‘Pools are what really does it for me, the adrenaline of the adventure, the search for the unknown and unseated.’
Tyler Hopkins
Cemental
USA
What trigged the idea to start your zine Cemental??
I have been making zines since I was a young teenager. Originally, I started making zines focusing on art, freedom of expression and DIY. “While You Were Sleeping…” was one of the first zines I made multiple issues of. It was full of a random jumble of art and writings to hopefully inspire others to be creative. The first skate zine I made was called “Get Off The Wall”, named off of a big inside joke. It was nothing fancy. Just a bunch of cut and paste photos of our local scene. We did mock up the Vans logo with a little change, but that eventually led to a silly ‘cease and desist’ from the illustrious brand. That was around 2014. At that point I decided to scrap it and actually put energy into starting a legit zine (or as legit as a zine can be). Thus, “Cemental” was born.
A few things to unpack here. First of all, you must be proud that the zine attracted the attention of such a huge brand like VANS. Did you get a letter from their lawyer?
Corporations have zero heart. Yes, letter from lawyers and all.
Any special meaning behind the name Cemental?
When I was trying to come up with a name for the zine, I really wanted a name that was not present in the culture already and in reality had nothing to do with skateboarding. So many zines I knew of had generic names, after tricks, places, people, etc. No hate but I wanted just a smidgen of originality in this massive sea of unoriginal and recycled content. One fine day, the concept of “Cemental” popped into my head. It was a combination of the word ‘cement’ which as skaters, we are quite fond of, and ‘mental’, which we definitely are, however you choose to looks at it. ‘Mental for Cement’ = Cemental Skate Zine.
What is the difference between a zine and a skate mag other than zines are hand folded like Cemental?
In my opinion, there are a few major differences between a zine and an actual magazine. Zines are usually much more hands on and tap into more DIY aspects. The printing and assembly are usually bit less than professional. People making zines are usually trying to find shortcuts and cheaper ways of printing. Magazines for the most part are professionally printed, color publication; more expensive to make. Another main difference I would say is the advertising present in them. Zines are usually lacking adds or are supported by local companies and/ or crews. Magazines usually have heavy reliance on advertising for printing costs and such, thus most magazines are interested in getting the most corporate sponsors and advertisers possible, maximizing profits. It also is usually the case in the skate scene that it is way harder to make it into an actual magazine than to be printed in a zine. Zines are great for supporting and hyping the underground rather than just the most famous select pros out there.
Looking at your covers, they look like skatemag covers to me in terms for format and colors. Have you had any thoughts turning Cemental into skate mag?
Not really. I think that if I were inspired to do a full-blown magazine, I would come up with a new name and vibe. Cemental is a zine and will always remain a zine.
A zine with almost 11k followers. That is impressive?
The followers are just a byproduct of doing what we love. Views and what not are cool I guess but it’s definitely more for the love, preservation of the culture and just so we can remember our own cool adventures. Myself as well as many of my homies have spotty memories.
‘We did mock up the Vans logo with a little change, but that eventually led to a silly ‘cease and desist’ from the illustrious brand.’
The scope of your zine is DIY. Is there anything you would not cover from a content perspective?
I can’t say I would print anything. Theres always somewhere where you have to draw the line. Quality also comes into play there. But even though Cemental is a pool/ DIY dominant zine, we love all aspects of skateboarding and would print content from most any niche skateboarding scene out there. We are always looking for creative people to get involved whether it be art, creative writing, photography or whatever else you may bring to the table. We would not print anything full of hate, racist, homophobic; anything degrading or that tears down people. Consumeristic mentalities. Cemental exists in inspire, stoke people out, create hype, spread happiness.
What is the furthest point recorded that your zine ended up physically?
I’ve sent them to Alaska, Canada, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany just to name a few. I know homies have taken them more obscure places in their travels as well. It’s always rad to hear and see where they have been.
Do you have any restrictions on paying ads?
