[Omniscient]

Over 20 years ago I started Foul Magazine in NYC as a local video game zine. I had no magazine experience. I had my games store, the internet was fairly new, and I had a fun group of employees. I thought I could publish a small magazine.

Issue one and two were just before 9/11. They were printed on black and white newspaper stock with color covers. 9/11 happened and things changed but I carried on with the magazine. Each issue got more expensive. First two cost me $5k each. By the 10th issue I was spending $50k on each issue.

Lots of things happened in-between and ultimately I was $300k in debt, closed my game store and moved to Vegas where I eventually started HF.

But here is a throwback video someone made about Foul. It's insulting but none of it is wrong. I didn't know what I was doing at all but it was one of the best things I ever did. In two years we published 10 issues and I made a real attempt at it.



An important note, I started Foul about the same time that Vice Magazine started.

[Immortal]

This is such a cool sub story that I had no clue about. If you could restart foul as an online publication with the knowledge you have now do you think it would do well?

[Gary]

Pretty interesting share. I remember reading about your video game store, but had no idea about this magazine. This magazine would be cancelled in todays world haha.

[Omniscient]

Pretty interesting share. I remember reading about your video game store, but had no idea about this magazine. This magazine would be cancelled in todays world haha.

It was done in poor-taste intentionally. I named the mag Foul for a reason. Our motto was "Striving to Offend, Refusing to Care". That was actually it.

So we did shit that was fucking stupid. I laugh at some of the stuff we did even to this day. So much fun. So fucking Foul. I achieved a certain level of success by creating and publishing 10 issues. I lost a ton of money on it but would totally have done it again for the experience it was. I just needed another $500k of seed money and I would have fine-tuned that magazine. The last issue was great. I simply ran out of my own money and credit to continue publishing. I sunk everything I had into it.

[Zeus]

All i'm looking at is the women in ur magazine.
Sad that it failed everything is worse a shot you learn as you go everyone fails sometimes.

[Omniscient]

All i'm looking at is the women in ur magazine.
Sad that it failed everything is worse a shot you learn as you go everyone fails sometimes.

None of them were particularly pretty. We had 10 issues and 10 centerfolds, maybe two were decent. But basically as long as we got any girl that wasn't outright ugly willing to do a photoshoot for cheap, then we took what we could get. Pretty sure at least one or two of then had pimps even. We put ads online "looking for models" and get some strange calls.

I'm on the cover with the black girl in my underwear. People that the black girl was my wife, but it's not, it's a model, but that is me.

[Komodo]

Our motto was "Striving to Offend, Refusing to Care".

That’s actually hilarious, something that is much needed in the current society.

Never knew about your past, very interesting read.

[Gary]

None of them were particularly pretty. We had 10 issues and 10 centerfolds, maybe two were decent.  But basically as long as we got any girl that wasn't outright ugly willing to do a photoshoot for cheap, then we took what we could get. Pretty sure at least one or two of then had pimps even.  We put ads online "looking for models" and get some strange calls. 

I'm on the cover with the black girl in my underwear. People that the black girl was my wife, but it's not, it's a model, but that is me.

Yung Omni out here focusing on the game, no distractions.

[Bluffer]

For some reason I kind of think of South Park when I have this idea of your magazine explained to me. Like that late 90s early 2000s feeling of I don't give a fuck let's joke about Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton. Let's offend people and not give a fuck because it's funny. Could never get away with that in today's world.

Kind of wish I was older at that point of time, must've been a time to be alive.

[Omniscient]

For some reason I kind of think of South Park when I have this idea of your magazine explained to me. Like that late 90s early 2000s feeling of I don't give a fuck let's joke about Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton. Let's offend people and not give a fuck because it's funny. Could never get away with that in today's world.

Kind of wish I was older at that point of time, must've been a time to be alive.

More like Beavis and Butthead than South Park.



People seem to forget that the politically correct shit, was way after my generation.

[Pikachu]

Ah yes, some good old fashioned controversial dark humor. I'm curious as to why the heck did the publication price skyrocketed so much in such a short span of time?

[Omniscient]

Ah yes, some good old fashioned controversial dark humor. I'm curious as to why the heck did the publication price skyrocketed so much in such a short span of time?

More pages, better quality paper. Like asking why a gallon of milk is so much more expensive than a quart.

The price of 80 pages is a lot more than 20 and when you to full color ink on all pages and glossy paper with a thick cover, it's expensive. Issue #1 cost me $5k to print. Issue #10 cost me $50k to print.

[Pikachu]

More pages, better quality paper.  Like asking why a gallon of milk is so much more expensive than a quart.

The price of 80 pages is a lot more than 20 and when you to full color ink on all pages and glossy paper with a thick cover, it's expensive. Issue #1 cost me $5k to print. Issue #10 cost me $50k to print.

Ahh okay that makes sense, I wonder how much that would cost in today's economy

[Blazin]

Over 20 years ago I started Foul Magazine in NYC as a local video game zine.  I had no magazine experience.  I had my games store, the internet was fairly new, and I had a fun group of employees.  I thought I could publish a small magazine.

Issue one and two were just before 9/11.  They were printed on black and white newspaper stock with color covers.  9/11 happened and things changed but I carried on with the magazine. Each issue got more expensive. First two cost me $5k each.  By the 10th issue I was spending $50k on each issue. 

Lots of things happened in-between and ultimately I was $300k in debt, closed my game store and moved to Vegas where I eventually started HF. 

But here is a throwback video someone made about Foul. It's insulting but none of it is wrong.  I didn't know what I was doing at all but it was one of the best things I ever did.  In two years we published 10 issues and I made a real attempt at it. 



An important note,  I started Foul about the same time that Vice Magazine started.

I remember you talking about this a few years ago. Businesses are very hard to fine tune without the capital to back it up. Wonder where it would of been if you had 1M to dump into it.

[Zeus]

None of them were particularly pretty. We had 10 issues and 10 centerfolds, maybe two were decent.  But basically as long as we got any girl that wasn't outright ugly willing to do a photoshoot for cheap, then we took what we could get. Pretty sure at least one or two of then had pimps even.  We put ads online "looking for models" and get some strange calls. 

I'm on the cover with the black girl in my underwear. People that the black girl was my wife, but it's not, it's a model, but that is me.

Yeah i was gonna say yes Omni getting it in but then i remembered you was married, but that's your young days you defiantly must of got loads back then..