Vice Publishes a Lengthy Oral History of Transworld

In the wake of the demise of Transworld’s print magazine, Vice got in touch with some of the key players from its 36-year history to put together a lengthy oral history. It includes everyone from the magazine’s founders, Larry Balma and Peggy Cozens, to pros like Tony Hawk and Jamie Thomas, and many of the mag’s usual suspects like Grant Brittain, Skin Phillips, Mackenzie Eisenhour, etc. Jamie Owens also speaks to the outlet’s future with a poignant quote.

With everyone on Instagram saying “Transworld’s dead,” we were like, “Technically we’re not.” Our sales guy said it was like being a ghost at our own funeral and watching everybody pay tribute.

Transworld’s audience is the biggest it’s ever been. We have over four million people who we reach on a monthly basis through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all that. We have budgets to make stuff this year, so there’s still a great opportunity to do cool stuff and get it out to a large audience.

People like to romanticize things, but were the majority of people buying the actual magazine? I doubt it. Did they have subscriptions? I doubt it. I accept that Instagram is where a lot of kids see stuff, and I want them to see it.

With recent noteworthy projects like its Daewon Song documentary, we’re definitely interested in seeing where Transworld goes in its all-digital format. Head over to Vice to read a thorough examination of its print era.

Image Via Vice