This has been a project in the works for a little while now, but you’ll soon understand why. There is a certain era of riders that are enamoured with Print media, and understand the wealth of history and knowledge as well as inspiration it holds. Now in the age of social media these things are becoming less and less common (but not gone). Now it seems like it was only a matter of time until someone took on the mammoth project that ‘Previous Page‘ is. Up until now it’s only (to my knowledge) The Albion that has uploaded their back catalog to be available online.
Well Owain Clegg and Nick Hayday are just that duo that have handled the mammoth project that is digitising all of the previous BMX print media. Take a look below at a short Q&A with the two masterminds behind previous page and learn a little more. Once you’re done head over to Previous Page and take a look through some BMX history.
Previous Page: Owain Clegg & Nick Hayday
Video & Photos: Jon Edwards
Who starts a website in 2025! If it’s not on fb/insta/tiktok does it even count?
What is Previous Page?
OWAIN: In simple terms an online database/showcase of BMX printed media be that mags/zines/books/newspapers (yes newspapers were a thing)/flyers/posters and calendars. In passion terms it’s our way of trying to create another way for people to get stoked/inspired to ride there bike and simultaneously connect us proudly to our heritage both old and new.
Who is behind the project?
O: Me and Nick Hayday currently but we ain’t adverse to any help haha.
Nick, How did you get involved in the project?
NICK: I think me and Owain discussed the idea in Summer 2022, I was hitting him up for pics for The Union Tapes quite a bit and he said we could do a site to upload mags, and I immediately thought I could OCR the text and be able to search everything.
What’s each of your roles?
O: It doesn’t feel like a role but I suppose my tasks are the funner ones of searching for and collecting the mags and then scanning them ready for Nick to do his ‘above my pay/skill grade’ bits that actually make it onlineable (not a word but you know what I mean).
N: I built the site, and once Owain’s finished scanning a mag I process it and get it online.
You’ve been quietly working on this for quite a while now, when did the idea first come about and how long was it before you started making physical moves to get it rolling?
O: I always bought mags and it wasn’t till the start of the Covid lockdowns where I was working everyday still at my cleaning supplies business when during the many quiet periods I thought I either have to get rid of these or go all in and try and fill the gaps of issues in my collection. As a longtime hoarder you can guess which way I went. I luckily found lockdown was a perfect time to ask people to go rummaging in there lofts and garages for a quick nostalgia trip and subsequent clear out by sending them to me.
The idea to create Previous Page came about mid 2020 as I thought what’s the point of having this huge collection in a tiny side room of a business in Chester that no one is ever going to see! This and whenever I shared images from the collection on my social media it had such a varied and fantastic response I thought this needs doing. I scanned the first mag at home page by page in the traditional lid up home scanner method mid 2020. It wasn’t until late 2022 / early 2023 I think it was that I got the overhead magazine scanner and Mac to process the mags properly.
Since then I’ll hold my hand up and say it’s been very stop/start, I am by my very nature a procrastinator, this and as adults will know time flies when you’re having fun/kids so between family/business and in all honesty having the most fun on my bike I’ve probably ever had has meant I was slack (sorry Nick).
That being said this has always been a passion project and if it meant putting off riding or thinking I’d rather be riding whilst doing it then it wasn’t worth doing. I’m trying to promote people riding there bikes so the irony of forcing me off my own to do it would be farcical.
Riding can connect you to being a kid again in a heartbeat
How is the reality of the project compared to what you first thought when you got involved?
N: I always knew it’d be a pain in the arse from running BMXMDB, I’ll build a site, but I need a partner that can rip the content, whether it’s videos or magazines. BMXMDB wouldn’t have half the videos if it wasn’t for Greg Short originally and Dillon McClain who runs Hardcopy BMX Archive now. I reckon scanning magazines is a lot more annoying, I give Owain a lot of shit, but I get it.
Whats the process of digitizing a magazine?
O: Well my end involves using my overhead Fujitsu ScanSnap V600 scanner and Mac to scan them, sounds straightforward and it is to some extent but like anything has its issues. From having to use black and green screen base plates to get the mag edges to be emphasised to making some mags that are nearly 45 years old in a scanable state. Other things like a stapled mag is ten times easier than a bound one to flatten and scan.
Once scanned the software flattens the mag and corrects skewed text and makes six points (the four outer corners and middle top/bottom seam) these again can be tedious as even if two joint pages are identical they don’t always scan the same points so I have to toggle these in many many times into the correct position.
And then Nick, just so people can appreciate the time and effort spent, how long roughly do you think a magazine takes to post process, what do you have to do?
N: Once I get the PDF, I run it through a program called Retrobatch https://flyingmeat.com/retrobatch
That splits the double page scans into single pages, then Renamer https://renamer.com to give the files the correct page number as a filename. Then I add to the site under the correct magazine, and enter volume/issue number and how often it publishes.
