‘It turned out to be much easier to get a bit of money for a publication than to ask for new riding surfaces.’
Thomas Habegger
MegaMag
Switzerland
I re-posted my interview with the only surviving skatemag in Switzerland called AJVT. However, I was quickly reminded that there is Mega Mag too. What trigged the idea to start this publication?
Well—if I’m being completely honest—it started with a pretty funny night at the Kaktus Bar. A few beers in, a lot of half-serious ideas on the table, and suddenly Mega Mag existed —at least in our heads. Later on, we realized there was actually a chance to tap into cultural funding schemes. And, somewhat absurdly, it turned out to be much easier to get a bit of money for a publication than to ask for new riding surfaces for our crumbling skate ramps. That’s when the idea really shifted. So what ultimately triggered Mega Mag was the possibility of quietly cross-subsidizing our skate infrastructure. That motivation pushed us to think bigger than originally planned and turn a drunken bar idea into something more serious—while still keeping the DIY spirit very much alive.
Is the actual DIY your main scope of the mag? Being the Swiss version of Confusion?
No, definitely not. We do appreciate it when people take matters into their own hands, get active, and create something themselves. But DIY projects aren’t the main focus of the magazine, and we’re definitely not the Swiss version of Confusion. Mega Mag is more about the people, the places, and the energy behind the scenes —small communities, local heroes, and the kind of stories that usually fly under the radar. DIY is part of skateboarding by nature, but it’s not the concept we’re trying to copy or build the whole mag around.
Is there anything you would not cover in Mega Mag from a content perspective?
It always depends to some extent, but generally speaking, we’d never run a story about the Olympics. We’re not big fans of the contest scene in general. That said, I’m not a supporter of rigid, totalitarian views either. For us, it always comes down to context—how a story is told, why it matters, and what it adds. So while there are clear tendencies, nothing is completely off-limits by default.
Do you cover whole of Switzerland incl. the French and Italian part?
In theory, we’d love to cover the whole of Switzerland— including the French- and Italian speaking parts. In reality, though, we’re operating on a super low budget, and distribution is still one of the bigger challenges. That’s definitely something we want to solve for future issues. For now, the magazine mostly travels hand to hand. We rely a lot on skate shops as distribution hubs—and honestly, we love that. Skate shops are essential to the culture, and if Mega Mag lives and moves through them, that feels exactly right to us.
‘Supporting the mag couldn’t have been easier—you just had to show up, listen to some music, and drink a few beers.’
How about any restrictions on paying ads?
Paid ads—yes, in principle, we’d be happy to accept them. They would definitely help us finance the magazine. Up to now, though, we’ve chosen not to run any paid advertising. The first issue was funded through cultural grants, and the second one was financed entirely by the release party. As you can imagine, the overall budget is pretty tight, so going forward we’ll have to find other solutions. What those will look like exactly, we can’t really say yet. The one thing that’s clear is that money has always been a secondary concern for us. It’s mainly about convictions—and if we do run ads in the future, they should probably reflect those values too. But yeah, we’ll see where it goes.
So would you accept a paying ad by luxury car manufacturer?
Christian von Königsegg used to stay with me as a guest back when I was working as an instructor. Maybe I should just give him a call. But honestly, the whole question feels pretty hypothetical. It’s not something I’ve really had to think about yet. I don’t think a luxury car brand is lining up to place an ad in our magazine anyway. And if an offer like that ever comes in, I’ll think about it when the time comes and decide if it makes sense for us. Until then, we’d rather stick with sponsors and partnerships that feel more natural and in tune with the scene. So far, the mag has actually worked completely without sponsors, and in a perfect world, it would stay that way. The last issue was funded entirely through the release party. Supporting the mag couldn’t have been easier—you just had to show up, listen to some music, and drink a few beers.
Are there any other skatemags that inspire you?
Pretty much every magazine that still exists in printed form has inspired us in some way. But if we’re honest, it was mainly the older ones—like Big Brother, Transworld, or Monster Skateboard Magazine—that really shaped our mindset. Especially from a time when not everything had to be politically correct, when things weren’t taken quite so seriously, and when magazines could just be wild, rough around the edges, and genuinely fun. That attitude definitely left its mark on how we approach Mega Mag.
Who are some of the other guys that work with you on Mega?
The key people behind Mega Mag are definitely Sven Defatsch and Jan Kessler—and of course Petra Niederberger. But in the end, a lot of people from the Davos skate scene help out and get involved in different ways. For example, the lettering of the logo is thanks to our local painter from Davos Wiesen, Sven Buddensick. And we definitely have to mention Yanosh Simenic, who keeps putting in the work to make the release parties happen every time. So while there are a few names at the core, the mag is really a collective effort from the scene around us.
‘But experience has taught me one thing: it’s often better not to meet your heroes.’
You have no website or IG for the mag. Is that on purpose a conscious choice to keep it an authentic print publication as possible?
There is an Instagram page by now—the_real_megamag. But it’s only updated sporadically. Not having a website, on the other hand, is a very conscious decision. We really want to stay as print-focused as possible. That said, when you’re traveling or on the road, it helps to have something digital to quickly show people what the mag is about or to make connections. In that sense, Instagram is useful—but yeah, we’re pretty bad at maintaining it, and we’re totally fine with that.
Last question. If you could interview one person?
In general, we’re more interested in interviewing people who strongly shape skateboarding away from the big scenes. People who manage to keep a skate community alive without big stars or famous names attached to it. Maybe that way of thinking comes from ourselves—I don’t really know. But experience has taught me one thing: it’s often better not to meet your heroes.
Do you have someone in mind?
Yes… you will see in the next Megamag.