Ink vs Pixel: Keeping Physical Magazines Alive in a Digital World
Ink vs. Pixel: Keeping Physical Magazines Alive in a Digital World.
For many years, we have been living in a fast-paced, one-click-away industry. In today’s digital age, maintaining attention has become increasingly challenging. The omnipresence of smartphones and social media platforms contributes to this trend. Even with recent shifts in media consumption, Grind and Ollie magazines are among the few that have managed to keep up—continuing to produce original content in physical magazine form while balancing it with digital formats.
We sat down with Shuhei and Mahina to discuss how they are keeping physical magazines alive in a digital world.
As Shuhei mentioned,
“If you worry about what social media, influencers, and other media think is good (and what is posted there may just be PR), you'll forget what's important. So first, I try to meet people, talk to people, and go to places to find things that match my values. In the end, it's all about the vibe.”
That’s exactly what these two have been doing in recent years—travelling the world, engaging in real conversations, and capturing things beyond the surface.
They do this because it's their passion. Shuhei left his job as a banker to become editor-in-chief of Grind, while Mahina has been a fan of the magazine since his junior high school days. For them, Grind and Ollie magazines are like personal diaries.
Shuhei has been a driving force in adapting to change. Previously, both Grind and Ollie published many issues each year, but Shuhei shifted the strategy to ensure the company could adapt to new circumstances.
“Since I became editor-in-chief in 2020, we've cut back to publishing the magazine twice a year. Up until that point, we were publishing 10 times a year, but it was becoming too much. It was tough to maintain quality, so we needed to rethink our approach. However, reducing the number of issues risked losing touch with our readers, so now we create opportunities to meet people in different places—like the event we held at Karat.”
A Conversation on Print vs. Digital
Krisna (K), Theo (T), Shuhei (S), Mahina (M)
K: Everything is so digital these days. What sets print apart? What makes you still believe in magazines? Why are you so persistent?
M: I remember magazines from my junior high days—that's still my motivation. The memories keep me going. For young people just starting out, magazines are a great way to learn.
K: In Bali, and even Indonesia as a whole, it’s really hard to find physical magazines about subcultures.
T: Yeah… it’s pretty much dead here. I can’t even think of one.
K: There was Bali Belly during the pandemic, but I think they stopped afterwards.
M: Oh, Bali Belly! I remember that. There used to be so many magazines lined up in convenience stores. We’d just go to the konbini (convenience store), read everything without paying—haha—and spot our local heroes in the pages. Those were the days. Now, everything is online, so we have to preserve magazine culture. Ollie was born in 1996…
K: How do you keep it relevant? With the shift to digital media, what role does print play in your publications, and how do you balance it with digital formats?
S: We’re lucky that people still have a lot of respect for printed media. In the past, especially in Japan, dozens of magazines were published every month. Now, it’s the opposite, and it’s actually easier to stand out. It’s not the best time to grow a business through print, so we focus on expressing our vision as clearly as possible. That said, we still need to reach more people.
When it comes to the web, we update it whenever we feel like it, so I don’t see it as a structured reference point. But our approach to digital is the same as our stance on print—we don’t want to just post the same news that everyone else does online.
T: I see… Is it challenging to maintain the magazine’s identity and curation, especially since Japanese street culture has become so globalized?
S: We’re really interested in foreign culture, and we’re seeing more interest from overseas as well, so we’re in a pretty good position. But at the same time, it’s important to focus on Japan—our identity. We want to be the bridge that connects Japan and the rest of the world.
M: I don’t find it difficult at all. I skate, I love art—it all comes from my passions. If you don’t have passion for what you write, it’s hard. And we don’t want to just repost what’s already on social media—that’s kind of our rule.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
K: Have you ever done a retrospective, like a 10-year anniversary issue?
M: No, it’s actually been 26 or 27 years now.
T: Has the magazine changed much since the beginning?
M: Yeah, it’s evolved.
T: What was the first issue about?
M: The magazine was a gateway to the culture. If you write something too specific, some people won’t understand it. Now, our mission is different—we want to reach bigger audiences. For example, in this issue, we covered surf and snow culture for the first time.
K: It’s interesting that you make it digestible for different audiences. Since you’ve visited Indonesia now, how do you see the cultural landscape here compared to Japan?
S: The Indonesian scene is really vibrant, and I think it’s going to keep growing. In Japan, the people who built the scene are still leading it. There are great things about both, but I’m excited to see new legends emerge from Indonesia, just like they did in Japan.
S: The Indonesian scene is really vibrant, and I think it’s going to keep growing. In Japan, the people who built the scene are still leading it. There are great things about both, but I’m excited to see new legends emerge from Indonesia, just like they did in Japan.
M: I don’t see that many differences. They’re doing really well—high-quality clothing, apparel, and art. It just comes down to where you’re from. That’s the only difference.
K: Everything that goes to Japan seems to get a unique twist—it becomes a "Japanese version." I think people really appreciate that.
M: Yeah, that’s one of our strengths. Japan has a way of preserving and adapting traditional culture, like denim from Okayama, where craftsmanship is passed down through generations.
K: Since you’re collaborating with Deva States, are there any cultural aspects you’re particularly excited to share with your readers in Japan?
S: Deva States has a really distinctive graphic style, and you can tell they respect the culture they’re representing. I want to show Japanese readers why Deva States and other Indonesian brands are gaining global recognition.
M: Bali and Tokyo are such different places, and I’d love to showcase that contrast. It’s hard to put into words, but if we can capture a sense of unity between these cultures, that would be amazing. This is our first collaboration, but we’re keen to do more pop-ups and events. We don’t want to do the same thing other magazines are doing—we want to tell stories through collaborations. Maybe I’ll visit more Asian countries and complete an Asian collab tour!
