''Tracks'' is a monthly
Australian
surf magazine, promoting itself as "the surfers' bible."
It is published by
Nextmedia.
''Tracks'' was established in October 1970 by
Alby Falzon,
John Witzig, and
David Elfick, starting as a kind of
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
tabloid, printed on newsprint and produced on
Sydney's northern beaches. Since then it has grown to be a major surfing publication.
History
''Tracks'' was originally published by the Tracks Publishing Company.
''Tracks'' published a cartoon series,"
Captain Goodvibes
Captain Goodvibes, a.k.a. the Pig of Steel, is the creation of Australian cartoonist Tony Edwards and an icon of Australian surfing culture from the 1970s. In 1992 Captain Goodvibes was named by ''Australia's Surfing Life'' magazine as one of "Aust ...
", by Australian cartoonist
Tony Edwards
Tony Edwards is an Australian comic book artist and illustrator, best known for his creation, ''Captain Goodvibes''.
Biography
Tony Edwards was born in Strathfield in 1944 and originally trained as an architect.
Edwards' best known creation '' ...
. The Captain Goodvibes cartoons were first published in May 1973 and appeared regularly until July 1981. The character became an icon of Australian surfing culture.
"Lash Clone" by Australian Author
D. C. Greening D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation:
* Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank.
* Date of death, as an abbreviati ...
appeared in the pages of ''Tracks'' during the 1980s, with Greening's later works, "Cosmic Surf Wars," appearing more recently.
Some time after 1987 the magazine was acquired by Next Publishing (now known as
Nextmedia).
In July 1988 the magazine's title was updated from ''tracks'' to ''tRACKS''.
In March 2000 the magazine changed format from the original newsprint size down to a tabloid size.
''Tracks'' editors
*
Alby Falzon 1970-1975
*
John Witzig 1970-1972
*
David Elfick 1970
*
Phil Jarratt
Phil may refer to:
* Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names
* Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil"
* Phil, Kentucky, United States
* ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film
* -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...
1975-1977
[''The wave game : an inside look at professional surfing'' / by Phil Jarratt. Broadway, N.S.W. : Soundtracks, 1977.]
*
Paul Holmes 1978-1981
*
Kirk Wilcox
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk ...
1981-1984
*
Nick Carroll 1984-1986
* Jon Ellis 1986-1988
*
Tim Baker 1989-1991
*
Gary Dunne 1991-1994
*
Neil Ridgeway 1994-1997
*
Wayne Dart 1997-2000
*
Sean Doherty 2000-2008
* Luke Kennedy 2008-
Controversy
In 2014, 13-year-old reader and surfer Olive Bowers wrote an open letter to the magazine pointing out sexism in the print and digital editions of the magazine. She pointed to the absence of female surfers and the presence of scantily-clad women not involved in surfing in the magazine.
[Steger, Jason]
"Olive Bowers hits out at surfer sexism,"
''Sydney Morning Herald'' (MARCH 30 2014).
References
External links
*
Magazines established in 1970
1970 establishments in Australia
Monthly magazines published in Australia
Surfing magazines
Companies based on the Gold Coast, Queensland
Sports magazines published in Australia
Mass media on the Gold Coast, Queensland
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