. Patrick Jilbert’s art goes hand-in-hand with skateboarding, so it only made sense for me to get him involved with some art direction. When we started getting bigger, I contacted my childhood skate friend Chaz Ayers to help me with the backend web stuff since I was still using notepad to code the entire site. That’s where the current incarnation of the site started and it’s been a blessing. Since the early stages, we’ve had many people work with us and it seems to grow with each issue of the zine. We’ve had numerous others come in and do work with us, but those are the main people behind the development of theProgram.

And your based out of Louisville Kentucky correct? What other skate 
scenes around the country is the program involved with?

Yeah, based out of Louisville, simply because this is where I live. When this started, I quickly realized that it was getting a lot of traffic from all over the country, particularly the Midwest, so I reached out to my contacts and worked to get more people involved. So far we’ve had coverage from SF, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Chicago, Florida, New York, Atlanta, and even as far as the UK with Sam Ashley’s interview in the last issue. We’ve been lucky enough to feature several well-known pros, but I really love it when I get amazing photos of some unknown skaters from some unknown photographer in some small town. That’s really how I like to think of what we do: a platform for up-and-coming photographers, skaters, filmers, artists, etc who are struggling to get their name and work out there to be able to do just that. The big name guys are nice vehicles for us to reach a wider audience, not that we’re not stoked to have them involved in what we’re trying to do.

colton-360flip-3rdplace1stspot

Every body and their mother has a blog or some kind of website these 
days, but you guys do a really good job of coming up with unique 
original content for your online magazine and website. How do you guys 
have it set up, is it something you all do on the side, when your not 
at your day jobs? Do you guys work with local shops and skate crews to 
keep things going?

Firstly, thank you for the kind words about our content…we really try to keep it unique. I’m not really sure how we come up with the content, other than to just say it’s what we would want to see in a magazine, with the unique bonus of being able to do more interactional stuff with our users since we’re an online entity.

I think one thing that a lot of people don’t realize about theProgram is that it is 100% funded out my pocket. We all have day jobs and/or school and lives and still try to skate as much as we can, so theProgram really is a side project, but only technically. We love what we do, so it actually ends up taking up a huge chunk of our days. For example, I work and go to grad school, so I do that during the days and then normally spend my nights working to update the site, answer emails, shoot photos, come up with and write articles, and whatever else needs done to keep it going, all the while trying to maintain a good relationship with my wife and take care of my house. Matt Ballard, our main filmer, works and then goes out and films almost every single day. Without him, the site would be nothing but words and photos, which we all know doesn’t cut it in the YouTube era. Since the site costs come out of my pocket, none of us, nor anyone that’s done work for us, has ever made a dime from theProgram. Anytime I get any product or any type of hook-up from a company, it all goes to the other guys who contribute their efforts to this. It’s the only way I have to show my appreciation for all the work they do without losing my house or something.

As far as working with shops and crews, it’s something that we’re trying to do more of. At the beginning of this year, we started selling advertising because the with the site getting bigger it really started to drain my bank account, but with the economy being what it is, we just aren’t a viable option for most advertisers…yet. So we started working with companies, like you guys, on creative ways to sell advertising on what amounts to a barter system so that we could work to legitimize theProgram and to give companies that we support an avenue to get involved in what we’re trying to do. It’s been great in a “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” sort of way and it’s helped keep theProgram going this long. I’d love to get to the point to where we can start to bring in some money so that I can pay the rest of the guys what they deserve.

Whats next for theProgram, what do you guys have coming up? Any more 
trips out to SF planned in the future?

Well, we’re working on Issue Ten of the zine right now. It’s been overdue for a while, but we’re working on our biggest interview yet, so I think it’s worth the delay. I just want us to keep growing. I’m not planning on getting rich from this (although it would be nice for it to pay for itself) but I’d like to see it become a legitimate skateboard media outlet in the eyes of the industry if for no other reason than to give the underdogs out there a leg to stand on.

As far as getting back to SF…I really would like to get out there as soon as possible, it’s just a matter of time and money. It’s my favorite place on earth and anytime I can get out there, I jump at the chance. I tell you what, you give theProgram a reason to come out, and we’re there.