editor’s note
Satisfyingly
tangible
It's super easy in this day and age to grab your smartphone,
tablet or laptop and begin flicking through abundant stand
up paddle board related online content. There's a great deal
of quality, mixed in with the not so great. Some of it will be
highly visual, such as video edits, while other articles will be
just that, articles. In the fast moving world we live in, digital
content is designed to be easily digested and forgotten
almost instantly.
I don't know about you but there's something unfulfilling about
only browsing the web. While I totally appreciate it’s a medium
that suits fleeting quick fix moments, stolen during tea/coffee
breaks (or similar), there's nothing quite like sitting down,
unplugging from the matrix and immersing yourself in the
tangible exercise of placing paper between fingertips. And that's
where we come in.
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate the importance of having
quality 'stuff' on the 'net – and there’s plenty of available. We go to
great lengths and pack SUPM's website to the rafters with
awesome features. And, as many readers will be aware, we also
publish each issue in digital ezine form. But for most – me
included – nothing comes close to actually holding a printed
magazine – hot off the press. The smell of the ink, the texture of
the paper, beautiful photography and in depth stories; it's all part
of the experience. Seeing a dog-eared copy of SUP Mag UK resting
on a coffee table, months after the publishing event, is extremely
fulfilling to us. And we’re aware of a few paddlers filing each issue
for posterity – you can’t get a bigger accolade than that!
In an age where print is supposedly dead, it's satisfying to see
niche publications, such as SUPM, holding its own. We thank our
thirsty readership who appreciate the hard work and effort we put
in to bring each copy to you. And hard work it is...
We're not looking for violins, but SUPM's team toils and sweats
each week to bring you the best of SUP, presenting a snapshot of
the sport and broadcasting the stoke all UK paddlers can relate to.
From the feedback we get, we feel this is a promise we're delivering
on but, as always, please let us know what else you’d like to see.
Welcome, friends
The beady eyed among you will have seen SUPM’s recent news
piece about our new recruits. Richard Heathcote and Stephane
Lefevre are both highly skilled all-round watermen, with
experience across multiple disciplines. They’ll be helping deliver
SUPM’s in depth equipment tests that we’re renowned for. That’ll
unfortunately mean (sarcasm) you won’t see quite as much of my
bald bonce in the mag as previous – a good thing many would say!
We’re sure you guys will welcome Rich and Steph along with open
arms. Here at SUPM Towers we’re looking forward to working
closely with these two and helping make what we publish even
higher quality.
Right, without further ado, it’s on with the show. We hope you
enjoy this issue.
Tez Plavenieks, May 2016
[email protected]
@tezwoz
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