Working with smaller, skater owned brands is choice for us. We are always trying to print adds and support our homies and acquaintances companies and such. We don’t really work with the corporate side of it all. We have done stuff with Creature and Indy before, but for the most part, those opportunities arise through our friends who ride for the companies. Those would have to be the biggest companies we have worked with though. No Nike or Vans adds. I’m not really too interested in trying to secure them in the first place. I know they say everyone has their price so a 10,000$ check for a single add could potentially have some influence. But again, Cemental is for the love 100%, not for the cash.
Are there any other zines or skate mags that inspire you?
Absolutely. I have been a magazine/ zine fanatic since single digits. Some mags would be Thrasher Magazine, Concussion Magazine, Confusion Mag, Big Brother…Some zines that inspired me growing were Swank Zine, The Larb, Pool Dust, Paying In Pain, How Dare You, Low Card, Xenophobia, Boneless…There’s a lot of rad new ones these days too; Skate Jawn, The Skate Witches, Turkey Neck…
What is the biggest challenge to pull off each issue?
I mean the whole design and layout process is insanely time consuming. The physical design and creation, from computer to mock ups usually takes somewhere between 50-75 hrs. The content and documenting comes fairly naturally. We just film and photograph our daily adventures and after enough time the content builds up and we have enough to fill an issue. I am always trying to get others involved though. I never want an issue to be strictly my content. Weather its more skate photos, stories, are, etc. Most times we are down. We have had contributions from around the world at this point. When I am coming close to finishing an issue, I will reach out to some people on social media to see if they have anything they’d like to submit. Printing used to be a bit of an ordeal for me as well, but in the past few years I have secured a solid, local printer making that part of things much easier.
Do you ever get exhausted? Sometimes it can feel like a hamster in the wheel from personal experience?
I am always exhausting myself, but that is what helps me sleep. (Laughing) I have an overactive mind for sure so balancing multiple projects at a time is almost calming for me. I would rather consume my time with creative activities that I’m passionate about rather that sit around twiddling my thumbs. I actually don’t know the meaning of bored. When I get over it though, that’s when it ends. At this point in my life, inspiration and authenticity are key in anything I do. I’m not one to entertain fake friends so I can skate their spots or get coverage in some sort of way. I’m turned off by people trying too hard to be ‘someone’ whether it’s in the industry or not. The raddest things happen ‘organically’ or naturally. So as long as we keep it organic, the stoke remains.
‘Cemental is for the love 100%, not for the cash.’
I noticed, you produced a pool skateboarding film called ‘Prospects of a suburban wasteland’. What was your motivation to release this project?
Pools are my passion. I do enjoy and partake in most aspects of skateboarding, street, tranny, DIY, curbs, etc. But as the sticker says, “I’d Rather Be Skating A Pool”. Pools are what really does it for me, the adrenaline of the adventure, the search for the unknown and unseated. I’ve been searching for them and skating them for a solid decade plus at least and it still gets my rocks off. “Prospects Of A Suburban Wasteland” was the fifth full length pool skating film I have filmed and produced over the last ten years. Each of these projects had very organic origins. Similar to the content for the zine, we would just document our daily pool adventures. After weeks and months and years pass, the forage would build up and eventually take for into killer full length projects. With “Prospects Of A Suburban Wasteland” I was honored in the most modest sense to have shared sessions with many of the best pool skates on the planet today such as John Worthington, Jesse Lindloff, Grant Taylor and more.
Last question. If you could interview one person?
If I could sit down for one last interview with someone it would have to be Preston “P-Stone” Maigetter RIP. “P-Stone” was one of the most influential dude within skateboarding in my childhood. He created “Beers, Bowls and Barneys’” (amongst others) which definitely drastically changed the way I viewed skateboarding. I was lucky enough to attend some events and party with the dude on just a couple occasions, but If I could have one last sit down with the Big Dog to pick his epically positive mind, I would. Much love “P-Stone”. Thank you for everything. You’ll never be forgotten.