Big Brother (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Big Brother was a skateboarding
magazine
founded by Steve Rocco
, which was notable for ushering in street skating and the sub-culture of skateboarding.
No subject was taboo. Early articles featured step by step ways to commit suicide and rip-off schemes such as how to make a fake ID. They would often use odd gimmicks like printing the magazine in different sizes, packaging it in a cereal box, and throwing in items like trading cards and a cassette tape. Early writers were Sean Cliver, Earl Parker (Thomas Schmidt) Jeff Tremaine
, Marc Mckee, Mike Ballard
, Pat Canale, and others.
They also released a few videos, including "Shit", then "Number 2", with a few stunt
s and pranks
, but the videos were mostly skateboarding-oriented.
and Chris Nieratko
. The magazine was purchased by Larry Flynt
in 1997. After Flynt began publishing the magazine, the nudity was toned down or scrapped altogether, though the vulgarity remained.
In 1998, Dr. Laura Schlessinger was in Beach Access, a Costa Mesa surf shop with her son when she began perusing Big Brother. Schlessinger deemed the magazine to be "stealth pornography" and said so on her radio show. When Tom Moore, the owner of Beach Access, publicly denied that she found pornography in his store, Schlessinger sued Moore for lying and claimed that his denial had hurt her reputation. When Schlessinger's case went to court, the judge said it was a frivolous lawsuit and dismissed it. Moore's $4M countersuit against Schlessinger, lodged for hurting the reputation of his store (defamation) was allowed to stand. The suit has since been settled, but terms of the settlement have not been revealed. Behind the scenes and off the record, Moore's lawyers and friends claimed victory, indicating the settlement was "about the amount of a moderately priced Orange County
home" (at the time, $650,000 to $2 million).
In one of the most bizarre episodes of the magazine's history, the subscriber list for Big Brother got mixed up with one of Larry Flynt's hardcore magazines - Taboo. Subscribers were sent pornography, and those who subscribed to Taboo got a skate magazine. This incident was parodied on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which one of the band members was delivered an issue of Big Brother live on stage, suggesting that he subscribed to Taboo and received it in error.
The magazine was unexpectedly dropped by Larry Flynt publications in February 2004. In early 2008, it was announced on Jackassworld.com that Big Brother would be returning in a digital format.
Also noted on jackassworld.com a Big Brother documentary is in the works.
Vol 1 No 1 of KingShit Magazine, based in Toronto, Ontario hit May, 2009. Dave Carnie is the editor at large and Chris Nieratko is a contributing editor.
Big Brother was also credited for the development of the series Jackass, as Jeff Tremaine recalls in the Jackass episode "Where Are They Now?".
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
founded by Steve Rocco
Steve Rocco
Steve Rocco is an American businessperson and skateboarder. He founded World Industries with Rodney Mullen which grew into one of the largest and most influential skateboard companies in the world. He has since sold the company and is currently retired....
, which was notable for ushering in street skating and the sub-culture of skateboarding.
No subject was taboo. Early articles featured step by step ways to commit suicide and rip-off schemes such as how to make a fake ID. They would often use odd gimmicks like printing the magazine in different sizes, packaging it in a cereal box, and throwing in items like trading cards and a cassette tape. Early writers were Sean Cliver, Earl Parker (Thomas Schmidt) Jeff Tremaine
Jeff Tremaine
Jeffery James "Jeff" Tremaine is an American film and television producer/director, and, along with Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze, one of the creators of MTV's Jackass. He directed Jackass: The Movie, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 3D, and Jackass spinoff Wildboyz...
, Marc Mckee, Mike Ballard
Mike Ballard
Michael Aaron "Mike" Ballard is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.-Amateur career:...
, Pat Canale, and others.
They also released a few videos, including "Shit", then "Number 2", with a few stunt
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
s and pranks
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
, but the videos were mostly skateboarding-oriented.
History
The magazine contained mostly articles about skateboarding, as well as some nudity, stunts, pranks, and random ramblings from its staff. Its later days were characterized by the clever wordplay of editors Dave CarnieDave Carnie
Dave Carnie , is a former editor-in-chief of Big Brother Magazine and current writer for numerous publications.-Writing career:...
and Chris Nieratko
Chris Nieratko
Chris Nieratko is an American humorist and author. Nieratko is a past editor of Big Brother Magazine, and currently reviews pornographic films for Vice magazine, as well as being the author of the related Skinema book. He also appeared on MTV's Jackass.-External links:***...
