FREERUN “THE PROLOGUE” _episode-2
FREERUN started in 1999 with friends who gathered to create a new magazine in order to overcome the barriers of work that had been done in specialized magazines.The road was much steeper than I expected, but FREE RUN still doesn't stop as rival magazines disappear one by one. The core of FREE RUN that hasn't changed after 17 years.It's not a big deal, but let me introduce a little story at the time of the first issue. The second part of the two-part series is about "Dialogue between Japanese Riders and Foreign Riders-The Birth of That Classic Project".The answer to the question is Takayuki Sugiura, the first editor-in-chief.
Q. Please tell us about the dialogue between Takashi Nishida and Devan Walsh at CROSS TALK.
I thought about what would happen if the top Japanese and foreign riders talked to each other, and planned this CROSS TALK.We asked them to talk about snowboarding, local snowy mountains, ski resorts, and private matters.At that time, when I confirmed the player who was interested in the popular technical rider Takashi Nishida, the name of the video star Devan Walsh came up.He met him in Canada a few years ago and skated.I immediately contacted the person who was managing Devan, explained the purpose of the dialogue, and asked for his consent.For the conversation, we rented a room in SBJ, which was holding a joint snowboard exhibition, and provided an interpreter for each.The interviewer asks a question in Japanese, and the interpreter translates it into English and tells Devan.This time, the contents of Devan's answer are translated into Japanese and conveyed to Takashi Nishida.By repeating this process, I remember that the first attempt at the dialogue between Japanese and foreigners took longer than planned.However, this was an interesting development, so this CROSS TALK continued as one of the popular projects.
Q. Please tell us about the birth of "Last 23 Question", the predecessor of "Last 22 Question".
This "Last 22 Question" came to my mind when I was playing with words like "What is your favorite fruit?" "What is your favorite animal?" "What is your favorite insect?" ..The plan is to select Japanese, foreigners, and female riders, ask five people the same questions, and compare what each rider will answer.From the first issue to the latest issue, the purpose of the project has not changed, and it has become a specialty of Freerun, which is published at the end of more than 5 volumes.By the way, I think the reason why the title changed from "Last 130 Question" to "Last 22 Question" was a light feeling like "Let's increase one question!" When I changed to the next editor-in-chief.
Q. Please tell us your thoughts on the cover of the first issue.
I used the photo in the horizontal position vertically, and did not dare to apply (round) the varnish to protect the cover only around the central rider.When the first issue is laid down, the round, unvarnished part looks like the Hinomaru.This cover was completed with the idea of art director etsu with the determination to become a snowboard magazine that will fly from Japan to the world.
Q. Please tell us the most memorable photo..
This is a photograph of Takaoki Hashimoto taken at the Rail of the Snow Summit in California, USA, which is posted on the spread from P8 to P9.As you can see in the picture, the letters "FREE RUN" are placed on the snow surface in the foreground.When making a stand, I wanted to post a picture taken with the letters "FREE RUN" next to a rail like this in the spread on the first page of Freerun.Unlike now, it wasn't a digital camera, so I couldn't check the photos right away, and I was worried about what kind of photos I would get when I came back to Tokyo and developed the film. I remember being very happy because it was.By the way, the cover is a flying photo of the back mountain (Akushi Hiraoka / Utah BC, USA).The first spread photo is a photo of this rail (Takaoki Hashimoto / California Snow Summit, USA).And the third one is a powder photo (Jeremy Jones / Alaska) and I want to show the direction of future Freerun photos, so I have selected three photos that have a particular impact and posted them in order.
Q. Lastly, please tell us your impressions of finishing the big work of the first issue.
We only have about two months of production time, and we are not in an era when the environment for communication systems (Internet, email, computer capabilities, etc., the first issue was released about 2 years ago) is in place, and we are all ourselves. It took a tremendous amount of time to move on.I didn't have time to sleep and it was physically tough, but I think I was able to complete it with all the staff with a strong belief that I would announce Freerun to the world and liven up the snowboarding world.I was happy when the magazine was completed and the first issue was lined up in the bookstore, but when I read back the magazine at a later date, I just regretted that "I should have done this more" and "I liked this way of writing."However, after all the work was completed, all the staff involved in this first issue went skiing to the now-defunct ARAI ski resort in Niigata prefecture.I still can't forget one of the powders that we all hiked and slipped from the top of the mountain.Thank you very much.
PLAYBACK ＞episode-1Is here
The first issue is revived !! Special free release in digital version
