The Independently Published

MTB Counter-Culture Zine.

Growing up I always had a magazine in hand. Whether it was a school trip or an evening visiting a family member, I’d always carry the latest issue of Dirt, MBUK or MBI with me to read. At the time, reading about bikes was the second-best thing to actually riding my bike.

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It’s almost hard to imagine a time when you couldn’t just go on your phone and see high quality content at the hit of a button, but there wasn’t that kind of technology when I was a kid, so magazines served as my main source of inspiration. I guess it’s a combination of this nostalgia, my love for owning physical copies of media and my enjoyment of making things that made Shredder happen.

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The aesthetic of the zine is a mixture of styles; I try to make the design of each article suit what I am writing about. For example, Boris Beyer's photo article from issue four is very clean and minimal so that the main focus is on Maddog’s incredible snaps. Another example would be the Max Nerurkar interview from issue seven, which is loud with an erratic use of text to emphasis the many meaningful quotes found throughout the piece. 

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Right now, it's just myself behind the creation of the zine - I write, design and distribute Shredder from my home office in Aberdeen, Scotland. There’s no way it could be possible without the help of all the riders, photographers and illustrators who have helped generously with amazing contributions. I’d like to say a massive thanks to everyone who has been involved and helped along the way, and a huge big up to anyone who has shown support over the years in any form.

 

If you would like to know more about Shredder, have some feedback or perhaps have something you would like to feature in the next issue of the zine, please get in touch via the contact email address - I look forward to hearing from you.

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Print ain't dead. Shredder is alive.

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- Stuart Leel