UKVM launched a couple of years ago and then dissapeared into the ether and has never returned but is it dead? What happened to it? We caught up with Jon Drever, the driver behind the entire project to see if there was a chance it would re-ignite to fuel the flames of the UK scene…..
Looking back Jon, was this difficult to set up?
“Well, UKVM was started in my bedroom in my parents house about three years ago, I’d been making skate vids for a few years and thought the UK could do with a regular, all-inclusive and cheap video magazine. It was a full time job for absolutely no money, in fact, due to being ripped off by various folks, the whole project cost me thousands!”
This is no joke, as most people in skateboarding find it very difficult to make a sustained living from the scene but did you follow advice from various people, did you get the support?
“Various people gave me loads of support and advice along the way, especially Ben Powell and Zac. The featured skaters were all really cool and into the project, and a few filmers chipped in with footage (Toby ‘Death’ Batchelor, Paul Silvester and Kev Parrott to name a few). Obviously I got a lot of shit as well, some people weren’t into the films and didn’t like the fact that I included interviews with the skaters and a bit of background info on the scenes and the people in the scenes. Basically, UKVM was never meant to be about skate ‘porn’ (just bangers with no story line), but about the UK scene as a whole. Anyway, after issue 2, the money had run out so I brokered a take-over deal with a TV production company. They were to own UKVM and I was to work for them to make it. It seemed ideal because I got to pay my rent, and UKVM would expand and become something we could all be proud of. But, I became one of their key directors and was sent on all kinds of work, I started filming everything from street football to monster trucks. It was great experience but UKVM got left behind. Issue 4 was a year late and only just got produced.
Did the takeover kill it?
“I suppose the takeover did kill it a bit, yes. But, it saved its life for a bit longer. Without the takeover issue 4 would never have happened”.
Does it have a future?
“The future of UKVM is this, and you heard it here first…I’ve just set up a production company with a pro snowboarder friend of mine (Count Orlando von Einsiedel, no shit, he really is a Count!), and we’ve won the contract to make the next series of GenEx which is the Extreme Sports Channel’s flagship show. It means loads more core skate stuff shown on an international stage. You’ll hear more about that here, on Crossfire (If anyone’s got anything they really think should be in the show get in touch at info@grain-collective.com). Anyway, this means that I don’t have the time to commit to UKVM, and I’m looking for someone who can take it over for me.
It needs to be someone who’s got loads of filming experience and obviously is well hooked up in the skate world. I don’t want UKVM to die, and it can still be made into something amazing that everyone in the skate community can be proud of, and involved with. So, if you think you’ve got what it takes to run a quarterly video magazine, get in touch: info@ukvm.co.uk