Open Mail: At Least For Now
A long answer to a simple question: what the hell is going on over here?
I swear, I didn’t want to start a magazine.
Sure, over the last few years, I’ve sometimes played with the idea, feeling the urge to create something new come - and eventually go - on several occasions. In truth, what I would have really wanted is for a new generation of blade journalists to step in and fight the stagnation of our little media ecosystem, for new faces and voices to take full advantage of the ever-more accessible means of production, for new talent to simply start their own publications. While I would have gladly answered the call if my contribution was ever needed, honestly, all I really wished for was a quality blade magazine I could enjoy reading while drinking my morning cup of coffee.
And sure, in the meantime, we have also seen the birth of many new podcasts, YouTube channels, and Instagram pages dedicated to blading. Many came, and while most of them also went, the good stuff stuck and we now have a great variety of content (for lack of a better, more dignified word) to watch, listen, and consume daily. For that, I am grateful and praise the work of these creators. Yet I'll argue that none of it fully replaces the magazine format, that listening to a two-hour-long podcast is a particularly inefficient way to absorb the substance of an interview, and that the ever-changing algorithm ruling over social media has left blade writers, photographers, and illustrators without a creative platform to call home.
On a more personal level, I also wanted to archive my past work and contributions in the face of a rapidly evolving web where data you thought was safe forever actually disappears at an alarming rate. Just take what Mushroom Blading referred to as the “Great Vimeo Purge”, and the hundreds of videos that disappeared in the process. Or the infamous Be-Mag messageboard getting shut down, along with thousands of pages of passionate - and oftentimes offensive - arguments and discussions. Or the websites of magazines such as Wheelscene (to their credit, a very active YouTube channel nowadays) and The Booted, simply disappearing into the void, without any trace of all the great content once featured there.
These thoughts led to the creation of this Substack, a free-to-use platform that allowed me to freestyle my way around while figuring things out. The - far from perfect - name is a reference to the first media project I was involved with, an online magazine called Frenchy Fries I started and carried with a group of friends for five active years (and which is still online to this day). Only this time, the fries are White, since this space was meant to host my personal contributions to blading media over the years, from Be-Mag where I worked as a frequent contributor and eventually editor-in-chief, to many others where my words could be of use, as well as a sprinkling of video reviews posted directly on my socials.
But with archiving the old also came the desire to create new stuff, too.
And once I had built this platform, it appeared I had inadvertently started a magazine.
Since I’m aware not many rollerbladers use Substack, allow me to highlight some key points, the most important being the newsletter format. It means that once you’ve subscribed (which I sure hope you will after you’re done reading this), each new article is delivered straight to your inbox. And then it waits there, just like the journal at your doorstep, for you to decide when is the right moment to read it - with a morning cup of coffee, for instance. It also means that as a potential reader, you don't have to subscribe to Substack itself, nor download the app or anything that would require giving out any personal information. You can subscribe directly to this publication by simply entering your email below, and that's that.
Of course, you can also bookmark this page just like you would with any other website.
Or follow us on Instagram.
Or, you know… Subscribe to the newsletter, because why the hell wouldn’t you?
There are already 200 articles forming the backbone of this publication that I invite you to dive back into, while many new ones are currently in the works. I will be publishing a new feature every week, with a focus on in-depth interviews and long-form stories, but also video reviews and event reports, as well as personal essays and letters such as this one. And if you know anything about the lifestyle I’ve experienced most of my adult life, it won’t surprise you to find extensive travel diaries and tour coverage on here too. All the while, I’ll keep on archiving older online and print articles, along with some unpublished pieces sleeping on my hard drive.
Believe me, there’s some actual gold in there, so keep your eyes peeled!
Well, that’s a mouthful, so I’ll try to wrap it up now. This is very much a work in progress, growing and evolving, progressively finding its way. But here you go: it’s called White Fries (at least for now), it lives online, here on Substack (at least for now), and while I’ve received the support of a few close friends, for the time being, it’s all pretty much a one-man-show. As I publish new stuff weekly, I hope to offer a platform for more photographers and visual artists to showcase their work, for more bladers to express themselves beyond their moves on the wheeled boots, and for you, dear reader, to find a place you can escape the daily grind and enjoy your morning cup of coffee with some quality blading content.
At least, that’s the plan… For now!
Thank you for reading,
Freddy
Athens, Greece
February 2025
PS: I would like to use this space to express my gratitude for all the bladers, photographers & artists who have trusted me with this project so far, more especially the homie Clément for his precious help and the amazing Bassment Rats for the artwork illustrating this letter. I would also like to thank everyone who had a kind word or shared feedback (and/or a drink) at Winterclash this past weekend. And last, but certainly not least, I’m incredibly grateful to all the subscribers, all the folks who followed our page on Instagram, and all the people who reached out, shared our stuff, and commented on it: it’s all appreciated more than you know.
Thank you all, I hope you’ll like what we’ve been cooking!