It uploads pretty quick, then I run a script to OCR (optical character recognition) the text and save to the database for searching.
Then I go through every page skimming the text for egregious errors, adding the name of who’s on the cover, I also mark any DPS and any mail order adverts (mail order adverts get excluded from search by default)
Then I run another script that stitches the DPS’s back together so when you share them you get the full spread.
Probably takes me about 45 minutes per magazine.
Any features you’re still looking to get developed?
N: Still working on the blogging engine, and an advanced search, but hopefully get to them before we go live. Some features don’t work on Android for some reason, but I haven’t had a chance to debug yet, so they won’t see the option.
How important do you think printed magazines are to bmx?
O: Hugely, nothing will ever be the same as holding a printed mag, from the feel to the colours to the smell. Sadly other than a few hardcores (Bicross, Dig, Endless, Silent, Slack and the zine makers like Challenger) this generation of riders will never know this feeling and other than doing an open house evening at my collection for a handful of people this is the next best thing we can think of to connect the two worlds.
How do you think the current state of print media/social media will affect the big picture of BMX now and in the future. (We have had a variety of magazines to look back at, do you think the small number of magazines printing the stories of now will effect the future generations of bmx being able to look back at this time)
O: This question I pondered for some time and sadly I’m not sure, it’s easy to be cynical as you get older and say no but also riding can connect you to being a kid again in a heartbeat so I’m gonna also say with that level of innocent optimism that I hope so. We have a very here today gone tomorrow world of BMX content now but in the same way everyone can appreciate a classic car or wonderfully designed building I hope the same can be said of wonderfully taken pictures of tricks/spots/riders that will stand the test of time.
N: Back to the disposable world I guess, magazines were it, there was nothing else to look at, obviously now there’s a million things to look at, some of the images from mags are burnt into my brain, but I can’t remember what I watched on instagram yesterday, in the future will anyone want to look back when they’ve been trained on new, new, new
How important do you think printed magazines are to bmx?
N: I grew up with them, so they’re important to me. The first mag I remember an article from is on the site (Official BMX issue 4) and in this disposable world I still like having something to flick through. I’m glad people looked after them well enough that we can do this.
Are you still looking for any issues?
O: I’m happy to say I think I think I always will be, it’s amazing just how many magazines have been created around the world since BMX’s inception to now.
You must of had a few issues come from interesting/special people/places, any of note?
O: Honestly that has been probably been the best bit of this whole process, I have connected and reconnected with so many people both here in the UK and worldwide that I know or have never met. I’ve had exchanges in Polish to find a mag collection, to rummaging in a shed in Lancaster all evening to speaking to a women on Facebook marketplace from Yorkshire about the stash of newspapers her son left behind from when he moved out 20 years ago!! I have a camera roll full of pics of boxes in attic spaces, supporters from every generation of the industry that have dug out gems for me and I’ve even got mags from people no longer with us that gave them me knowing I’d cherish them dearly forever.
Thinking back these memories are up there with those of my actual bike riding ones.
How can people support this project?
O: In the usual ways of following us on social media and as well as liking posts get involved comment or tell us a tale, where did you get yours from, what memories does it fill you with, were you there and have more info/gossip of how it went down, anything. Mag wise hit me/us up at info@previouspage.co.uk if you have any you’d like to gift/trade/sell as I bloody love receiving and seeing some for the first time when they arrive through my letterbox. I’m also that sad I’ve made a huge spreadsheet to keep track so can easily see what I still need. As I said earlier this is a passion project not a vanity one so if you wanna lend a hand or contribute our DM is always open.
Me and Nick lead busy lives and always said it would be rad to do a gofundme or something to pay someone to scan the mags to move the project further faster. I’d say we’d be mad to rule this out so possibly one day we might try that.
Other than that just have a browse and wether you love looking at the riding, the riders, the tricks, the bikes/parts, the brands or just the letters page enjoy it and hopefully it brings out the passion for BMX that me and Nick still have.
What’s the future of the project?
N: Who starts a website in 2025! If it’s not on fb/insta/tiktok does it even count? I hope we can keep uploading mags, I still find myself getting pulled down the rabbit hole while I’m building it, I hope other people do too.
Any thanks?
O: Huge huge thanks to Nick otherwise this would still be getting talked about in 2040, thanks to Zack Shaw for sorting us the Mac, Coxie (James Cox) for designing the logo, cheers mate. John Williams for answering our website technical questions and honestly anyone that has given, sold, traded me mags the collection and project wouldn’t have been what it is without you. And our families for being understanding of us two fruitcakes taking this on.
Thanks for the opportunity to talk about the project Ride UK
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