I first saw ‘Submachine’ magazine at my local coffee retailer, and was immediately taken by the quality of photography, the look and feel. “Must be a US publication” I thought to myself, but no….a very fine NZ mag with everything I love! (it needed a splash of vinyl though). 

I recently sat down with Submachine magazines founder and editor, Al Best to talk about the magazine, it's origins and his philosophy. Al is a professional graphic designer and illustrator who spent ten years in advertising and another twenty as a freelancer. Born in Auckland and raised in Adelaide, he is the publisher of New Zealand’s only premium subculture magazine. 

‘So Al, tell me a bit about the magazine's origins and a bit more about yourself’.

I started the magazine out of curiosity more than anything. Could I actually publish something, and would anyone care? In 2021 I had just taught myself to screen print and was making t-shirts of my own designs, but I had no money to advertise them. To compensate, I made fake magazine covers and photoshopped my own (fake) billboards to make the Submachine brand feel like it was a real thing. While pretending that Submachine Magazine was a real publication, the more fake covers I made, the more I wondered; 'what sort of articles would you find in this thing?'. I started mocking up the contents, right down to the ads. I pulled ads from the internet and laid them up in my pages, only selecting brands that I connected with. Remarkably, when I finally launched the real magazine, most of those brands came on board. That was, I think, what self-help gurus call ‘manifesting!'

‘From there how did you get it fly?’

I was extremely lucky. I showed the concept to only a couple of people, but those people were, unbeknownst to me, well connected and they opened a lot of doors in terms of big brand support. Without the advertisers, there would be no magazine. that is why I don’t call them advertisers, I call them ‘People we Love’.

‘If you had to explain the concept of the magazine to someone?’

There were a handful of magazines that I admired, but they all had a very singular focus. They essentially ’stuck to their knitting’ but I always felt that I was most engaged when they would throw something different into the mix. For example, Octane was wall-to-wall cars but they would almost always have a single-page featuring an exotic or unusual watch. I bought Octane for the cars, but I got most excited about that one, lonely watch article. I wanted Submachine to have motorcycles at its heart but I didn’t want it to be just a motorcycle magazine. I filled it with stuff I liked. It’s only my opinion of what’s cool. I’m not qualified in ANY way to tell people what’s cool or uncool. I do feature a watch in every issue though! The concept is essentially Art, Cars, Motorcycles and Optimism.

 ‘What are the pet hates?’

There were things I hated about other magazines, so it was easier to know what NOT to be. I remember reading an article about a group of female motorbike riders and the journalist couldn’t have been more patronising, like they were a quaint novelty. Another magazine seemed to be under the impression that all men want is to own a Lamborghini and have their own tailor. Ugh. I was more interested in showcasing people who made art or built hot rods. I found that there was a common thread to all the people I met along the way. Their ’thing’ might be surfing, motorcycles, pinstriping or guitars, but they all had a similar infectious energy and a strong sense of community that, broadly speaking, is a gateway to better mental health.

I’ve met so many incredibly nice, genuine, inspiring people and I just don’t think that would be the case if I was making a magazine that featured the latest gossip on Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, or what a $20,000 burger tastes like.

‘Challenges on the way?’

From the outset, I had no confidence, only hope and not much has changed. I mentally committed to making three issues, so I designed the spine of the magazine to split the Submachine logo in thirds so that, if you stacked the first three issues together, it would form the complete logo. Mentally committed and actually committed. After three, I could decide to continue or get a proper job. Now, 13 issues in and I realise a proper job would have been the sensible choice!

‘Thanks for your candour Al, it’s refreshing to hear. Any last thoughts?’

I’ve been humbled by the feedback and by the support of our brand partners, contributors and readers. I guess it has found a little niche and people seem to appreciate our high-quality print and tactile, ‘coffee table’ appeal, as much as the articles themselves. At the very least, now I can advertise my t-shirts for free!