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Community

Shredder

Community

Shredder

For the Culture

March 05 — 2021 | Santa Cruz, California

Shredder MTB Magazine

What is mountain bike culture? Is there even such a thing as a mountain bike culture? What is counter culture if we can't define what it's rebelling against?

Shredder is an independently published MTB zine which is artfully and devotedly produced by Stuart Leel, someone who has become a true custodian for the tender innards of what makes mountain biking special. In a time when physical artifacts have given way to digital experiences Shredder stands counter to the obvious way of doing things.

Stuart Leel at his desk making the magic that is Shredder MTB magazine. As he says, "Print ain't dead. Shredder is alive."

The magazine is heavily focused on the art and design within mountain biking and the content is orientated towards the people doing things with a lifetimer's passion. The 'old school' form is complemented by a lo-fi aesthetic with lots of throwbacks to symbols from the past. But strangely what Stuart has made is something which perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the moment more than the trends that are shouted loudest these days.

It's as if something that's curated by a human with a viewpoint, printed on pulped trees and distributed by snail mail rather than imposed upon us by an algorithm fueled by CPM or data that tell us what's most 'popular' with an anonymous mass, can actually do a better job of being of the moment.

Thanks to Stuart and anyone like him who influences mountain biking in a positive direction.