As the years flew by and I got older not wiser I realized how hard doing a regular zine was, hitting deadlines, getting content together - even for crappy photocopied ones - let alone putting together a full magazine every month. Being able to do it and keep at It is a testament to anyone's dedication who is able to stick with it.
I've been reading Focus since its first issue. I've always been impressed by what they do and the (not so) simple fact that they continue to bang out a great skateboard magazine month after month - no matter how hard it is to do.
It's motivating and shows true dedication to skateboarding. Thank you Focus, everyone who is a part of Focus and everyone who supports it - this one is for you.
Good work skaters.
4 years deep.
- Jim Thiebaud
An interview with Justin Heister
Co-owner/ Art Director of Focus
Interview by Damon Thorley @ Deluxe
Alright, before launching into stuff about the magazine and the new Real/Focus deck, tell me some stuff about yourself. Where did you grow up skating, with who, and how did you end up the co-owner /art director of a skateboard magazine. Well, I was born on Long Island, NY and raised in Palm Bay, FL. I got into skating like the majority of everyone else, you start with a little blue plastic board, graduate to a Wal-Mart special, which for me was a Nash, then after your parents see this is really something you are into, they got all out and get you a legit set-up.
Fast forward a handful of years – say the summer between Jr. High and Highschool - and skating in Palm Bay/Melbourne became really awesome! We had dog-shit for spots for the most part, but skating had never been so much fun. There were basically 2 BIG crews and everyone was getting pretty good, and we were all the best of friends – I’m talking 30+ people deep just laughing, shredding, and slapping high fives all night - which seems to be a little different these days.
Chris Wood ollie
There are way too many people to name as far as who all skated together. Nate Jones and John Buchanan moved into town around ’96 or '97 for a while, and that was rad because they skated on a whole other level, and that was great for motivation. 99% of the homies don’t skate anymore. A lot of them keep-up on skating, but only me, my bother, and a few troopers are still rolling around.
Matt Heister ollie up and down
Becoming the owner of a skate mag came to fruition by random sequences of events. I went to college for graphic design, and when I graduated I quit working at Hollywood Video in search of real work and freelance stuff. Well, incase you haven’t heard, Palm Bay is probably one of the last places in the world to be able to find a job in that line of work. I had to do something to make some loot, so I got a job managing the local skatepark/shop. One day, this guy Tony comes in trying to sell ads for this skate mag called Resolve. Long story short, I told him the mag looked like shit, and they should hire a graphic designer, me! He said they are actually trying to hire one. The mag flew me up to NJ, where they were based, to check out the operation. I loved it, and moved up 2 weeks later to start working.
A year passes, and the magazines this guy owns are failing, so the publisher decides to combine skate/surf/snowboarding into 1 mag. Mike Mazur (My partner with Focus, and at the time roommate and editor of Resolve) and I decide to help him wrap up the first issue which was basically the 3 other finished magazine jumbled into 1 book, and quit.
We left Jersey and moved into Mazur’s old place in South Philly. We loved what we did at the other magazine, and learned a lot of how NOT to run a business, so we decided we should just start our own. We were living rent-free in Philly with no jobs in an apartment with no windows in the middle of the winter. As if that wasn't harsh enough, we went the first 5 1/2 weeks without gas, which mean no heat or hot water. So, worst-case scenario we wouldn’t be in much worse of a position if Focus were a failure. After several months of planning, a bunch of snags, and sharing 1 desktop computer and a camera the first issue dropped… and there was no looking back.
For those out there that aren’t too familiar with Focus Magazine. Give us a run down, what is it all about? Focus is a freely distributed skateboarding magazine, which is available in all the core shops and parks through out the eastern 1/3 of the US. All the content in the mag is East Coast focused as well. Any mag you’d pick up would be saturated with Cali stuff and we wanted to put something out that represented what skateboarding is to us, and showcase all the talent that would go overlooked if we didn’t. In short, what we are all about is giving back to the East Coast what it needs and rightfully deserves, an outlet to shine, and we do it with all of our heart and soul – putting out highest quality publication we can.
