In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a shot of the 30th Anniversary Cover for Outside Magazine.
The icons who make the cover include Cycling Legend Lance Armstrong, Musician Ben Harper, Swimmer Amanda Beard, Surfing Legend Kelly Slater, Rock Climber Lynn Hill, Mountaineering Legend Ed Viesturs, Surfing Legend Laird Hamilton, Expedition Kayaker Scott Lindgren, and Snow Board Icon Jake Burton. Quite the group of athletes and adventurers to grace the cover. Very cool.
Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.
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ya know….I have some issues with this.
First, the concept is a GQ rip off. though shot nicely ( I worked in photography for decades before giving it up for a life in the outdoors ) the entire concept is used ( and over used by GQ.
Second. Outside WAS a great magazine. now it’s the lists magazine ( like many others ) 50 great places to live, best national parks, athletes who changed the world, and lets not forget my favorite, 50 best secret ( or hidden ) back country spots.
Third. The selection. Lance, yes. Lynn, yes. Laird, maybe Kelly Slater? huh? and two surfers? Jake burton I am fine with, but not Yvon Chouinard?! The man revolutionized two kinds of climbing ( rock, and ice ) and made eco friendly clothing possible for the masses. And I may be wrong, but I thought Ed Viesturs claim was 14 8000 meter peaks, and didn’t Reinhold do that first?
my two cents.
b
You make some very valid points, and yes the style of the shot has been done to death. I’ll also agree with you that Outside isn’t what it used to be. It seems to have gone more for style over substance in recent years.
The choices for the people on the cover were clearly U.S. centric, and considering that is mainly where the magazine is sold, that’s fairly understandable. I questioned the choice of two surfers in the group as well, but I’m okay with Ed. He’s probably the greatest American climber of his generation and one of the top of all time. Yes, Reinhold did it first, but it was probably A LOT harder to get him for a photo shoot, and he’s probably want to be on the cover by himself. 😉
Amanda Beard…Yes she is hot and Playboy material but WTF does have to do with the Mag??I use to subscribe to this magazine but alas it morphed into a useless piece of shiny soy ink..I am suprised that the cover didn’t have an Xbox or Ipod on it…Just wait it is coming..
John
Well, in Amanda’s defense she is a gifted athlete who won several Olympic medals. She is more than just cheesecake, although that is what she’s most known for recently, something I’m sure the magazine was going for as well, as there are clearly more gifted swimmers to select over her. Or other “outdoor athletes” that weren’t swimmers for that matter.
Outside has often published stories on athletes of all kinds. I won’t disagree that the magazine has declined in quality over recent years however. I no longer subscribe as well.
I was speaking about this with a friend at work, who totally understood the kelly slater selection.
he said” five time world champion”
I said ” laird pushed big wave riding to new heights”
he said ” five time world champion”
b
LOL! Yeah, “5 Time World Champion” speaks for itself, and actually I don’t have a problem with either of them being on the cover. They’re both “Legends”. However, I’m not sure we needed two surfers. Then again, who should be on there? Dean Karnazes?