How Dennis Page founded SLAM and changed sports media

Dennis Page had two major hobbies in his life: music and basketball. In 1993, Page worked quite well with one of them: He helped found Rock Magazine, guitar worldpublished in 1980, has now been a successful publisher of the magazine for more than ten years. He happily gave up on his early goals of becoming or working as a DJ. rolling stonesbut he's ready to start something new.

Page had always loved basketball as much as he loved music (even though he had never played the sport), but he began to worry about what magazine he would launch next, according to one of his music industry friends, Alan Grunbra. Alan Grunblatt suggested that he actually start “a hip-hop basketball magazine.”

Sports media will never be the same.

Professional athletes have been “cool” for almost as long as sports have existed as a profession. Page's favorite players are ones he saw growing up in Trenton, N.J. — local legend Tal Brody and New York City's Lew Alcindor, whose Power Memorial team Visit Page's hometown to take on Trenton Catholic. As sports media gradually developed, Page's basketball exposure also increased, and he fell in love with players such as Earl “Pearl” Monroe and Julius “Dr.” J.” Irving. Then came Isiah Thomas. Of course, by the early '90s, Michael Jordan came along. But the way the media covered these superheroes stayed the same. Newspapers focused on games and statistics. The TV mainly shows games. street and smith The magazine spends time focusing on young players and sports and sports illustrated Raising the standard of writing in the field, Page devoured them all. Not much flavor, though.

As Page writes in the introduction to his recent book, SLAM 30 Years: Defining Basketball Culture“The idea crystallized into a basketball-focused magazine from a hip-hop perspective. I could see it clearly in my mind; the design would look like a Nike/Mars Blackmon/Michael Jordan print ad, and the photography would look like VIBE Well, words would be disrespectful like that. rolling stones”.

There were some hiccups in the early years — Michael Jordan retired when the first issue was being planned, Reggie Miller didn't like some of the jokes made at his expense, some longtime NBA executives and old-school reporters didn't like the tone of SLAM's content — But more or less, Page's vision worked perfectly. SLAM's cover shows these players as “rock stars.” SLAM introduced fashion photography to sports magazines and has covered basketball player looks in some fashion (most notably in the 2020s with its must-follow Instagram account @leaguefits). SLAM launches the KICKS section about sneakers, which for years has been the first place players and fans turn to with questions. The KICKS section spawned KICKS magazine, which has been published annually since 1998, and in many ways set the tone for countless sneaker magazines, blogs, and social media accounts that have since sprung up (including, of course, @slamkicks).

The magazine almost never stopped growing its business from its launch in 1994 until early 2004, when profits from the 10th anniversary edition plummeted, Fashion– With approximately 260(!!) pages crammed with ads for every sneaker and hip-hop brand you can think of, it's the best-selling sports magazine on newsstands in the United States.

Then the internet took over. SLAM – especially Harris Publications, old school The family publisher that runs it has been rather slow to figure out how to monetize it online. Journal revenue and page count decreased. From a business perspective, there have been some very difficult times, but the people at Page have always had a talent for hiring and empowering those who are rising in the industry, and the best of them have a talent for hiring and empowering new generations that are rising up. ’s future star—the “#slamfam” who never stopped caring about the sport, the lifestyle, or remained loyal through it all.

While SLAM’s transition to the World Wide Web was slow, it was lightning fast as social media became the new place to reach fans, quickly surpassing 1 million followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and on those platforms fans don’t have to spend a dime to “buy” or “expand” their influence. SLAM was and is organic The media pipeline is fueled by the love of gaming.

In the most recent phase of SLAM’s life, starting around 2017 when SLAM was acquired by JDS Sports and Page became an actual part-owner of the magazine he founded, to this day, you’ll occasionally “hear” Page say — or literally , in his classic South Jersey accent, or indeed, via an Instagram post or comment – ​​“This shit ain’t easy.”

This is not the case. This is not the case. But with Page’s dedication to the sport and brand, and the dedication of the many greats who learned from him, SLAM has made it through 30 years and changed the sport every step of the way.

Ben Osborne is a veteran sports writer and editor who served as SLAM's Editor-in-Chief from 2007 to 2016.