. The magazine was purchased by Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt
Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. is an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications . In 2003, Arena magazine listed him as the number one on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list....
in 1997. After Flynt began publishing the magazine, the nudity was toned down or scrapped altogether, though the vulgarity remained.
In 1998, Dr. Laura Schlessinger was in Beach Access, a Costa Mesa surf shop with her son when she began perusing Big Brother. Schlessinger deemed the magazine to be "stealth pornography" and said so on her radio show. When Tom Moore, the owner of Beach Access, publicly denied that she found pornography in his store, Schlessinger sued Moore for lying and claimed that his denial had hurt her reputation. When Schlessinger's case went to court, the judge said it was a frivolous lawsuit and dismissed it. Moore's $4M countersuit against Schlessinger, lodged for hurting the reputation of his store (defamation) was allowed to stand. The suit has since been settled, but terms of the settlement have not been revealed. Behind the scenes and off the record, Moore's lawyers and friends claimed victory, indicating the settlement was "about the amount of a moderately priced Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
home" (at the time, $650,000 to $2 million).
In one of the most bizarre episodes of the magazine's history, the subscriber list for Big Brother got mixed up with one of Larry Flynt's hardcore magazines - Taboo. Subscribers were sent pornography, and those who subscribed to Taboo got a skate magazine. This incident was parodied on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which one of the band members was delivered an issue of Big Brother live on stage, suggesting that he subscribed to Taboo and received it in error.
The magazine was unexpectedly dropped by Larry Flynt publications in February 2004. In early 2008, it was announced on Jackassworld.com that Big Brother would be returning in a digital format.
Also noted on jackassworld.com a Big Brother documentary is in the works.
Vol 1 No 1 of KingShit Magazine, based in Toronto, Ontario hit May, 2009. Dave Carnie is the editor at large and Chris Nieratko is a contributing editor.
Big Brother was also credited for the development of the series Jackass, as Jeff Tremaine recalls in the Jackass episode "Where Are They Now?".
Shit
Year Released: 1996- Cover: Showed Jason "Wee-Man" AcuñaJason AcuñaJason Acuña , also known as Wee-Man, is an American TV host and actor. He is one of the stars of Jackass on MTV and the host of NESN's skateboarding show 54321. Acuña has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and is tall...
in blue body paint. - Dave CarnieDave CarnieDave Carnie , is a former editor-in-chief of Big Brother Magazine and current writer for numerous publications.-Writing career:...
attends WigstockWigstockWigstock was an annual outdoor drag festival that began in the 1980s in New York's East Village that took place on Labor Day. Traditionally the festival would act as the unofficial end to the summer for the gay community of New York City...
and calls cross dressers fruitcakes.
Number Two
Year Released: 1998- Cover: Johnny Lee Countee in a DevoDevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
suit - Showed an obscure old school skateboarder (Johnny Lee Countee) skating in front of his house, the only area he ever skated at.
- Showed Johnny KnoxvilleJohnny KnoxvillePhilip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
testing out self-defense equipment, including pepper sprayPepper sprayPepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
, two types of stun guns and a small caliber pistolPistolWhen distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
. This footage was the basis for the MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
reality series JackassJackass (TV series)jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
, though MTV omitted the last part of the segment that showed Knoxville shooting himself in the chest with a small handgun while wearing a kevlar vest.
boob
Year Released: 1999- Cover: Editor Dave Carnie in a gold spandex suit and rollerblades; "boob," (when looked at in a mirror upside down, reads "poop.")
- Contained several skateboarding tours and also featured a Steve-OSteve-OSteve-O is an American stunt performer and television personality. His entertainment career is mostly centered around his performance stunts on the American TV series Jackass and accompanying movies....
stunt section and editor Dave Carnie skateboarding in a gold spandex suit.
Crap
Year Released: 2001- Cover: photographer Rick KosickRick KosickRick Kosick is an American photographer and crew member, and supporting cast member of the Jackass TV series and the three Jackass movies.-Early career:...
in an adult diaper while tied to a cross - Showed the "Depends Olympics" and/or "Jesus Games," which involved the Big Brother staff getting drunk, wearing adult diapers, and participating in games. One of the games was the Jesus Race, where people race while heaving a large wooden cross on their backs.
External links
- http://www.chrisnieratko.com
- Big Brother Magazine Covers
- Big Brother Boob video
- Big Brother Shit video
- Big Brother Tape Number 8 on discogs
- Big Brother Tape Number 8 on youtube
- Bam Margera's Landspeed:CKY(1999)
- Bam Margera's CKY2K(2000)
- Bam Margera's CKY1 (2001)
- Big Brother Magazine - Vintage Skateboard Magazines.com