Challenger BMX Magazine

WHAT I DIDDesign
Art direction
Editorial
Lots of trips to the post office
YEAR2017–Present

CREDITS A long list of international contributors

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Created a quarterly BMX magazine that I designed and edited
Published regularly from 2017–2022
Print run in thousands
Subscriber base in hundreds
Sponsored by Vans

I grew up reading magazines with a strong editorial point of view: Slap, Dig BMX, Fridge, and Thrasher. Later on I sought out pioneers of oddball lifestyle magazines like Grand Royal and Dirt. This obsession with magazines and zines, backed with a what I saw as a gap in the BMX media landscape, was my inspiration for Challenger, a quarterly, printed on newsprint.

From 2017–2022, the magazine was published regularly. Since then it has been sporadic and taken different forms, like one-page monthly newsletters.

At its height, Challenger’s print run was in the thousands, its subscriber base was in the hundreds, and it was distributed internationally by bike shops. And, notably, it was sponsored by Vans shoes.

Not bad for a bedroom operation in the Midwest.

The Covers

Interior Spreads

Marks and graphics