I'm assuming that most people out there have seen Lowcard by now. If you haven't, you're seriously missing out. It's a sick little zine out of San Francisco that has some of the illest skaters gracing it's pages every issue. Even though it's completely D.I.Y., Lowcard manages to get photos from the best photographers while keeping it's gritty feel that has taken the Bay by storm. 48 Blocks recently sat down with the man behind it all, Rob Collinson, for a quick interview and got the lowdown on the Lowcard, check it out...

48 Blocks: How and when did Lowcard start?

Rob: Lowcard started in 2003, I was getting these scratch tickets that were called Highcard...California Lottery tickets. Every time I'd scratch them my cards were really low. The object of the game was to beat the dealer. I'd get low cards. I always had a bunch of photos laying around so I decided to start a zine called Lowcard.

48 Blocks: Who works on the mag with you, has it always been the same people?

Rob: It started out as a solo deal, just doing it myself...taping pictures on some paper and xeroxing them. Now we got a crew of four, it's me, Reija Borst, my boy Jonah Broome who's the head of sales, and Jay Marsh who's in charge of printing, t-shirts, and all that.

48 Blocks: So what's your role besides editor and publisher?

Rob: I've taken photos since I was in middle school, so I've always had a ton of photos laying around. I take photos and do a lot of the writing. I'm always down to check out other people's writing, I'm down to get other people's styles in there too.

48 Blocks: I've been noticing that in every issue, the line-up gets heavier and heavier. Do people just come to you and give you photos, how do you get all the big names in there?

Rob: It's crazy! It's a lot of word of mouth, a lot of people approach me about it. Sometimes I'll approach photographers who's work I like. I'll ask them for photos. I'm pretty fortunate to have people like Morford, Zavlasky, just really good photographers that are down to give us photos and contribute. I really appreciate all those guys that are throwing down for it.

48 Blocks: Do you have a favorite issue...is it every issue or the newest issue?

Rob: To tell you the truth, I like some of the old paper ones. The first one is definitely probably my favorite because that was the original idea and it came out really sketchy and I liked that about it. A lot of times I'll just do side zines cause I still like that style...cut and past and xerox. Now Lowcard itself is glossy and we're gonna keep it going like that for awhile.

48 Blocks: So the junk jams have been going off for awhile now, how did that idea pop off? How do you choose your locations, obstacles, and things like that?

Rob: We've always kinda been doing junk jams, even before Lowcard. It's just about getting people together, skating, having fun, eating...that's what it's all about. I have some obstacles that I built myself, I have a couple quarter pipes and stuff like that. People bring random stuff like desks and stuff off the street and we get it going. We'll get another one going soon. The way we choose the locations is just by driving around and seeing a good parking lot and saying, "hey this is where it's gonna be." We don't even get permits or anything.

48 Blocks: So where have you been skating at lately?

Rob: Lately, I went up to Sacramento a couple times and was skating there a little bit, just random places. Yesterday to dodge the rain I went to this skate shop in Concord...they have a little ramp in the back. I recently went to this guy Dave's house in San Jose, he has this crazy ramp set up in his basement. It's been random, we've been hitting some parks but a lot of times I don't like the parks too much...they're too crowded and too many rules and whatnot. A lot of times I'll just go skating around the streets in San Francisco, one of the best places to skate ever.

48 Blocks: Who have you been rolling with skating?

Rob: Lately I've been skating with Gordon Echler, Ramondetta before he hurt his toe, my sales guy Jonah, Drehoble sometimes, whoever's down to skate...every once in awhile Schmitty and various other people.

48 Blocks: What's next for Lowcard? A lot of people were trippin when you switched it up to the glossy paper. Any future power moves comming up?

Rob: Yeah, we'll probably have some future surprises for sure...bumming people out I'm sure. (laughs) We'll have some surprises, but I can't really give it away. You guys will just have to wait for future issues to see what's up.

48 Blocks: Tight, any last words or anything else you wanna put out there?

Rob: Thanks to everyone who's contributed and is down for Lowcard. I wanna thank Deluxe, Streetcorner, FTC, all the local skate heads that are down and everybody else that has been supportive everywhere. Everyone that's been doing ads, contributing photos, and down to support us. I appreciate it. Thanks to 48 Blocks for this interview.