A letter from Emma Garland, Digital Editor, introducing a bigger, bolder era for Huck online.

The act of living can be a hard one – especially now, when simply going on your phone or checking the news means passively ingesting a conveyor belt of doom, disaster and deterioration. To paraphrase Tom DeLonge, “World sucks, I know.” Amid the broad-scale bad news, though, there are millions of people still living their lives, carving out a space for community and creativity and trying to make things better. Their actions might not make it onto the tickers at the BBC or CNN, but they’re no less significant.

Ever since Huck first launched as a skate and surf magazine in 2006, we’ve been committed to telling stories from the fringes. Expanding over the last 17 years to cover the wider worlds of outdoor sports, counterculture and activism, our focus has always been the marginalised, the subversive and the rebellious. In short: the people doing remarkable things against the odds. With the independent media landscape in flux and a lot of uncertainty as to what comes next, we’ve never been more conscious of how vital it is to have a space to tell these stories. So, as we relaunch our digital site and prepare to release Issue 79 of the print magazine this week, Huck is recommitting to the approach that’s been baked into its DNA since the start.

That work begins with the launch of two new editorial series’ this week. ‘At What Cost’ sees us expanding our coverage of the cost of living crisis, visiting places across the UK to understand the unique challenges faced by the people most at risk, and highlighting some of those fighting back.

On the arts side of things, ‘Spaces Between the Beats’ will spotlight music and cultural communities around the world, exploring their stories as they build resilience and find hope in connection.

Elsewhere, ‘The Outsiders Project’ celebrates the people increasing diversity in the outdoor space. We’ll be launching more series throughout the year, so keep coming back!

We’re also launching Huck Docs – a brand new video platform that brings Huck’s unique perspective into visual territory for the first time, with documentaries about queer fighters in Ukraine, sex workers in Brussels and much more to come.

The first Huck Docs film will be screening on June 8th at Voxonica in Shoreditch, London, where we’ll also be celebrating the new site and Issue 79 with a load of free booze, DJs, an exhibition and other good stuff. Find out more here and join us if you can.