Behind the Blog: Street Blogs from the Best in the Business – Part 4

The fourth of our five-part feature has us talking with Adam Bryce, founder of Slamxhype. Started back in New Zealand in 2003, Adam’s site has grown to become one of the most progressive sites dealing with street culture today. Most recently he has made a very big – some might say very risky – move into the world of print with the New World Order quarterly. Adam shares his thoughts with us on the changes his site – and blogs in general – has gone through over the years, what his plans are for the future of Slamxhype and his newly founded magazine, and more.

mashKULTURE.net: What inspired you to create a sneaker/streetwear blog?

Adam Bryce: At the time there wasn’t anything else like that out there, and I wanted to create a place where I could pick out what I liked and share it with people. It’s as simple as that really. There had been sites like Beinghunted, and Rift-Trooper, but at the time, no genuinely regular blogs. I just wanted to fill that gap and have some fun.

mashKULTURE.net: What were the biggest difficulties you encountered starting out?

Adam Bryce: At first, it was really easy. Slamxhype started before there was any competition, so word spread quickly and organically. Sourcing content wasn’t hard either, as there was no precedent, and no negative connotations around street-web media, problems which exist now in a big way. It was all very easy back then.

mashKULTURE.net: As your site has grown, how much has your daily routine changed?

Adam Bryce: I definitely work a lot more than prior to Slamxhype. And no matter what we do, I seem to work more and more. I am definitely not the main contributor to the site anymore; James is definitely the head of the team when it comes to that, and my time is spent working on new projects, and now specifically on our print magazine. I never rest, I always work! Time management and setting aside a structured way of work for me isn’t something that exists. That’s not something I’d recommend at all. James and I both work all day and night on Slamxhype and The New Order. We are however, making some changes over the coming months, which may change the structure of the site and will see both of us spend more time on the magazine, yet at the same time improve the standard of the site and move it inline with what we do in print. We’re trying our best to work smarter rather than harder, trying being the operative word.

mashKULTURE.net: How has content on your site(s) changed over the years? Why?

Adam Bryce: Considerably. It’s changed so many times. More often than we would like, and it will continue to evolve. I am by no means a web expert or a media expert, and so we try and try by experiment to find better ways to publish. We’ve made mistakes, big ones, but we feel we are back on track now, with even more big changes pending, but changes with a much more educated progression.

mashKULTURE.net: Do you have any content quotas? Is there a required minimum you set out each day of how many posts to publish? If so, does that ever jeopardize quantity over quality?

Adam Bryce: Haha. As it stands, it’s just mayhem. We just post what we like. We’ve never had set quotas or expectations. That being said, we can definitely feel the differences when more or less is posted. Quantity over quality is a question that I think we all find debating almost weekly. I’m much more inclined to find quality over quantity, and with movements towards synchronizing what we do in print with online, it’s important for us to step up quality and selection processes.

mashKULTURE.net: What’s the secret to your website’s success?

Adam Bryce: Genuine passion and interest. All the changes (in recent times anyway) on Slamxhype have been driven by our own changes in interests. We have never done anything with traffic or trends in mind. I feel we are a genuine leader in our content paths, and readers can see this.

mashKULTURE.net: How important is social media to your blog(s)?

Adam Bryce: We are purely content driven. We are the worst marketers in the world, and haven’ learned a lot about how to build traffic and network, etc… but are almost completely useless at following any of these methods. I can only say, Facebook, Twitter, etc… are important beyond your imagination. Whether we are the best people to follow in terms of ‘how’, I can almost guarantee at this point ‘Not at all’.

mashKULTURE.net: What are your thoughts on the drastic rise in street culture blogs over the last few years? Do you see any parallels between the growth of streetwear brands and the rise of street culture blogs?

Adam Bryce: I could sit here and say that it’s great, it’s great to see more people have their say, share their thoughts, becoming interested in the culture, starting brands and so on. But it’s just not true. If these sites were innovative, educated and developing, then it would be wonderful. Likewise with new brands, but 9 times out of 10, these sites are just replicas of what exists already, and similarly with the brands. Neither having genuine street culture intentions. Genuine brands start with a love, a philosophy, both true to the culture, the same with blogs. I feel the streetwear boom brought about a new era of people wanting to be a part of something they didn’t understand and therefore diluting the better nature of the culture.

mashKULTURE.net: How do you think this large number of sites affects street culture itself?

Adam Bryce: As I said above, in theory it should be a good thing. I think genuine blogs out there, like HYR, Jjjound, Jake Davis, etc. are fantastic for the culture, but at the same time, the influx of blogs out there trying to compete on a news aggregator level is just diluting and insulting the culture.

mashKULTURE.net: What is the biggest mistake these blogs are making if they are making any at all?

Adam Bryce: Trying to be successful, trying to make money, thinking of it as a business, and thinking it’s easier than it is.

mashKULTURE.net: What advice might you give to them?

Adam Bryce: Start a personal blog with a personable nature, talk about what your into, what your thoughts are, and have fun.

mashKULTURE.net: The current recession can be seen as part of a natural cycle, a form of cleansing as many new, less-creative brands go under, and the streetwear market contracts. Do you feel that the over saturated “street blogosphere” will follow the trend? Where do you see the future of these blogs heading?

Adam Bryce: I think the oversaturated blogosphere would have only lasted so long anyway, recession or no recession. The majority weren’t started with the correct intentions, and therefore have a limited timespan. My biggest fear with regard to the recession, is that while we all assume the weaker brands will be weeded out, it could also see the better brands suffering, and possibly brands with good marketing strategies winning out. You can already see in the US and Europe, great brands like W)Taps or Visvim not selling as well, the price is high, and they are being outsold by brands with inferior quality and philosophy because of this, and (through use of) gimmicky marketing tools.

mashKULTURE.net: Where do you see the future of your own blog(s) heading? What short and long-term goals have you set?

Adam Bryce: As I’ve suggested, we are making some big changes over the coming months. The New Order is a new focus of ours, and by no means will Slamxhype be left aside, quite the opposite. It will be brought inline with the magazine in terms of its mission statement, philosophy and goals. Long-Term: we never think too far ahead.

mashKULTURE.net: Any closing thoughts?

Adam Bryce: Thanks for the opportunity.

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