''Tracks'' is a monthly

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n surf magazine, promoting itself as "the surfers' bible." It is published by

Nextmedia nextmedia Pty Limited (styled as nextmedia) is an Australian media company which publishes special interest magazines in the sport, humor, and hobby (among others). The company is headquartered in Sydney and owned by The Forum Media Group, ...

. ''Tracks'' was established in October 1970 by Alby Falzon,

John Witzig John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, and

David Elfick David Elfick (born 20 December 1944) is an Australian film and television writer, director, producer and occasional actor. He is known for his association with writer-director Phillip Noyce, with whom he has collaborated on films including ''New ...

, 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''. H ...

tabloid, printed on newsprint and produced on

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

'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 "Aus ...

", 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 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

). 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 *

1970-1972 *

1970 * Phil Jarratt 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 1981-1984 *

Nick Carroll Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Places ...

1984-1986 * Jon Ellis 1986-1988 * Tim Baker 1989-1991 *

Gary Dunne Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

1991-1994 *

Neil Ridgeway Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

1994-1997 *

Wayne Dart Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anthon ...

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 {{sport-mag-stub