Saturday, April 3, 2010

FOUR G's Magazine - Interview






I recently had the pleasure of communicating with Andy Souza, creator of FOUR G's Magazine, a fresh graffiti mag that focuses on a little more than the competition does. Andy's hustle makes this magazine stand out in the graff community, but it also reaches across market boundaries and dares to spread into the California sub-culture realms of Marijuana, fine Cali women and get this - firearms. That's right, the Four G's are - well, Andy explains this in the interview, so I'll let him tell you.



Staying true to it and keeping fans wanting more, here is an interview with Andy and some images from issues that will have you begging for more:


How did Four G's magazine get started and who was involved?



Four G's was started by me, Andy Souza in Northern California back in 2007. I do work with some local writers and photographers, but for the most part I'm running the show. I have been a fan of the ganja and graffiti culture all my life due to growing up and living in Santa Rosa, a mid-size city between the Emerald Triangle (Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties), known for its Marijuana production and the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose) well-known for the graffiti arts scene. Four G's is a product of this environment.
 
Why were the Four G's chosen to represent California culture?
 
The Four G's equals Graffiti, Guns, Girls, and Ganja. I chose these subcultures to highlight in Four G's because they're basically my favorite hobbies here in California. I also knew that magazines for each of the "G's" already existed, so this would be like a compilation of existing working ideas, all slammed together into one dope magazine.

Who is your target demographic and how do you reach out to them?
 
Four G's target demographic is likeminded individuals, male or female, of all origin, whose interests coincide with some or all of Four G's content. We don't limit our market to just the Four G's, we also feature tattoo artists, musicians, illustrators, skateboard companies, clothing companies, and may even feature types of martial arts, lowrider cars and bikes, pit bulls, and other topics that are related to the culture of the Four G's at some point in the future.

What is the current status of the magazine and where do you see it going in the future?

Four G's Magazine is a biannual (two issues per year) publication, with a distribution range of 10,000 world-wide. We have distribution companies here in North America and deal with individual shops and persons all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and even select parts of South America and Africa.


Any shout outs you want to give?

Thanks to RYME for taking the time to check the magazine and to all the loyal fans that love Four G's and demand more. For any magazine to continue it's all about the advertising so if you're interested in ad space please contact us today - http://www.fourgsmagazine.com/contact.html


And here are some other ways to get in touch with or do some business and support this great Cali culture mag:


Four Gs online store @ Big Cartel

Four Gs official MySpace

Follow Four Gs on Twitter

Four Gs on Facebook



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About RYME and Grey Matter

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Grey Matter (aka Ruben Young) is an anthropologist, activist, artist, MC & blogger working as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Originally from the Inland Empire, CA. Currently living and working in Sacramento, CA.