SNEEZE MAG
Nic Fensom Interviewed by Ed Davis
SNEEZE magazine is big in scale and simple in purpose, everything is considered and is included for a reason. It’s quite simple Nic Fensom has created a document of the culture he loves for the culture he loves.
That culture is skateboarding and the things that revolve around it, from Tyler the Creator to Claudia Schiffer, Danny Trejo to Brian Anderson. With it’s street box distribution, poster sized format and regular contributors Sneeze has a quality that is increasingly rare in today’s over saturated market place – it feels real.
Heavy Mental: Tell us a little about your background – how did it lead to you starting SNEEZE?
Nic Fensom: In college I was photo editor for the student newspaper, and from that really enjoyed being part of an editorial team and putting something out there for people to read. I was also taking photos too of my friends skating, so got into photography. After school went to New York to intern at a mag and was taking photos for other mags on the side. Then my Visa got messed up. I didn’t want to start over at another mag busting my ass interning in hopes that it would lead to a job. I went back home to Vancouver and was bummed. There isn’t much in the way of publications in Vancouver so decided to do my own thing.
HM: Are you still taking photographs? Do you take some of the photos for SNEEZE?
NF: Yeah I still take photos here and there. If something cool comes up I’ll be down to shoot. I don’t really take photos for Sneeze though. I think it’s kinda wack to take photos for your own mag but If I have to shoot something for it I will.
HM: I know what you mean, it can feel like bullshit self promotion. What about film vs digital?
NF: From like an ‘editor’ perspective, both are cool. Digital is great obviously, you get to see your selects like next day. It’s easier to retouch and tweak. Photographers aren’t invoicing me for their film expenses. Personally, I only shoot film, and I don’t say that to sound like some purist. I’d love to buy a digital back for my Hassy but it’s too expensive and I don’t shoot enough to make it worthwhile. Going out and buying some Nikon digital to hang around my neck doesn’t interest me. I love medium format film, I love the negs you get from it. Gone are the days of photographers submitting their negs to a photo editor and making prints. Seeing all the shots on a contact sheet, seeing exposures, looking through a viewer to see if your shit is in focus. I shot a look book for a brand and they were bummed I was shooting film. Like they were basically shocked and won’t be calling me back. Film expenses bum people out. Retouching film scans is a pain. Film is always worthwhile in the end though. Scanning a 35mm shot for a Sneeze spread and seeing all the grain is rad.
HM: It’s summer in Canada know right? What’s that like?
NF: This summer has been a total write-off. Haven’t really left my desk. The weather this summer has been kinda whateves though.
HM: How does being based in Vancouver effect SNEEZE and life in general?
NF: Technically it is based out of Vancouver but I can really be anywhere as long as I have a computer and a phone. I was living in Montreal last year and ideally want to get back there. Bradley my business partner is based in New York so we are kinda bicoastal style. He’s on the ground and I put it together. Our small team is kinda all spread out. Not much happens in Vancouver. All our ads come from the US.
HM: The mag has a strong NYC focus.
NF: I lived there for like a year, have lots of friends in New York. Most of the contributors are in New York. New York shows the most love for Sneeze out of any city. It’s not like we try to be all NYC, it just ends up that way. Everything happens there so it’s hard not to avoid.
HM: Do you miss living there?
NF: Sometimes, sometimes not at all. Some trips to New York are so sick and so much gets accomplished that I wish I could live there. Some trips are hopeless and annoying and just the same shit. The ideal situation would be to have an apartment there for when I come to visit but that’s a long way off ha.
HM: Where did the name SNEEZE come from? It feels like a tag?
NF: That’s funny you felt that. It was supposed to be my tag when I was younger but I was too puss to tag. I’ve always used the name for little projects and whatnot. But the Sneeze logo isn’t meant to be all graffiti though. It’s funny because every writer calls it out. Rammellzee told me the logo was toy (laughs).
HM: Do you have a typical work day?
NF: Typical work day is in front of the computer. Organizing shoots, nagging people via email. Hitting people up. Working on ad stuff. There is always something to do. Right now, we just printed summer issue and finished up an issue for Nike. I try to stay as busy and focused as possible, otherwise I just get bummed out and start over thinking things. If you see Sneeze it’s easy to think it doesn’t seem like much work but so much time goes into it. It has taken over my life. A girlfriend would really help ha.
HM: Whats involved in putting an issue together? Is it a collaborative effort?
NF: Sneeze is a puzzle to put together. There aren’t many pages. We are unbound, some forms are printed in black and white. We try to vibe everything together, even if there isn’t necessarily an obvious theme. We want ads to be seen as content, and carefully surround each ad with content so ads look better. Want as best we can to have every page be poster worthy. Sometimes it’s a collaborative effort and sometimes not. We have a really great crew of contributors who are psyched which am very thankful for. Kinda got a recipe now with it. Setup a few shoots, throw in an art poster, feature 1 skater, then hit people up for fillers to sync it up. Oh but finding decent writers who aren’t hopeless is always such a challenge. I end up having to write everything (laughs). My number one goal for fall issue is to improve stories.
HM: Are there any magazines that have particularly influenced you?
NF: Not really. I used to get Relax. i-D’s were cool. Such sick photos in old Life Magazine’s. So many mags now try to look like Purple or Monocle. I’m not big on like crazy fonts or underlining text or being all italics which you can tell if you flip through Sneeze. It’s about full bleed imagery and mix and trying to give you some sort of surprise. Newspapers have influenced me most I’d say.
HM: I used to love RELAX. That was a different time. When you had to search hard for info on your favorite brand or artist. How do you feel about the internet hype machine?
NF: You need internet hype nowadays. It’s never been something that has specifically factored into making a content decision. Our spring issue with Tyler, the Creator and Jason Dill was all over the internet which was expected but I had no idea the extent. Every blog had it posted, it was on forums, Kenneth’s photos were re-Tumblered like a million times. People selling the issue on eBay. It’s great to see something you do go craze online. Online sales are stoking for sure.
HM: What are the plans for SNEEZE in the future, how do you see it evolving from this point?
NF: We want to make custom issues for brands in addition to our regular issue calendar. As I mentioned, we just finished one for Nike so hopefully that leads to more things like that. The major focus right now is to get more Sneeze custom streetboxes on the streets which is happening.
HM: Ok here’s 5 top 5’s to end this thing.
Best things about Canada:
Clean air
Vancouver sushi
Montreal
Montreal women
Skateparks (even though I don’t really skate anymore)
People who have helped SNEEZE be what it is:
Bradley Carbone
Angelo Baque
Kenneth Cappello
Avi Friedman
Alex Dymond
Photographers working now:
Kenneth Cappello
Ben Colen
Shaniqwa Jarvis
Taro Hirano
Todd Cole
Tracks for summer:
Prodigy “Gun Love” (I don’t love or like guns, but the beat is catchy and the lyrics are well done)
Sade “The Moon and The Sky” Remix featuring Jay-Z
Lykke Li “Silent My Song”
Prodigy “Without You”
The Kills “Baby Says”
Places to eat in NYC:
Curry-Ya
Curry-Ya
Curry-Ya
Supercore (Brooklyn)
La Esquina