A Friend for a Friend – Steve Gauthier, Arts Liaison
“Do what you love and follow your dreams…the good times, the good people, the good life,” is the motto for Sackmagazine.com, a developing online ‘magazine’ created by Steve Gauthier and friends. Gauthier, a current SDSU senior, claims that the idea grew out of a simple game of hacky sack a mere eight months ago. Sackmagazine has since gained popularity for its innovation in entertainment media. The online magazine promotes talent from all artistic spheres and features both upcoming and established artists. It provides “quality journalism that is relatable and a method of bringing people together musically, artistically, poetically, and with the written word,” as quoted on the website. Sackmagazine is a growing community of talent ranging from the local San Diego area to the east coast. Gauthier plans for it to spread worldwide in the near future. However, despite the magazine’s mass potential and recent successes, the story behind the magazine is what really legitimates its existence.
Steve Gauthier, the creator and president of the business, invited me to his home, only a few blocks from SDSU, to ask a few questions about Sackmagazine.com. Upon entering his room, a cleanly, organized and eclectic setting, I immediately realize this kid means business. Gauthier, surrounded by a plethora of posters, writing, and pictures on his walls, music bumping in the background, elaborates on the creation of Sackmagazine.com. He casually explains that one day he and his friends were hanging out, playing hacky sack just outside his house, and reminiscing about Pat, a dear friend who had recently passed, when the idea struck them. Gauthier describes Pat, the inspiration for the magazine, as a fun-loving guy who was always smiling and doing what he loved; playing guitar, skateboarding, surfing, hanging out with friends. Thus, Gauthier and his friends wanted to celebrate Pat’s life and “make a good thing out of a bad situation,” by designing a website and incorporating Pat into it as much as possible. For Gauthier, “hacky sack symbolizes what’s important in life; spending time with the people who mean the most to you…”
Although the site began by promoting only art and writing, it soon expanded into a promotion of arts of all kinds. The categories of interest now include music, art, photography, poetry, journalism, extreme sports, film, and philanthropy, a combination dubbed by Matt Cook of the Matt Cook Live show in Ocean Beach as, “art-centric.” When asked about the selection of material used for the website, Gauthier replies that he accepts all art that fits into the categories promoted on the site; “we aren’t discriminatory.” He encourages anyone and everyone to send their contributions to him; contact information can be found on the website: sackmagazine.com.
The idea to expand the site came from Gauthier’s personal words of wisdom which encourage people to do what they want. He sees art as being in the eye of the beholder and thus did not want to limit people in their artistic vision. Although music is the backbone of the site, other art forms are highly encouraged and appreciated. Sackmagazine is currently sponsored by Windigo, Tall Trees and California Roots. A few of the featured artists on the site include Rebelution, One Drop, Seedless, Mike Pinto, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, Slightly Stoopid, Stircrazy, Pepper, Passafire, graphic designer Donica Polce, photographer Tim Fisher, and poet Steve Iodine, to name a few. Some of the artists are Gauthier’s close and talented friends from the San Diego area as well as the northeastern region as he is a native of Somerset, Massachusetts. An important part of developing this website was to create an opportunity of exposure for his friends in order to give back to them. He claims, “these are the people who made me who I am today, my friends are my family.”
Although Gauthier attributes much of his passion for the arts to the influence of his friends, he is quick to recognize his family as a powerful driving force. Gauthier claims that his parents, Joanne and David, helped to mold his positive outlook on life and subsequently fuel his desire to help others and give back. He explains that his parents provided him with a wonderful upbringing and a world of opportunity that he wants to make available for as many others as possible. The Sackmagazine.com creator grew up in Somerset, Massachusetts, where he participated in multiple sports such as basketball, baseball and judo. He developed his passion for music at a young age and remembers himself as always being musical and getting excited to hear new music. He religiously followed bands such as 311 and the Dave Matthews Band, adding to his musical repertoire. Gauthier started his academic career at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst to pursue a degree in Political Science. However, he soon saw opportunity in moving out to California to finish his degree and made the journey out west. He is currently majoring in Political Science and minoring in Child Development at SDSU.
One of the more unique categories featured on the site is the philanthropy section which Gauthier is very passionate about. Among promoting artists and their work, Gauthier is intent on finding ways to give back to his community. Two different events have already been held to raise money for causes that he feels are worthy of Sackmagazine’s attention. The first event was held here in San Diego to raise money for the Global Brigades Fundraiser for clean water in Honduras. This was Gauthier’s first experience in producing events and subsequently, he realized it was something that he was interested in pursuing in the future. Not long after, in the end of December, Gauthier returned home for the holidays and produced his second successful event. The next event was “a concert with a local band at the Sky Lounge in Fall River,” according to the SouthcoastToday, a local paper in Somerset, Massachusetts. It was put on in order to raise warm clothing for the homeless. Gauthier decided to exchange entry to the lounge for any winter clothing donations, an idea he hopes to cultivate in the future.
Although Sackmagazine.com has already accomplished a great amount in its short existence, slowing down is not an option…Gauthier has a variety of new innovations for the future of the site; one of which includes Sackradio which will be a playlist to feature all music that can be found on website. Another upcoming event on Sackmagazine’s agenda is the Pepsi Refresh Project that Gauthier will apply for during the month of May. This project gives multiple grants to different projects that are voted on throughout the month. Sackmagazine proposes that the money, the $250,000.00 grant, will go toward a road trip to provide books and supplies to children across America. This project is reflective of Gauthier’s mission to “help children succeed and do what they love,” an option he feels all children should be privy to…others agree. Frequent visitor of Sackmagazine.com and fellow SDSU student, Kim Williams, claims that “Sackmagazine is gonna blow up,” while Tim Paige describes the magazine as “ballin.” Clearly, Sackmagazine has mass potential to provide a brilliant community of artists and talent. Gauthier declares,
“Here @ Sackmagazine.com we keep dreams alive, we throw events, we raise money, we make money, we get people that big break, we make people write that next song, we give back, we change the world. – Sack Magazine is the center of expression, a creative utopia unrivaled by any other…”
Steve and his friends invite you to be a part of the Sack Revolution!
Written by Alex Tregre, Journalism/Women’s Studies major, San Diego State University
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