003/surf/skate/snow/brasil

Situationist International the social revolutionaries who influence my work and ethos to this day.

Marseilles a tale of skipped meals and the risks involved

Novo Brasil Daniel Klajmic shoots Marina Dias on the shore

Back to Front the ever inventive genius of Phil Knott

Maple syrup a jolly to British Columbia

/ the xerox kid /

When planning for the next issue we would sit down with the publishers to discuss the content and themes with them so that the sales team could aim their calls at the right clients. When discussing the products pages the question I was always asked was “How much are these pages going to cost us Mickey?”

In the production meeting for this issue I was ready and waiting for the question and when I was asked it my reply was, “Err well I would make a rough estimate that it’s going to cost you about twenty pence a page, because I’m just going to stick them on the photocopier.” From then on I was known as the ‘Xerox Kid’.

/ maple syrup /

By now a pattern is beginning to form in my working relationship with Mr. Fordham. He would cleverly come up with the stories and themes that would eat up most of our budget (less than 10k total for an issue) whilst maximising his own opportunities to get paid to travel around the world to piss about on decks and boards in far flung locations.
This feature, in stark contrast to the third issues theme of Brazil, revolved around a 4,500 mile trip that Michael took to British Columbia with snowboarding photographer Danny Burroughs just so he could slide down mountains looking like a sasquatch wearing brand new snow gear that he’d blagged from companies on the promise of it appearing in the magazine.
Meanwhile, I would be on the Isle of Dogs with all the other editorial puppies, staring out of the window at the building sites whilst stuck in front of my monstrous G3 scanning all the glorious images he had brought back from his journey’s.

/ back to front /

Back to Front

Phil Knott’s amazing residence in Hackney was big enough for him to use as a photographic studio and, like me, he is never creatively satisfied and is always experimenting with new techniques. For this fashion shoot, styled by Alison Curry, Phil set up two triggered cameras against white backgrounds and captured the skaters tricks from diametrically opposed positions. When the photos were placed on opposite sides of the magazine’s pages it gave the viewer two sublime views of that same moment in time.

/ d3mand the impossible /

/ novo brasil /

Daniel Klajmic‘s beautiful ten page fashion shoot of Marina Dias on a dusky Brazilian beach.

/ marseilles /

Sugar rush

I have been a Type-1 diabetic since my early teens and have mainly kept the condition under strict control. During my time at adrenalin I was living in a flat overlooking Victoria Park so I would cycle down the Regent’s Canal to our office in the Docklands.
One morning I left my flat without eating any breakfast and by the time I reached the office my sugar level was sinking into the red zone. I pressed the button for the lift and waited. Then I noticed the Escher drawing framed on the wall between the two lifts and things started getting a little weird. After what seemed like hours the lift hadn’t arrived and I opened a door to head up the stairs. Climbing the first flight I realised that I was now inside the Escher piece. I climbed endless stairs and went through doors and into many offices full of bemused suits until I eventually stumbled into my our own office. I immediately began singing ‘No Fun’ by the Sex Pistols and climbed under my desk. Florence came in with my post which I ripped up and threw about me from my lair under the desk, whilst still singing.
After about an hour of this, which my workmates all ignored because they obviously thought that it was normal for Mickey to act like a lunatic, the office door opened and in came Mike with James Reeve the photographer who had come in to show me his portfolio. I got out from under the desk and jumped up on him like he was a friend that I hadn’t seen for decades with my legs and arms wrapped around him like an octopus. Mike sussed it immediately and called for a cab to take me to A&E before asking everyone in the office (at least six of them) if they had any sweet food. Mike then pinned me down with his knees on my shoulders like a wrestler and fed me bananas.
Diabetics recover very quickly from hypoglaecemic attacks so by the time the cab arrived and Mike and I were heading for Whitechapel I was feeling almost normal again. But then in front of us I saw Pierre Vivant’s traffic light sculpture on a roundabout in Surrey Quays that we were approaching in the taxi. I grabbed Mike’s hand in the back of the cab and looking at him with insane wide eyes I squeezed harder and asked him “Mike can YOU see that?”. “Yes” he replied. I kept hold of his hand and cried with relief.
James’ work was great and we commissioned him to take this collection of shots with our resident Frenchman Mattheiu Gamet in his hometown of Marseilles. Remember kids, don’t leave home until you’ve had your breakfast.